BUJUMBURA, November 14th (ABP) – The demographic data of Bujumbura province (Western Burundi) are worrying and show a very high rate of population growth, if nothing is done to get the people to take responsibility. This was disclosed during a press conference organized on Friday, November 10, 2023, at the headquarters of that province by the Twitezimbere project in its program “Multi-actor engagement for family planning”, in collaboration with the National Reproductive Health Program (PNSR).
At this press conference, the chief of staff in the office of the governor of the Bujumbura province, Mr. Dieudonné Bizimana, revealed that the available data show that in 2022, the population amounted to 771,964 inhabitants with a density of 671.8 hab/ km2 and per month, at least between 1500 to 2000 children are registered with the Marital Status.
He called on communal administrators and zone leaders to take the lead and raise awareness among the people without tiring. He urged health officials to involve the administration in the trips they make, in order to work in synergy.
According to Mr. Sadique Niyonkuru, head of the Information, Education and Communication department at the PNSR, Bujumbura province remains the last of all provinces with a low rate of adoption of contraceptive methods, 15.8%. He asked stakeholders to act without delay because tomorrow will be too late. According to him, the family planning practice has many advantages because mothers obtain pristine health as well as their offspring, children continue studies without difficulty and the State spends less on health care. The person in charge of reproductive health at the provincial office reported that the level of family planning in Bujumbura province is not satisfactory but noted slight progress and recommended continuing awareness-raising among couples and young people.
The Provincial Director of Education, Mr. Raphaël Ciza, revealed that unwanted pregnancies in schools and in the neighborhood, during the 2022-2023 school year, amount to 77 pupils in total, including 32 from primary school, stressing that supervisors in youth-friendly health centers should no longer invite young people to use condoms but rather to return to traditional upbringing, which prohibits children from sexual wandering.