AFIDEP - What we do
Program highlights
Population Association of America, New Orleans, Louisiana
The Population Association of America (PAA) is a nonprofit, scientific, professional organization established to promote the improvement, advancement and progress of the human race through research of problems related to human population. PAA members include demographers, sociologists, economists, public health professionals, and other individuals interested in research and education in the population field. PAA was conceived... Read more
"Perfect Storm” of Climate Change and Population Growth Brewing in African Sahel, Experts Warn
The vast region of Africa known as the Sahel will descend into large-scale drought, famine, war and terrorist control if immediate, coordinated steps are not taken to avert the perfect storm of climate change and the most rapidly growing population in the world, a group of experts from the University of California, Berkeley, and the African Institute for Development Policy (AFIDEP), concluded in a report released today, which ... Read more
Population Dynamics, Climate Change, and Sustainable Development in Sub-Saharan Africa: Lessons from Kenya and Malawi, Washington DC, USA
A large share of the population of Africa is living in marginalized areas that are susceptible to climate variation and extreme weather events. Population growth is occurring most rapidly in sub-Saharan Africa, increasing vulnerability to the projected impacts of climate change. Incorporating population dynamics into climate change mitigation and adaptation in these areas can help organizations better understand and addr... Read more
The Demographic Dividend: It’s Not Just for Demographers Anymore, Washington, USA
Demography is not destiny, but population dynamics can have profound impacts on the course of history. Ministers across sectors, from health and education to finance and security, are talking about the “demographic dividend”—the economic boost that comes from falling birthrates and strategic investments. Researchers and policymakers alike are asking: what can we learn from countries like South Korea and Singapore, where the de... Read more
4th Annual East African Health & Scientific Conference, Kigali, Rwanda
The East African Health and Scientific Conference (EAHSC) is an initiative of the East African Community, based on the East African Community Treaty. It is organized annually around themes of regional and universal interest which foster cooperation in the development and provision of quality healthcare. The Regional approach offers a framework for solving public health problems that go beyond the geographic national boundari... Read more
Realizing the Demographic Dividend (DD) for Africa, Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire
The demographic dividend (DD) represents a golden opportunity for many developing countries to experience accelerated economic growth as a result of population changes. Africa in particular is ideally positioned to: (1) Create the opportunity for a DD and, (2) Develop an environment conducive to r... Read more
Science Café: Family Planning in Kenya, how is the government positioning itself to maintain the national progress made in the devolvement?
In 1978, Kenya’s total fertility rate was about 8.3, the highest in the world. By the early 80s Kenya became one of the very few countries alongside Botswana and Zimbabwe to implement a national Family Planning (FP) program. Since then the country’s fertility narrative tells of a history marked with fertility declines, stagnation and lately a revitalized slowing of number of children a woman has as a result of renewed efforts ... Read more
Achieving the Demographic Dividend: A Window of Opportunity for sub-Sahara Africa
Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) is home to about 900 million people and this population is projected to grow to 2 billion by 2050. The population has a youthful age structure, with 43% of the population below the age of 15 years. This age structure, which is primarily a result of persistently high fertility at a time when mortality has been steadily declining, exerts an enormous burden on the economy and undermines the cap... Read more
People and the planet
In December 2012, AFIDEP was proud to host, Sir John Sulston FRS, the Nobel Laureate in Physiology/Medicine 2002 and Chair of the Royal Society, People and the planet report. Sir John's, visit in Kenya involved visiting the Korogocho slum, a rapidly growing urban informal settlement, as well as giving a Public Lecture on ‘People and the planet – how can we all live and flourish on a finite Earth?’ held at the 8-4-4 building i... Read more
Population Dynamics, Climate Change and Sustainable Development in Kenya Report Launch
Kenya is characterized by a rapidly growing population, rapid urbanization and growing urban poverty, water scarcity, falling food production and low resilience to climate change. The combined effects of climate change and rapid population growth are increasing food insecurity, environmental degradation and poverty levels in Kenya. Kenya has been a pioneer in instituting policies and programmes to address population challeng... Read more
Launch of the State of World Population Report 2012, 14th November 2012.
