Egypt's 100 millionth citizen brings joy and worry

MINYA, Egypt－In Wasilah, a village located on the west bank of the Nile River, some 240 kilometers south of the capital, Egypt's 100 millionth citizen was born.

The birth of the baby, a girl named Yasmine Rabei, was announced in Cairo by a giant counter outside the country's national statistics agency.

The father, a 22-year-old farmer, said "the birth of my girl brought joy to the village".

His house was full of relatives, neighbors, TVs and journalists to celebrate the baby's birth on Feb 11.

"My child became famous when she first opened her eyes," Rabei said.

Photos of Yasmine was published on newspapers and websites, the father said.

In villages, especially in Upper Egypt, people prefer to have many children to help with agricultural work.

The baby's 67-years-old grandfather believes that "more children mean more wealth".

The grandfather, who has seven children and 37 grandchildren, added he encourages Rabei to have at least five children.

However, Rabei, who didn't have the chance to go to school, said he plans to have only two children and wants to provide them with better health and education.

The country is also gripped by worries that its overpopulation will lead to a rise in poverty and unemployment rates.

On Feb 5, the cabinet said it was on "high alert" to fight population growth, which Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has described as a threat to national security.

At a conference in 2017, the president said: "We have two real challenges facing our country: terrorism and overpopulation."

In 2019, Egypt launched a public health campaign called "two is enough" to convince parents to have fewer children.

The mother of Yasmine, Jihad Ahmad, a 19-year-old housewife, agreed with her husband to have only two children.

Ahmad added she will go to a clinic after 40 days of delivery to choose a contraception method, noting: "We plan to have the second baby after three years."

Egypt's population is expected to reach 128 million by 2030, according to official statistics.

Eman Raheem, an obstetrician and gynecologist at Al-Zahra Hospital in Cairo, said: "Sometimes patients arrive here knowing absolutely nothing about contraception, so I have to explain all the different methods."

She called for starting an awareness campaign in schools to educate young children about sex and the effects of population explosion.

A United Nations report released in 2019 stated that within the next 30 years, Egypt, along with seven other countries will significantly contribute to the global population's projected growth.

The "two is enough" campaign that has been launched in collaboration with the UN seeks to raise awareness among Egyptian women about the importance of birth control and to educate them about contraceptive methods.

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