Family Planning

　　After the Standing Committee of the National

　　People’s Congress in China passed a resolution to reformthe family planning policy in December 2013， it signaled arelaxation of a policy that has been in place in the world’smost populous country for more than 30 years. Familiesin China will now be allowed a second child if at least oneof the parents is an only child， a shift that affects about 10million couples. Before the policy change， only families withtwo only-child parents were allowed to have two babies.

　　Notwithstanding its controversy， China’s family planningpolicy has played a pivotal role in lifting the standard of livingof many people in a once poverty-stricken country.

　　In the wake of the epic reform， should African countriesconsider similar family planning versions of their own？

　　Could a one child - or even limited child - policy help alleviateAfrica’s poverty？

　　Dr. Allen Stamps， an experienced Johannesburg-baseddemographer and lecturer at Midrand University， said anAfrican society is formulated in way that complimentshigh fertility and large surviving families as financially andsocially productive.

　　“Each new child is celebrated， and it is generally thecase of the more the merrier. In the Africa context， thereis no family planning - in the sense of attempts to achieveaverage family size or call a stop to increase the familybeyond an acceptable size，” Stamps said.

　　However， Natasha Madzingirami， a demographer atthe University of Zimbabwe， said Nigeria is one of theAfrican countries that needs to limit births to three childrenper family.

　　Nigeria’s population is expected to surpass that of theUnited States by 2050， according to recent UN projectionsthat predict the West African country could become theworld’s third most populous by the end of this century.“I am really fearful of the population explosion in Nigeria.

　　It is not healthy. Nigeria should work toward attaininga maximum of three children per family，” Madzingirami said.Peter Hans， a pastor with a Johannesburg-based church，Spirit Embassy International， believes restricting a marriedcouple to have a single child “is an abomination in the eyesof God.”

　　The government has no obligation to intervene in thepersonal decisions of their citizens whether or not to havechildren， Hans said. Couples have a fundamental right todetermine for themselves the number and spacing of theirchildren.

　　Hans said in an African context， a one-child policyseems polemic， “as a man’s status is valued by the numberof children he has.”

　　“Children are [seen as] a blessing from God. Children canassist in different forms of work at the home，” Hans said.As a proponent of natural family planning， he said， “It[natural family planning] is cheap， effective， without sideeffects， and may be particularly acceptable to people inareas of poverty.”

　　Gabriel Letswalo， a University of the Witwatersrandpostgraduate student in sociology， supports that assertion.Letswalo said restricting family size is ideologicallyproblematic in Africa， where there are various homogeneousgroups.

　　“Some black Africans might construe it as latent way toexterminate the race of black people，” he said.However， a researcher at the South African NationalHealth and Family Planning Commission， Sibongile Dube，disagrees. Dube said if the one-child policy is introducedin many African countries where the resources are notadequate to cater for big families， it will boost the economyof the country.

　　Dube said South Africa’s young generation prefers tohave a single child because of the spiraling cost of living.“As the costs of raising a child increases dramatically，people care more about the quality of a child’s life， not thenumber [of children]，” Dube said.

　　She said the economic consequences of having childrenin South Africa is very much the same as elsewhere inAfrica， where the notion of wanting children to be successfulis easier to ensure parents can concentrate their timeand money on just one child.

　　Another sociologist， Mary Thames， concurs. “Withfewer children， any government will have more share ofits export revenue per person and thus be able to providebetter education， better housing， water supply， electricity，sanitation ... and when people see these benefits， they willappreciate the benefit of a one-child policy.”