Egypt’s Population Boom Is No Boon

Egypt’s 100 millionth citizen was born last week, undoubtedly a happy occasion for one family, but a moment filled with foreboding for a country struggling to contain a population explosion. President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has compared the elevated birth rate to terrorism as one of Egypt’s top national- security threats.

In the past year the government has scrambled to stem the birth rate with a new program called “Two is Enough.” It is establishing family planning clinics throughout the country, where Egyptians can purchase heavily subsidized contraceptives. It is also sending volunteers on home visits to discourage couples from having large families. But many doctors and activists fear that this is too little, and comes too late to reverse the uptick in population growth that is exacerbating challenges in a country where one in three people live below the poverty line.