Raising awareness and encouraging the population to family planning through several field visits

“As representatives of the Burundian population, we will raise awareness and encourage the population to family planning through several field visits”.

On 20-21 June 2019 Members of the permanent commissions of the Parliament of Burundi gathered in Ngozi to discuss the implementation of the programme of Action of the International Conference on population and Development (ICPD) and ways to accelerate the promise of the ICPD agenda in Burundi. Under the Leadership of the 2nd Vice President of the National Assembly, MPs made a ten-points recommendation and commitments to accelerate the promise:

1) Conduct an in-depth analysis of the priorities by parliamentarians to prepare a Parliament’s multi-year action plan jointly with UNFPA.
2) Exchange experiences with other countries in Africa and Asia on management of population growth and reaping demographic dividend
3) Encourage men to use contraceptive methods and accompany them.
4) Increase the legal age of marriage from 21 to 23 for men and from 18 to 21 for women.
5) Provide incentive to couples who have made efforts to plan their family and reduce them for non-adhering households.
6) Support Integration the family planning education into schools.
7) Encourage representatives of religious denominations to organize ecumenical prayer crusades in which themes of well-being and demographic growth would be developed.
8) Coach and empower youth to foster skilled youthful workforce.
9) Encourage responsible traditional education with the family, in favor of a birth limitation to prevent excessive population pressure on limited land.
10) Fight early marriages and polygamy.