Nigeria’s rising population, now put at 198 million by the National Population Commission (NPC) amid increased youth unemployment, poor infrastructural development and distressed economy, has lent credence to the need for the country’s leaders to increase investment in family planning.
Nigeria is already identified as the country with the most rapidly-expanding population in the world such that by 2050, she could become the third most populous country in the world.
Medical experts have expressed concerns over the implications of the population figure which makes Nigeria the seventh largest country in the world amid poor health indices and a limping economy.
They are worried that Nigeria is breeding human beings with very little effort to cater for them, stressing that a major factor that triggers population growth is increased birth rate.
Citing its numerous health and economic benefits,experts have maintained that government must prioritise family planning and ensure that all women enjoy their right to decide whether, when or how often to become pregnant
Studies have shown that population, if not planned for, poses lots of challenges in various areas such as the provision of infrastructure, adequate health care system and service , appropriate educational system and employment for the populace .
To address the problem, stakeholders suggest that the federal, state and local governments, including traditional and religious leaders must sit up and key into family planning, assuring that family planning remains the right solution to challenges of Nigeria’s rising population.
They insisted that keying into family planning is still the solution to Nigeria’s rising population.
Medical experts believe that government needs to appreciate the role of family planning as a key strategy towards population control.
While Nigerians on their part must look at the benefits of family planning and stop bringing religious sentiments to its usage, thereby hampering policies that could help check rise in population.
Citing its numerous health and economic benefits,experts have maintained that government must prioritise family planning and ensure that all women enjoy their right to decide whether, when or how often to become pregnant.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), family planning allows individuals and couples to anticipate and attain their desired number of children and the spacing and timing of their births. This, WHO said, could be achieved through the use of contraceptive methods.
Family planning helps people in Africa to be healthier and wealthier, as women without contraceptives become locked in “ a cycle of poverty,” says Melinda Gates.
“When a woman has access to contraceptives, she can lift herself out of poverty, and if she doesn’t have access to contraceptives, it locks her inside a cycle of poverty for the rest of her life,” said the wife of Microsoft co-founder and billionaire Bill Gates, whose Foundation is very active in the field.
“Family planning has huge health benefits for the woman and for her children, and it has economic benefits, ” she noted.
Despite its critical role in child spacing and population control,evidence shows that the current Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (CPR) in the country is unacceptably low, and has been one of the factors responsible for the increasing incidence of unintended pregnancies.
Worried about the figure, the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, said if the country failed to do anything about the growing population now , by 2050, Nigeria would be the third largest country in the world, a situation the country could not afford .
He said, “ Our population is increasing yet the land mass remains the same. We can’t even begin to imagine the type of challenges we are facing. We must do something .”
Adewole said the country must increase contraceptive prevalence and “we must increase end users and improve service provider capacity and make sure that we are not out of stock.”
Also, Dr Nze Egbule, a public health expert, said: “Population growth in Nigeria is very fast and influences different spheres of people’s lives.”
“Some of the imminent and unavoidable results of the continuous increase in human population include human congestion, high unemployment rate, environmental pollution and degradation, depletion of resources and weather modification.
“ Others are unhygienic living conditions, elevated crime rate, conflicts, political instability, scarce resources, hunger and high rates of disease spread.’’
On the challenges facing the use of family planning, medical experts,say most of the reasons are based on misconceptions, cultural and religious beliefs.
To address the myths and misconceptions around family planning, Mrs Cecilia Oluborode, Chief Nursing Officer at Ibafon PHC, said: “Though the decision to use a family planning method is a voluntary one, the user should, however, be well informed.
“This is because there are many methods to use and each has advantages and minimal disadvantages, depending on someone’s body system.”
Health watchers also believe that there is need for the Federal Government to intensify the campaign for contraceptives use by ensuring that the services are available in all Primary Health Centres across the 774 local government areas of the country free of charge.
