Africa should be cautious on birth control

By Charles Okecha

Lately I read a publication that Uganda will be  the first African country to benefit from a new multi-million dollar global campaign to increase demand for family planning services and information.

I wondered whether our country is at the moment suffering from overpopulation.

Rather, the  rankling  sore afflicting Ugandans is the vast quantities of natural resources lying idle and the high incidence of corruption that impedes  service delivery and  empowerment  to generate wealth. A typical example  is the high demand for cotton fabrics in the world market yet Ugandans are withdrawing from cotton growing.

It is the sale of raw cotton that makes the cotton industry less viable. Research, planning  and processing of more products from the cotton crop can industrialise and prosper  our country.
 
A large portion of the population is  already infected, dying or living with HIV/AIDS.  Given the prevalence of this plague and other curable diseases, we are not sure about the average life expectancy of each citizen and how many children are born HIV positive. India, China and other nations that adopted myopic birth control policies and cultural practices are now experiencing adverse consequences of their folly.

China’s one child policy of 1978 has led to an imbalance of a large portion of ageing population. While for India, prejudice against the girl children is now blamed as the root cause of gang rape and polyandry (men many marrying and living with one woman).
 
There are many other undesirable implications of unrestrained birth control which we should be cautious about and regulate the tempo of such campaign lest  the population joins the bandwagon to an oblivious destination.  The upsurge in unwanted pregnancies implies  that people indulge in unprotected sex which exposes them to the risk of HIV/AIDS. 

This plague causes death and makes our nation unproductive and dependent on donors for drugs and  other handouts. Why can’t those developed countries  concerned about the welfare of Ugandans  and promising to dish out billions of dollars facilitate and empower them to exploit the idle resources, trade favourably and  achieve economic independence? 

Instead the country is a conduit and  a dumping soak pit for inferior quality  consumer goods! This reminds me of countries claiming to be concerned about the plight of the Palestinian people by arming them to fire rockets at the Israelis. In the event of retaliation, all existing infrastructure is destroyed leaving them more destitute.

Why can’t those very funds be used to construct housing units; let us say sky scrappers and much more! That obscene campaign money will sidetrack us from pursuing our national Vision 2040 by propagating the perception of striving to survive on the available little jobs and exports.
 
My question is:- Who are those eligible to receive birth control apparatus? Married women or sex workers? Won’t pills be peddled among school going youth and children?

Unrestrained practices of birth control has the propensity to multiply prostitution; negative attitude towards child bearing;  abortion;  and sears peoples’ conscience not to respect the sanctity of life.

We should maintain family planning programmes currently in place with utmost caution and carry out more sensitization to dissuade people from creating families they cannot sustain. But we must take heed never to be hoodwinked like Judas Iscariot  to be paid to massacre the African children.

The countries in question are imploding due to high population. They are not willing to establish industrial development projects in Africa at a time when the population is still high because this will deny their ‘expatriates’ jobs.

This should be an ulterior motive to reduce population in the continent so that when they launch their projects, job will readily be available for them. Take care don’t say I never warned you!
 
The writer works with St. Paul’s College, Mbale