“The youth have an important role to play in ensuring that population growth is managed .Abstain and plan your families, and if you are already married choose family planning methods that will help control the population boom.” Phiso said this at the official launch of the National Youth Conference Pre-symposium on population and development.

The Minister said the youth are keys in shaping a country’s development. “The Government recognizes that young people play a critical role in population, health and sustainable development, which are some of the key aspirations in the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy (MGDS) 111.”

(MGDS) III, which covers 2017-2022, is the country’s homegrown policy for developing the country designed to contribute to Malawi’s long term aspirations. It is a successor to the MGDS 11 which was implemented between 2011 and 2016.

The Government says the strategy—seen as a roadmap development agenda - has potential to reduce poverty and create wealth through improving the economy, production and productivity.

On her part , National Youth Council of Malawi board chairperson Hellen Buluma said the conference was important because the council wants the youths to be instrumental in developing the country and controlling its population .

“The population of Malawi is full of youths .We would like our youths to have one voice to bring change when they meet their counterparts at an international gathering. They are the change we need in controlling population,” she said.

The Conference, an annual event which connects youth Malawian leaders and development partners to review the status of youth participation and leadership in HIV and Aids and Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) programming in Malawi.

The country’s population has escalated from four million in 1966 to 17.5 million, according to the 2018 Population and Housing census.

Health and population experts blame the country’s population boom on high fertility rates of women, who on average can bear six children.