A recent United Nations report indicates that the world population will hit the seven billion mark tomorrow. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has noted that the world population has doubled since 1968, and projects a continued increase till the middle of the 21st century.

Uncontrolled population growth presents numerous challenges.  In this regard UNFPA has called for global action as the world population reaches 7 billion. This is as it should be. Whereas there is continuous increase in population, the resources for such a huge population, are not increasing proportionately.

The government of Rwanda has long recognized the importance of sensitizing the population on the imperative of family planning. This is partly due to the country’s high population density. It is also important that families have children they can adequately raise.

Various ways of family planning and birth control have been availed to the Rwandan people and it is upon families and individuals to make the choice as to which method they would like to apply.

It is important to point out that the best mechanism for controlling population growth is education-especially for the girl child. Education empowers women to have the capacity to make informed choices about their reproductive health. More so, it is evident that by staying longer in school, early marriages are avoided.

Finally, educated women are more likely to have fewer children since they may have other obligations, including responsibilities pertaining to gainful employment.

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