President Buhari Moves To Curb High Fertility Rate, Launches Policy | READ DETAILS

In a bid to reduce high fertility rate in Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari has launched the Revised National Policy on Population for Sustainable Development.

The President launched the policy on Thursday, February 3, 2022 alongside the inauguration of the National Council on Population Management (NCPM).

During the launch, President Buhari stressed on the need to urgently address the country’s high fertility rate through expanding access to modern contraceptive methods.

A release signed by Femi Adesina, Special Adviser to the President on Media & Publicity, quoted the President as saying;

”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 promote births spacing.

”This will enable Nigeria to achieve rapid fertility control, improve the health of women, adolescents, new born and children, and other population groups.’’

”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 promote births spacing.

”This will enable Nigeria to achieve rapid fertility control, improve the health of women, adolescents, new born and children, and other population groups”.

President Buhari noted that Nigeria’s population, which is the largest in Africa, seventh globally and among the few whose fertility is still growing, is hinged on a youthful population, with more than 72 percent of them being below 30 years while half of the female population are in their reproductive years (15-49 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.’’

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 noted that implementation of the policy would require credible, reliable, timely, robust, geo-referenced and well dis-aggregated data. He however expressed confidence that the data generated from the forthcoming census, will provide all the information needed for the successful implementation of the new policy.

On his own part, the Chairman, National Population Commission (NPC), Hon. Nasir Isa Kwarra urged Nigerians to embrace Planned Parenthood and healthy reproductive behaviours as stipulated in the revised policy.