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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Recent Fertility Trends in Sub-Saharan Africa: Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21857.
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Recent Fertility Trends
in Sub-Saharan Africa

WORKSHOP SUMMARY

Alexandra Beatty, Rapporteur

Committee on Population

Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education

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THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS

Washington, DC

www.nap.edu

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Recent Fertility Trends in Sub-Saharan Africa: Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21857.
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THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS    500 Fifth Street, NW    Washington, DC 20001

This activity was supported by Grant No. OPP1108017 from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Grant No. 2015-1927 from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and Grant No. 2014-39992 from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, with additional support from the National Academy of Sciences President’s Committee Fund. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization or agency that provided support for the project.

International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-38119-2
International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-38119-3
DOI: 10.17226/21857

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Printed in the United States of America

Suggested citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2016). Recent Fertility Trends in Sub-Saharan Africa: Workshop Summary. A. Beatty, Rapporteur. Committee on Population, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Recent Fertility Trends in Sub-Saharan Africa: Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21857.
×

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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Recent Fertility Trends in Sub-Saharan Africa: Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21857.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Recent Fertility Trends in Sub-Saharan Africa: Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21857.
×

STEERING COMMITTEE FOR WORKSHOP ON
THE DETERMINANTS OF RECENT TRENDS IN
FERTILITY IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

PETER J. DONALDSON (Chair), President Emeritus, The Population Council

JOHN BONGAARTS, The Population Council

JOHN G. CLELAND, Medical Demography, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

JULIE DaVANZO, RAND Corporation

PARFAIT ELOUNDOU-ENYEGUE, Department of Development Sociology, Cornell University

ALEX EZEH, African Population & Health Research Center, Nairobi, Kenya

JEAN-FRANÇOIS KOBIANÉ, Institut Supérieur des Sciences de la Population, Burkina, Faso

THOMAS J. PLEWES, Study Director

ALEXANDRA BEATTY, Rapporteur

MARY GHITELMAN, Program Assistant

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Recent Fertility Trends in Sub-Saharan Africa: Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21857.
×

COMMITTEE ON POPULATION
2015

KATHLEEN MULLAN HARRIS (Chair), Department of Sociology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

JERE R. BEHRMAN, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania

VICKI A. FREEDMAN, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan

MARK D. HAYWARD, Population Research Center, University of Texas at Austin

HILLARD S. KAPLAN, Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico

SARA S. MCLANAHAN, Center for Research on Child Wellbeing, Princeton University

EMILIO A. PARRADO, Department of Sociology, University of Pennsylvania

DAVID R. WEIR, Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan

JOHN R. WILMOTH, Population Division/DESA, United Nations

THOMAS J. PLEWES, Director

TINA M. LATIMER, Program Coordinator

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Recent Fertility Trends in Sub-Saharan Africa: Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21857.
×

Acknowledgments

This workshop report summarizes the discussions and presentations that took place at a workshop on the determinants of recent trends in fertility in sub-Saharan Africa. The workshop was sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. It was convened by the Committee on Population, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

We thank the experts on the science of demography and on population trends in Africa who served on the steering committee for this workshop. They provided invaluable guidance in developing the workshop, securing expert presentations, conducting the workshop, and serving as session chairs and discussants. Although the steering committee played a central role in designing and conducting the workshop, it did not actively participate in the writing of this workshop summary.

The presentations in the workshop were organized into five topical sessions, each designed to shed light on important determinants, consequences, effects, issues, and opportunities attending the trends in fertility in sub-Saharan Africa. In all, 23 presenters contributed presentations and led discussions during the two-day workshop held in Washington, DC, June 15-16, 2015. The presentations provoked an extraordinarily rich discussion among the participants, and this summary attempts to capture both the formal presentations and the ensuing discussion.

Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Recent Fertility Trends in Sub-Saharan Africa: Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21857.
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The excellent work of the staff of the Committee on Population and the Academies in developing, organizing, and supporting the workshop is acknowledged. The director of the Committee on Population, Thomas J. Plewes, and Mary Ghitelman, the project assistant, devoted long hours to ensuring a successful event. Alexandra Beatty served as rapporteur, taking on the challenging task of distilling the gist of the presentations and the essence of the discussions in this relatively brief report.

This workshop summary has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the Report Review Committee of the Academies. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published summary as sound as possible and to ensure that the summary meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this workshop report: John Bongaarts, vice president and distinguished scholar, The Population Council, New York, and David Lam, Institute for Social Research and Department of Economics, University of Michigan.

Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they did not see the final draft of the workshop summary before its release. The review of this summary was overseen by Jere R. Behrman, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania. Appointed by the institution, he was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this summary was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this summary rests entirely with the author and the institution.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Recent Fertility Trends in Sub-Saharan Africa: Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21857.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Recent Fertility Trends in Sub-Saharan Africa: Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21857.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Recent Fertility Trends in Sub-Saharan Africa: Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21857.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Recent Fertility Trends in Sub-Saharan Africa: Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21857.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Recent Fertility Trends in Sub-Saharan Africa: Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21857.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Recent Fertility Trends in Sub-Saharan Africa: Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21857.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Recent Fertility Trends in Sub-Saharan Africa: Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21857.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Recent Fertility Trends in Sub-Saharan Africa: Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21857.
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Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Recent Fertility Trends in Sub-Saharan Africa: Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21857.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Recent Fertility Trends in Sub-Saharan Africa: Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21857.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Recent Fertility Trends in Sub-Saharan Africa: Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21857.
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Fertility rates and population growth influence economic development. The marked declines in fertility seen in some developing nations have been accompanied by slowing population growth, which in turn provided a window of opportunity for rapid economic growth. For many sub-Saharan African nations, this window has not yet opened because fertility rates have not declined as rapidly there as elsewhere.

Fertility rates in many sub-Saharan African countries are high: the total rate for the region is estimated to be 5.1 births per woman, and rates that had begun to decline in many countries in the region have stalled. High rates of fertility in these countries are likely to contribute to continued rapid population growth: the United Nations projects that the region's population will increase by 1.2 billion by 2050, the highest growth among the regions for which there are projections.

In June 2015, the Committee on Population organized a workshop to explore fertility trends and the factors that have influenced them. The workshop committee was asked to explore history and trends related to fertility, proximate determinants and other influences, the status and impact of family planning programs, and prospects for further reducing fertility rates. This study will help donors, researchers, and policy makers better understand the factors that may explain the slow pace of fertility decline in this region, and develop methods to improve family planning in sub-Saharan Africa.

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