Minister of Health and Population Khalid Abdel Ghaffar on Tuesday said that rapid population growth poses a serious challenge to Egypt’s current and future national action.
The minister was addressing the inauguration of the Global Congress on Population, Health and Development (PHDC’23), currently taking place in the New Administrative Capital.
He thanked President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi for attending and sponsoring the conference.
The PHDC’23 is being held 29 years after the International Population and Development Conference, which took place in 1994 in Cairo to highlight updates of the population issues at the international level, Abdel Ghaffar said.
Overpopulation phenomenon hinders economic growth and development efforts, the minister said, adding that it also depletes all development revenues and affects the quality of services provided to people, due to the lack of balance between economic and population growth.
He noted the the rapid population growth put strains on efforts of combating poverty, hunger and malnutrition as well as catering to the amounting demand for health services and education and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