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) compiles a yearly report on the state of World Population which gives special attention to indicators which help tract the progress in meeting the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The area of focus this year is on Family planning which not only has an impact on choice-and therefore family size-but als... Read more
AFIDEP Partners with University of California (Berkeley) to identify lasting solutions to the population, environmental, and climate change challenges in the Sahel
In a continent with many big problems, the Sahel is the part of sub-Sahara Africa that faces some of the biggest. It includes countries and regions with the most rapid population growth in the world and it is extraordinarily vulnerable to climate change. Big problems generally have more than one cause. Solutions are only possible when experts from more than one discipline work together. That is what this meeting is all abou... Read more
AFIDEP launches three new projects to guide policy and program responses on family planning, child health, and climate change
During the second half of 2011, AFIDEP launched three policy-targeted projects that seek to generate evidence to guide efforts to address the high levels of unmet need for family planning, reduce the huge inequities in child health and wellbeing, and promote integration of population dynamics and climate change in Africa. 1. Assessment of Drivers of Progress in Increasing Contraceptive use in sub-Saharan Africa Despite... Read more
AFIDEP participates in world-changing family planning summit in London
The event On July 11th, 2012, the UK Government, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with UNFPA, and other development partners will host the London Summit on Family Planning. This groundbreaking conference will mobilize global policy, financing commodity, and service delivery commitments in order to support the right to contraceptive use, services, and supplies. The summit will call for unprecedented international com... Read more
A groundbreaking launch: The lancet special issue on family planning
On July 9th, 2012, The Lancet launched a major new series revealing the evidence of the effects of population growth on people’s well being and the environment. In line with the July 11th, 2012 DfID- Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Family Planning Summit in London, The Lancet Special Issue on Family Planning provides the scientific evidence to help justify the need for accelerated investments in family planning and inc... Read more
AFIDEP advocates for incorporation of population dynamics in the future we want at Rio+20
The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in June 2012. At this conference, world leaders, along with thousands of participants from governments, the private sector, NGOs and other groups, came together to shape the initial action steps on how we can reduce poverty, advance social equity and ensure environmental protection on an ever more crowded planet. Rio+20 focus... Read more
AFIDEP highlights the role of political will to increasing contraceptive use in Africa
Violet Murunga, AFIDEP’s Knowledge Translation Officer, presented a discussion on “Population and Family Planning in Africa” on June 5th, 2012 at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars in Washington, DC. Part of the Southern Voices conference, the talk illustrated findings on the role of political will in increased contraceptive use in Rwanda, Malawi, and Ethiopia. Read News Feature in Voice of America So... Read more
“People and the Planet”…. and AFIDEP
Rapid and widespread changes in global population, coupled with unprecedented levels of consumption, present profound challenges to human health and well-being and the natural environment. Although much is known about these linkages, they do not feature prominently in international debates about sustainable development. In the run up to the Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development in June 2012, the Royal Society... Read more
Putting evidence at the center of efforts to re-energize maternal health and family planning programs in Africa
IPPF-AR in collaboration with AFIDEP hosted a meeting in Nairobi last week Aug 31-Sept 2, 2011 to discuss research evidence on trends in maternal health and family planning in East, Southern and West Africa sub-regions. The meeting also discussed evidence on the factors that are driving better progress in African countries performing relatively well on MDG 5, which seeks to reduce maternal deaths by 75% and ensure universal ac... Read more
Guardian invites AFIDEP to weigh in on population growth debate
In a July 27th, 2011, Guardian Focus podcast, Madeleine Bunting asks about solutions to population growth. AFIDEP Executive Director Dr. Eliya Zulu says, "[They] are quite clear: in 1994 we had the Cairo ICPD conference, and at this conference it was agreed that governments in the Global South and the international community should mobilize all the resources necessary to educate couples so that they can make informed reproduc... Read more
AFIDEP co-hosts Population Footprints Symposium, Nairobi
Population Footprints Meeting in Nairobi 25TH -26TH May 2011 Southern Sun May Fair Hotel, Nairobi The African Institute for Development Policy (AFIDEP) and the National Coordinating Agency for Population and Development (NCAPD) organized a first Population Footprints meeting on May 25th – 26th, 2011 at the Southern Sun Hotel in Nairobi. The meeting was part of a larger international conference on Population Footprints... Read more
AFIDEP partners with IPPFAR and DFID to conduct evidence-based advocacy with Regional Economic Communities
AFIDEP is proud to announce partnership with the International Planned Parenthood Federation Africa Regional Office (IPPFAR) and the UK Department for International Development (DFID), entailing the documentation of and advocacy for advancement of Sexual Reproductive Health issues in sub-Saharan Africa. Click here for a detailed description of this project, "Evidence-Based Advocacy towards Ensuring Universal Access to Repr... Read more
Kenya moves to revitalize its family planning and population program
Kenya provides a very good example of why issues to do with family planning and reproductive health require sustained commitment, accountability, and investment. Alongside Zimbabwe and Botswana, Kenya pioneered fertility transition in sub-Saharan Africa in the late 1980s, a feat that many experts thought would not happen so soon in the region. The “unexpected” transition was a result of a concerted effort that the Kenyan gover... Read more
New Insights Into the Population Growth Factor in Development
The below article is a summary of the perspectives shared at a recent talk by several of AFIDEP's partners alongside AFIDEP Director Eliya Zulu at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, a think tank in Washingoton, D.C. This was originally posted on the blog of the Center's Environmental Change & Security Program. “We have not found any country that has developed or gotten out of poverty while maintainin... Read more
Enhancing Research Uptake in Policy and Programs
Research evidence is undoubtedly crucial for the formulation, implementation and evaluation of more effective and targeted development policies and programs. For many reasons, however, research evidence does not always inform development policies and programs. Consequently, there are renewed concerns on what should be done to bridge the gap between research, policy and action. Responding to these concerns, donors and, expe... Read more
Slowing Population Growth is Necessary to Addressing the Consequences of Climatic Change in Africa
Climate change is among today’s top global development challenges. Adaptation and mitigation programs have become a priority for governments and their development partners, especially in developing countries. What is often overlooked in global climate change discussion is the role of population growth and need for stabilizing the growth. Concern for this neglect spurred a meeting of climate change and population experts, a... Read more