unitex@rubbs.fidonet.org (unitex) (09/19/89)
National population conference opens in kenya
Posting Date: 09/18/89 Source: UNITEX Network, Hoboken, NJ, USA
Host: (201) 795-0733 ISSN: 1043-7932
Xinhua News Agency, SEPTEMBER 13, 273 words, DATELINE: nairobi)
kenyan president daniel arap moi today warned his countrymen
that economic progress will not lead to the improvement of
people's life if the current population growth of 3.8 percent
continues. opening the second national leaders' population
conference here, president moi called for cooperation from
ordinary people with the government's family planning programme,
saying that the greatest challenge his government faces today is
to influence the attitude of the kenyan people towards having
smaller families. he attributed the rapid population increase
to reduced child mortality rate and longer life expectancy. the
number of deaths among infants under the age of one year has
declined from 184 per thousand in 1948 to an estimated current
figure of 80 while life expectancy has risen from 35 years to 54
today. kenya's population has been growing at an annual rate of
3.8 percent since 1979. the population is estimated at 23.5
million at present. if the trend continues, the population would
be 35 million by the end of the century. president moi said
although the fertility rate among kenyan women dropped from 7.7
in 1984 to 6.7 this year, it is still much too high. he called
on kenyans to intensify family planning. also addressing the
three-day conference today was kenyan vice-president george
saitoti who noted that the country's economy must achieve an
annual growth rate of 5.6 percent by the year 2000 in order to
provide the basic needs to the fast growing population. over
the past three years, kenya's economy has been growing at an
average annual rate of 5.1 percent.
* Origin: UNITEX --> Toward a United Species (1:107/501)
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