The Kisumu county government has asked residents to use modern family planning methods.
Kisumu Governor Jack Ranguma’s wife said rapid population growth could hinder major government development plans, including the Vision 2030.
Olivia Ranguma said the government has faced challenges of feeding Kenyans in the face of drought, and there is need for Kenyans to embrace family planning.
She however said the county government will not dictate to residents how many children to have, but that people should have children that they are able to give quality life to.
Olivia said despite safe planning methods, contraceptive intake in Kisumu is still low.
“Our people need to embrace safe methods,” she said.
She added that high population will strain social services and increase poverty levels if the government fails to control population growth.
She challenged residents to embrace family planning and adopt small family models to spur economic and development growth.
“Huge population will strain social services and increase poverty levels if the government fails to control population growth,” she said.
Olivia urged women to go for family planning in order to be empowered.
“Family planning in Kisumu is still poor, standing at 45 per cent compared to the national 46 per cent,” she said.
She noted that family planning empowers women and is essential to enjoyment of other human rights.
"It contributes to the reduction of poverty and hunger and would avert 32 per cent of maternal deaths and nearly 10 per cent of childhood deaths if it were available to all," Olivia said.
County Executive for Health Dr Elizabeth Ogaja said family planning will help residents to give birth to children they can manage to bring up.
Dr Ogaja said safe planning also helps women to recover fully after giving birth before having another child hence reduce maternal mortality rate.
They were speaking during the medical camp organised by Marie Stopes Kenya and the county government at Obambo beach in Kisumu West on Monday.
A report by three United Nations agencies and the World Bank suggests that family planning was a contributor to halving the number of maternal deaths worldwide between 1990 and 2010.
It says East Asia has made the greatest progress in preventing maternal deaths and has a contraceptive prevalence rate of 84 per cent while Sub Saharan Africa, which has the highest rate of maternal deaths, has a contraceptive prevalence rate of 22 per cent.
“Although family planning is cost-effective, hundreds of millions of women, especially those who are young or socially and economically disadvantaged, do not have access to modern contraceptive services and information,” says the series.
Paul Kizito from the National Coordinating Agency for Population and Development said couples should give birth to children they can manage to bring up.
Experts are warning of strained social services and increased poverty levels if the government fails to control population growth.