President Muhammadu Buhari has stressed the need for urgent measures to address Nigeria’s high fertility rate.
He sees this happening through expanding access to modern contraceptive methods across the country.
The president made the call when he inaugurated the Revised National Policy on Population for Sustainable Development, as well as the National Council on Population Management (NCPM), on Thursday, in Abuja.
The NCPM, chaired by the president, has the Vice-President as the deputy chairman with Heads of relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) as members.
According to the president, the overall goal of the country’s revised population policy was to improve the quality of life and standards of living of all Nigerians, one of the major aspirations of his administration.
”The policy emphasizes the urgency to address Nigeria’s sustained high fertility rate, through expanding access to modern family planning, counselling and commodities, as well as promoting birth spacing.
”This will enable Nigeria to achieve rapid fertility control, improve the health of women, adolescents, newborns and children, and other population groups,’’ he said.
Buhari noted that Nigeria’s population, the largest in Africa, seventh globally, and among the few whose fertility was still growing, was hinged on a youthful population.
This group had more than 72 per cent of them being below 30 years, while half of the female population are in their reproductive years of between 15 and 49 years.
”These levels have implications for sustained population growth and narrowed prospects to achieving population management, facilitating sufficient demographic transition, harnessing our demographic endowment and eventually realizing sustainable development,’’ he said.
On other highlights of the revised policy, the president explained that it underscored the importance of investing in the quality education of young people (particularly girls), human capital development, advancing a holistic effort, to achieve the significant demographic transition.
”The revised population policy is rich with all necessary information that will guide the implementation of Nigeria’s mid-term and perspective development plan.
”It will further address concerns of the large population of young people who are our pride, our future and assets to drive our development efforts”, Buhari said.
He noted that the implementation of the policy would require credible, reliable, timely, robust, geo-referenced and well-disaggregated data.
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Buhari expressed confidence that the data generated from the forthcoming census, would provide all the information needed for the successful implementation of the new policy.
Chairman, National Population Commission (NPC), Hon. Nasir Isa Kwara urged Nigerians to embrace the noble ideals of planned parenthood and healthy reproductive behaviours enunciated in the policy.
While enumerating some salient issues in the policy, Kwara noted that the reviewed policy was the product of extensive consultations and nationwide engagements with key stakeholders and interest groups.
He said the groups cut across the government’s sectoral ministries at national and states’ levels, civil society organisations, development partners, researchers, the media and the organised private sector.
On the NCPM, the NPC Chairman said the body was key to the implementation of the revised policy.
”In addition to providing a strategic direction in the implementation process, the Council will hopefully advocate for and support the conduct of the population and housing census.
”Thus providing accurate and up-to-date data to guide the implementation of the policy”, he added.
In his goodwill message, the UN Resident Coordinator, Nigeria, Matthias Schmale expressed confidence that the policy, launched by the president, was bound to be successful for several reasons.
”Firstly, the policy brings to the forefront the linkages between population and development and will inform work and services to improve the well-being and lives of Nigerians.
”Secondly, the policy is coming on the heels of the recently launched 2021-2025 National Development Plan, which focuses on making Nigeria the greatest economy in Africa and even more of a force to reckon with in the world.
”Thirdly, the successful implementation of the policy will very likely have positive implications for maternal health development, youth and adolescent rights and the empowerment of women and the girl child,” he added.
He commended the Nigerian government for launching the policy.
Schmale said the world and UN looked forward to a Nigeria with low maternal mortality; low teenage pregnancy and childbirth; reduced fertility rate, increased utilisation of modern contraceptive methods and high education attainment, among others.
According to him, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), which is responsible for providing support for the generation of quality data, will continue to work with the NPC to help ensure that Nigeria’s forthcoming census met local and international standards and acceptability.
