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  • Title: [Message of the Minister of Health, Dr. Casimir Bizimungu, on World Population Day, July 11, 1992].
    Author: Bizimungu C.
    Journal: Imbonezamuryango; 1992 Aug; (24):5-7. PubMed ID: 12344674.
    Abstract:
    Each year since 1987, when the world population reached 5 billion, the UN Population Fund has organized a World Population Day. Population problems are a worldwide phenomenon, although each country's experience is different. Rwanda has long been affected by a population growing faster than food production. The population in 1900 was estimated to be 1 million. It will probably exceed 10 million by the year 2000. Population density will have increased from around 40 per sq. km in 1900 to more than 400 in 2000. Almost all available lands are already under cultivation. Harvests are already insufficient as a result of drought and war, and chronic or even structural famine is occurring. Forests are disappearing due to excessive consumption of wood, and even steep slopes have been denuded. The population has no possibility of survival except through destruction of its precious capital. Health care is also deteriorating because construction of new centers cannot keep pace with population growth. Despite great progress in school enrollment, which increased from 320,000 primary school students in 1962 to 1,058,000 in 1989, the number of unenrolled primary aged children has increased from 260,000 in 1962 to more than 560,000 today. Rwanda's population growth is also a problem of urbanization, as rural youth with no possibilities of employment seek their livelihood in towns and cities. The secondary school system in Rwanda is blocked, and facilities for technical education are insufficient. Rural migrants often lack the skills needed for meaningful employment in the cities. Population growth is therefore, the principal obstacle to development in Rwanda. The pronatalist traditions of Rwanda should be altered to give greater weight to the quest for an improved quality of life. 5 million Rwandans under 25 should have fewer children and give them the means to achieve a better future through education. This goal of fewer children will require a revolution in attitudes and beliefs. On World Population Day, all Rwandans are asked to become aware of the population problem and to develop responsible attitude toward procreation.
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