Global Studies Africa Textbook: An Open Global Historical Studies Textbook Main Menu East African Politics, Modern History, and International Relations Authors: Anna Bradley, Georgia Coffman, Madyson Duby, Danny Kovalak Art and Culture in East Africa Modern History of Western Africa Introduction for the Modern History of Western Africa chapter Arts and Culture in Western Africa Arts and Culture in Western Africa Chapter Introduction Medicine and Health in West Africa West African Natural Resources A brief summary of West African natural resources Natural Resources in Central Africa Natural Resources in Central Africa Art and Culture of Central Africa Arts and Culture in North Central Africa Economics and Infrastructure in the South African Region Healthcare in Southern Africa Author Credits

Family Planning

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The graph shows the distribution of contraception methods that are currently being utilized by the public as of 2016. In 2020, many governments in South Africa have implemented plans to spread this mix into more areas of the country so that family planning can become far more prevalent. The importance of family planning is so that households can grow at a consistent or manageable rate instead of at an exponential rate. Many times in impoverished countries, households begin to grow much faster than their income could hope to grow. Thus resulting in a household with too many mouthes to feed and not enough income to feed them. Here lies one of the biggest problems that is overlooked in many third world countries. In order for a country to have any hopes of having growth, it has to implement programs that encourage smart and safe growth on a per-household basis. By implementing family planning programs that offer such a wide mix as depicted in the graph above, the countries in South Africa have taken a step in the right direction of moving towards slow and steady growth that is built upon safe practices. 

Not only will a good family planning program manage the number of children per-household, but these programs can also increase the health of middle aged men and women who are sexually active or settling down to start a family. Family planning methods can decrease the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. This will lead to less spread of diseases that are infamous for claiming the lives of the African population such as HIV/aids. With less disease spreading, more young families can have confidence in attempting to start a family and incrementally growing the population in a safe manner so that more and more economic activity can occur. With a sense of safety for young families comes a market of goods and services in the medical field that can in turn yield great benefits and profits the entirety of the economy. [familyplanning2020.org/southafrica]

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  1. Economics of Health in South Africa Jennifer Coronado

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