Bishop seeks gov’t imposed limit on number of children for families

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Bishop of South Rwenzori Diocese Rt Rev Jackson Thembo Nzerebende has called for a strict national family planning law, to limit the number of children a family can have. He is optimistic that the policy will help to control Uganda’s population growth, which, he says has reached worrying proportions.

According to 2019 estimates by the World Population Review, the population of Uganda is around 44.27 million people, up significantly from 2013’s estimate of 33,640,833. With the current rate of growth giving rise to an increase of nearly 1.5 million people a year, the population is forecast to be 47 million people in 2020 and 64 million people in 2030.

The Bishop says that the trend is not sustainable considering that the country’s factors of production have remained constant. The prelate told URN in an interview that it was high time the government considered taming population growth through legislation.

Bishop Nzerebende argues that many families would jump the poverty line if they produced fewer children adding that currently, the dependency ratio on the parent’s meager incomes are very high, sending families further into poverty.

He says because of the frustrations and inability of parents to take care of their children, some of them resort to drunkenness in an attempt to avoid their responsibility. He argues that there is a need to harmonize the family planning law with the country’s economic levels.

Bishop Nzerebende downplayed fears that the law would contradict religious teachings, especially those that disallow the use of condoms and contraceptives.

In July, Busongora North MP William Nzoghu tabled a motion before parliament to draft a law that would be applied to limit the number of children for each Ugandan family. Nzoghu said this would reduce pressure on the available resources, both at family and national level.

But Matayo Baluku, a public health expert advises that the government and development partners concentrate on male family planning practices like vasectomy and perhaps develop pills for men. Baluku argued that while a woman can produce only one child a year, a man can have as many children as possible, thus the need to concentrate on men in the move to limit the number of children born by Ugandan men.

A handful of countries are implementing a government-imposed limit of two children for each family, elsewhere in the world. The policy was first used in Vietnam, Hong Kong, Iran and Singapore as part of their family planning strategies. Later, a two child policy was adopted by China, replacing the country’s one-child policy.

*****

URN