Peace Without Poison

permanent methods of contraceptive (LA/PMs), which, alaments, currently cover only 2% of the population.US Aid subsidiary organizationThe strategy devised by the western sponsors of the Ouagadougou Declaration for Population,Development and Family Planning in Francophone West Africa to bypass the rule of law,democratic processes, and medical safeguards in order to achieve replacement level fertility byforcible and involuntary methods calls on Togo and all other nations of Western Africa to“democratize, demedicalize, and decentralize family planning interventions”.This desperation is elicited by the stratospheric population growth of the entire region, where thetotal fertility rate is the highest in the world at 5.5 children per woman and where adolescentpregnancies refuse to come down despite decades of effort and are by far the highest in theworld.Considering that Togo’s population has quintupled since 1961, that 61% of the people live inpoverty, and that unless the total fertility rate drops down to replacement level soon thepopulation will continue to double every 25 years, one can understand the urgency behind thecurrent population control efforts. What I cannot understand and find unforgivable is thedishonesty, illegality and immorality of the current approach, which turns medicine into thehandmaiden of genocide and government institutions and international organizations intovehicles of mass murder and mass deception.There is no excuse for these methods and no reason why they should continue. The onlyimpediment to open, fair, legal and ethical population control is lack of political leadership andindividual courage. I therefore urge you to show courage and provide leadership by informingyour people of what is at stake and by legislating family size restrictions.846 | P a g e