The World - News from Jan. 16, 1986

Kenya announced a $50-million program aimed at reducing the East African nation’s nearly 4% annual population growth, reportedly the highest in the world. The program rejects abortion and forced sterilization but calls for increasing distribution of free contraceptives and introducing family-planning education in elementary and high schools. At the current rate, Kenya’s population could double, to about 36 million by the year 2000, according to the World Bank. The government says Kenyan women give birth to an average of 7.9 children each.