§ 16. Mr. James Johnsonasked the Minister of Overseas Development what technical assistance he is giving the 1568 Mauritius Government in the field of family planning.
§ Mr. OramAn expert adviser was sent out by the Ministry in 1965 at the request of the Government of Mauritius to survey the problem. A family planning programme has now been introduced and we are trying to recruit an administrator for this programme and two gynaecologists to work under it.
§ Mr. JohnsonWill the Minister agree that a population explosion is now imminent in South-East Asia? Will he also agree that the Government of Japan has, in the last decade, changed this by conscious family planning, and will he keep on with his efforts in Mauritius where the population density has reached 1,100 or 1,200 per square mile?
§ Mr. OramI agree with my hon. Friend about the seriousness of the population explosion, and the Ministry is concerned about this problem. My right hon. Friend is due in a few days' time to attend a Colombo Plan Conference in Karachi on Population Growth and Economic Development.