Accessibility and Use of Family Planning Information (FPI) by Rural People in Kilombero District, Tanzania‪.‬

Introduction Rapid population growth is of major concern worldwide. Every twelve or thirteen years, another billion people are added to the world's population, majority of them from developing countries (Brown et al., 1999). Although fertility levels are falling in many parts of the world, rapid population growth remains a critical issue in most developing countries where needs are great and resources are scarce (Upadhyay and Robey, 1999). The population of Tanzania has almost tripled in 35 years. It has grown from 12, 313,469 persons in the first post-independence census held in 1967 to 34,569,232 persons counted in the census held in August 2002, with the population growth rate of 2.9% (World Bank, 2003; United Republic of Tanzania, 2003). It is estimated that Tanzania's population will grow to 35.4 million in 2010 despite the effects of Acquired Immune-Deficiency Syndrome [AIDS] (United Nations Population Division, 2005). In Tanzania, 74% of the population live in rural areas (World Bank, 1999). It is in the rural areas that the population is still growing at a higher rate amidst poor social and economic infrastructure support. Consequences of population growth can potentially restrain investments in human capital and provision of services that are important towards fulfilment of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).