Countering ICPD25: Population, Underdevelopment Narratives, Ploy to Impoverish Africa

“I will say that corruption steals the public resources and with a few billionaires and majority poor people, then they are perceived as poor; poor because they have been made poor by this rotting, mismanagement of public resources,” Prof. Mbugua concluded.

Speaking to ACI Africa, CitizenGO Campaigns Director for Africa region Anne Kioko, said that money which is given to Africa in the form of grants and aids is awarded with conditions that the recipients fulfil some agenda. 

“With our governments, especially the third-world countries, we are given money with attachments,” she said and continued, “If you're given some money, you're told you have to legalize abortion, you have to legalize homosexuality, you have to legalize or start offering a curriculum like comprehensive sexuality education in your country.”

“The most unfortunate thing is that our countries need the money, but now this money comes from these big powers who have an agenda,” she added.

The sentiments by Ms. Kioko were shared by  Richard Augustine Kakeeto, one of the organizers of the side events who told ACI Africa, “I would admit for sure that our leaders whether in the Church or in the civil world have a tendency to overlook many things when an opportunity for a grant comes up.”  

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“Chances are usually, that the grant maker sets their standards and you redefine your mission almost, so that you may get that grant,” Kakeeto who lectures at CUEA said and continued, “there is a connection between population and power. When a country has many people even if it is poor, that country is moving towards power.”

“Many European nations including Denmark are below 1.7 total fertility rate. Africa is above 3.5. Actually, they're coming into Kenya because partly Kenya is doing very well in controlling its population,” Kakeeto who is a Lay Franciscan told ACI Africa in reference to lamentations that developed countries are advancing family planning and abortion agenda in Africa.  

Quoting Pope Francis’ Encyclical, Laudato Si, Kakeeto added, “population is not our problem, for you to blame the population on the damage to the environment, for you to blame the population on climate change is to miss the point; the real problem is how we consume, the greed that we have as human beings.”

Various organizations have voiced their concerns about ICPD25, with the Kenya Christian Professionals’ Forum (KCPF) organizing a parallel conference to counter ICPD25 and the Holy See making known its stance of not supporting the “Nairobi Statement on ICPD25: Accelerating the Promise.”

Magdalene Kahiu is a Kenyan journalist with passion in Church communication. She holds a Degree in Social Communications from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA). Currently, she works as a journalist for ACI Africa.