Abdel Fattah El-Sisi: On the African continent, within a few years, we will reach more than 1.6 billion people, and the resources in Africa are (abundant), but they cannot take care of (it) all, Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar, health and population minister, said that the problem of a growing population is the greatest challenge for Egypt, both now and in the future CAIRO: Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi announced on Tuesday that the Global Congress on Population, Health, and Development will be organized in the North African country annually. El-Sisi’s remarks came as he addressed the congress, which continues until Friday in the New Administrative Capital. While some countries have been able to control population growth, a number have not, El-Sisi said, adding that the resources available in Africa will not be able to meet the needs of the population in the future. “For example, on the African continent, within a few years, we will reach more than 1.6 billion people, and the resources in Africa are (abundant), but they cannot take care of (it) all,” he said. Organizing this congress on an annual basis is essential in light of this pressing issue, the president said. “Egypt has a population of 105 million people, in addition to 9 million who are guests of the state, and it is able, with its resources, to manage things,” he added. “During the 1950s, the gap between state resources and population growth was approximately 10-12 percent and the population ranged between 19 and 20 million people. The gap was not large. “This gap has (grown) over the past 75 years and is reflected in the quality of the educational and health (services) provided to citizens,” El-Sisi said. Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar, health and population minister, said that the problem of a growing population is the greatest challenge for Egypt, both now and in the future. “It hinders the wheel of economic growth and eats up all development returns, which affects the level of services provided to citizens and their standard of living,” he said. “This requires us to work to achieve a balance between economic growth and population growth to ensure the … well-being (of) all,” Abdel-Ghaffar added. The minister presented El-Sisi with a copy of Egypt’s National Strategy for Population and Development 2023–2030. Hala El-Said, minister of planning and economic development, said controlling population growth is not a new challenge. Despite recent efforts to slow down fertility rates, Egypt, during the last 10 years, has added approximately 25 million people to its population, El-Said said. The congress, held under the slogan “Healthy Population for Sustainable Development,” seeks to highlight the relationship between population, health, and sustainable development, and proposes a roadmap to face global challenges.