National ‘2 is Enough’ Campaign Seeks to Curb Egypt’s Overpopulation

Recent statistics reveal a 750,000 hike in Egypt’s population within the past 170 days, according to CAPMAS. With these numbers in mind, the national ‘2 is Enough’ campaign is trying to change deep-rooted practices within Egyptian society that compels families to grow as wide and large as possible. 

The campaign - led by the Ministry of Social Solidarity - is an Egyptian initiative empowering Egyptian families with the necessary tools and knowledge to make informed family planning decisions, and ideally limit the number of children to two per household. The ministry is working in a collaboration between various Egyptian institutions, including Dar Al Ifta and the Ministry of Health and Population, with partial funding from the United Nations Population Fund.

The project was kickstarted in 2018 and has since reached the homes of one million Egyptian women, educating families on positive parenting, contraception methods, and the dangers of overpopulation. The campaign also aims to promote new healthy family dynamics, and the appeal of a ‘small family’ as opposed to the Egyptian understanding of ezwa, on top of organizing workshops across over ten governorates and distributing educational booklets. ‘2 Is Enough’ has 1,250 female volunteers bringing the campaign to life.