An ad hoc committee will plan and conduct a workshop to explore the determinants of the slow fertility transition in sub-Saharan Africa. The workshop participants (including African population specialists) will discuss various commissioned papers and presentations with topics that include:

• Levels, trends, and differentials in fertility in sub-Saharan Africa;
• Proximate determinants of fertility (i.e., use of contraception, marriage and cohabitation, abstinence, abortion, and postpartum infecundability);
• Reproductive preferences and their implementation (i.e., unmet need, demand for contraception, and desired family size);
• Socio-economic trends and their impact on fertility;
• The status of family planning programs and their impact;
• The prospects for faster declines in fertility and ways they might be achieved.

The goal of the proposed workshop is to provide explanations for past trends, including the importance of country specific factors and the public policies and programs that influence fertility, and to assess prospects of fertility change in the region. An individually authored summary of the presentations and discussions at the workshop will be prepared by a designated rapporteur and issued in accordance with institutional policies and procedures. A scholarly journal may be approached to publish selected commissioned papers following the workshop.