Burundi: family planning, an effective means of controlling galloping demography

Women leaders are requested to take the lead in the fight against malnutrition.
This was said in the economic capital Bujumbura which hosted between Monday and Wednesday the fourth edition of the High Level Forum of Women Leaders. Jeannette Kagame, First Lady of Rwanda, in her speech, indicated that these women have a big role to play in leading their country towards sustainable development. The Burundi’s first lady, Angeline Ndayishimiye, for her part, called on them to fight against galloping demography. INFO SOS Médias Burundi

Jeannette Kagame, proud to see Burundi again after so many years, did not hide her joy by saying: “Dear sister, first lady of Burundi, the country to which you devote yourself saw me born and grow and offered so many beautiful memories that marked my childhood.

In her speech, the First Lady of the land of a thousand hills called on all stakeholders to work in synergy in order to maintain their development efforts in the fight against malnutrition.

“Growth delays and weakening of the immune system caused by malnutrition rob children of many opportunities from their education to their social and professional development. We all agree that smaller, well-planned families have their own advantages, including the ability to devote more time and resources and provide quality education to every child,” she stressed.

Angeline Ndayishimiye, First Lady of Burundi, for her part called on these women leaders to do their best to fight against galloping demographics.

“We are called upon to care about the well-being and health of women, children and adolescents. It is with this in mind that every year we organize a forum for women leaders with different themes based on the challenges that can prevent women from contributing to the development of their country as they should. This may be caused by her state of health or that of her children due to poor diet or other reasons,” said Angeline Ndayishimiye in her speech.

Based on the theme chosen for this year: “Contribution of family planning to achieving good nutritional status and the demographic dividend”, Angeline Ndayishimiye’s wish is to see that at the end of this event, all guests understand the value of healthy living with a balanced diet in families that practice good family planning.

For his part, Burundian Prime Minister Gervais Ndirakobuca reminded the participating women leaders to consider limiting births to avoid giving birth to children who risk ending up on the streets due to the poverty of their families. For him, it would be better if couples agreed on the number of children they should raise based on the means at their disposal.

“The danger is that many of them are already thinking about fleeing in search of a better life. Children do not go to school, do not develop their skills and instead become bandits,” said Gervais Ndirakobuca

This high-level Forum of women leaders, held in Bujumbura by the Office of the First Lady for Development in Burundi (OPDD) lasted 3 days, from October 9 to 11.

Three other first ladies took part in the event: Jeannette Kagame of Rwanda, Rachel Ruto of Kenya and Mariam Mwinyi of Zanzibar. Several other foreign delegations participated.