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The Egyptian government is “frightened” by the number of babies being born in the country, a health official has said.

Health ministry official, Amr Hassan told the media that the government is “frightened” and “alarmed” by the current birth rates of one child being born every 15 seconds, urging for a plan to balance the population.

He added that Egypt needs to change the culture of reproduction among members of society, especially in villages where birth rates are particularly high.

In the 2017 census, figures showed more than 20 million babies were born in Egypt over the past decade.

Shortly after the report was revealed, Egyptian media swiftly began to mock society for the high birth rates, blaming women for giving birth, rather than the lack of family planning provisions – especially in rural areas.

"I am forced to say this because no one else is, but why are women always giving birth? Why are they not taking contraceptives?", Amr Adeeb – a pro-Sisi journalist said at the time.

"Four children born every minute, that's one every 15 seconds," he cried at the camera - he then looked at his watch and shouted "here, another one was just born".

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