mand for family planning has increased dramatically in some countries, and the decline in birthrates ,limited as recently as a decade ago to only a few countries in the region, appears to be spreading steadily across the continent.
             In much of Africa, however, large families are still the norm. This situation is reinforced by low levels of education, particularly among women, and social barriers to the full economic
             participation of women. Yet, school enrollment rates declined or came to a standstill during the economic crisis many African countries experienced in the 1980s. Compared to countries in other developing regions, African countries have only recently begun to adopt population policies and initiate family planning and related reproductive health programs. However, African governments increasingly recognize the individual and societal benefits of smaller families. In the last decade there has been steady growth in the number of countries establishing national family planning programs and in the scope of these efforts.
             Still, Sub-Saharan Africa has a long way to go. In addition to meeting the growing need for family planning and reproductive health services, African countries must expand access to education for girls and economic opportunities for women. This will require significantly increased financial contributions from African governments and house-holds, as well as international donors.
             In sum, addressing poor reproductive health and rapid population growth is a daunting
             task requiring comprehensive action on many different fronts. A priority area is population growth. This is a function of birth or fertility, mortality, and net migration.
             Sub-Saharan Africa lags behind other regions in its demographic transition. The total fertility rate, the total number of children the average woman has in a lifetime. For Sub-Saharan Africa as a whole has remained at about 6.5 for the past 25 years, whil...