To think that comic relief would do well to sponsor some birth control?

[kreecherlivesupstairs]

I haven't seen a lot of the comic relief programmes, but, I saw the four celebs in the slum in Kenya and was horrified by the number of children who won't see their 5th birthdays.
Surely, along with the mosquito nets, supplying some sort of BC would greatly improve the lives of the residents.
One family, the one Lenny Henry was with had eight children already. I am aware of the cultural mores, but eight? Bloody Nora.

I think they do. Or at least one of the other charities that they support do. My friends kids catholic primary school ban collecting or funraising for comic relief only because they support birth control.

OP - have you heard of the Catholic church? Many societies view birth control with suspicion and won't use it as a result. No I know they are not all Catholics but it's the same principle.

Poverty? All these things cost more money than most families can hope to earn. Yeas it means they go on having children they also cannot afford but given the circumstances it's not surprising.

I sponser a little girl in Burkina Faso - the agency I sponser through has worked in the area for over 25 years - there are no short term solutions sadly.

Birth control is pushed by local health workers in many of these areas but cultural change takes time.

well, there is also the fact that so many children won't see their 5th birthday and the fact that there's no benefit system and if you can't look after yourself you're screwed and you rely on children to ensure you survive old age!

Used to be pretty much the same here, if the history books I read are right.

Hmmm. Don't forget, if you live in poverty in some countries, having a large family is pretty much the only way to guarantee you will be looked after in old age. Some of the children are likely to die, the girls will be married, and so it is crucial for many families to have a few boys who will bring in enough money to support their aging parents. The only way to guarantee that is a large family.

We used to do the same in England a few hundred years ago.

Plus in many countries women don't always have a lot of control over their fertility.

Money would be better spent on education - particularly for girls to enable them to become economically independent and able to make their own choices(plus research shows money spent on women tends to lead to better long term outcomes for communities than if given to men).

Oops - x posts Hecate.

that's ok. You put it far better than I did, anyway.

Nah, I reckon 'you're screwed' says it all really!

Agree with scroobius, except i think it was much less than a few hundred years ago we used to do the same. My grandad came from a family of 14, born poor in Bristol in 1912.

This is why I generally don't donate (at least not in a significant way) to those charities - I tend to stick to local ones. It's like trying to stick a tiny plaster on an amputation wound.

Unfortunately attitudes are that men can and should have sex with many women without protection (basically it is their right) and birth rates will continue to be cripplingly high in these places. I really don't think attitudes will ever change.

I'm half Kenyan - my grandmother had 12 kids. I'd imagine that they weren't all expected to survive, but they did! Luckily my grandfather had the means to support them.

I imagine that those having a lot of children are very Catholic, like my family are. In addition, there could be more education about contraception - I am absolutely sure (from the Kenyan women I've spoken to) that the women would be much more willing to use the pill, than the men would to use a condom, but condoms are the most widely available contraceptive.

Education is all well and good, but in Kenya you see droves of children walking to and from school. There aren't enough jobs. I absolutely advocate education but there is no one solution, so saying we 'should' spend more money on a particular thing, won't work.

If it was up to me, I'd personally start by making sure everyone had energy. It's a country with well over 300 days of sunlight per year - my grandfather put solar panels on top of his huts - voila, electricity and the ability to sterilise water.

Then, I'd topple the government ...

Oh, Heartskipsabeat - yes, there are cultural norms that mean men can basically shag around. But people in 'these places' aren't stupid, change has already happened, is happening and will continue to happen.

Well, there has been an example of a government taking fertility as a strategic issue - China and the "one child" policy.

The level of global population is a relevant concern, but the picture becomes a bit more complex when you factor in issues such as amount of resources each person consumes depending on where they live (the extreme example is to compare the US child to the Congolese child).

And, as noted above, family means different things if you rely on having surviving children to provide for you in your old age because you expect no other forms of support.

Reduction in family size is likely to follow improvements to population health, together with changes to the role of the female in that society. So things like clean water, malaria nets, immunisation and education will also be relevant in that goal.

I don't think, as a humanitarian concern, it would be right to downgrade the amelioration of the conditions which exist right now. But of course seeking to shape what the future generation might be like can also be a worthy aim.

HeartSkips "Attitude are that men can and should have sex with many women". A bit like Britain then, have you seen most major cities on a saturday night.

True :(

But the difference between us and LEDCs is that we are more likely to use birth control. Not likely enough it seems, but still more likely than them AFAIK.

The United Nations Millennium Goals were developed to try and end poverty by 2015. The goals are multifaceted but include providing access to contraception for all, but it is not that easy to achieve.
www.un.org/millenniumgoals/

Mahraih - my husband is Kenyan, a Kikuyu. He is one of 10. all survived to adulthood, but sadly 2 died as adults (one accident, one illness)

The government is a hell of an improvement on the Moi lot! I am hopeful of real change.

Of course, if the british hadn't gone in in the first place in the normal arrogant way and decided that they were going to take the land and declare themselves Lord And Master, I suspect things would have evolved somewhat differently in Keeeeeeeeeeenyah and we wouldn't be seeing such a bastardised system.

I agree with the education of girls and women whole heartedly, but, if they are catholics I wish Popey would get his head out of his arse and recognise that families could do with being able to control the number of children.
It makes me really angry to think that children die from want of cheap, basic medicine.