2. Dr. Eliya Zulu, director of the African Institute for Development Policy in Nairobi: The most effective ways to address Africa's population issues are: to end child marriage & keep girls in school, meet the high level of unmet need for family planning & make contraceptives universally accessible increase funding in family planning, strengthen healthcare systems & bring services to communities, shift to universal secondary education, and lastly, build political will. Speech, Berkeley, USA, February, 2012

3. Mao: “Every mouth has two hands”

4. Less than 20 years ago, contraceptive use in Ethiopia (the second-most populous country in Africa) among married women of reproductive age was 3% Maternal mortality rates were among the highest in the world. Today, contraceptive use now 29%. Maternal deaths dropped by 50%. Long-acting contraceptive methods made more available. The 2007 import tax on contraceptives waived. Health Extension Programme with more than 30,000 workers trained – drawn exclusively from women who come from the communities they serve (except for pastoralist areas, where men may be selected).

5. Media debate usually superficial

7. Still a largely pro-natalist culture Several governments offer ‘baby bonuses’ and/or promote immigration and/or restrict family planning Overpopulation is still the ‘elephant in the room’

8. Overpopulation: ‘tyranny of micro-decisions’ =

10. Final thoughts Overpopulation has many ‘parents’ Overpopulation is ‘everybody’s baby’ but costs & benefits are often separated, encouraging irresponsibility ‘International development’ without the goal of sustainable populations is a recipe for international ruination

11. Overpopulation has become the “elephant in the room”. But we deny its existence or divert attention from it at our peril.

12. “I have not seen a major problem facing our planet that would not be easier to solve if there were fewer people or harder, & ultimately impossible, with ever more” (Sir David Attenborough)