UCLA Center for the Study of Women

Sub-Saharan Africa has been experiencing steady population growth since the beginning of the twentieth century. The latest United Nations projections, published in March 2007, estimated a figure of 1.5 to 2 billion inhabitants by the year 2050. Recommended by the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in 1994, the integration of reproductive health (RH) and family planning (FP) in various health services of Africa and other developing countries is highly controversial. It is supported by the World Health Organization, but it has been difficult to accomplish in view of the weak health systems and the lack of human and material resources.