Thursday, 13 July 2017

World Population Day: Nigeria adds 52.22 million people in 12 years


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Nigeria has added 52.22 million people to its population in the last 12 years as the country presently comprise 2.55 per cent of the global population, according to data from worldometers, a global real time statistics and data platform.
Experts said poor family planning habits have ballooned the country’s population to 191.89 million, making it the country with the 7th highest number of people in the world.
“I specially implore all partners working with us in Nigeria to eliminate all barriers to access in family planning and improving quality of life of our people,” said Isaac Adewole, Nigeria’s minister of health on his twitter message to commemorate the World Population Day yesterday. “As the federal ministry of health we’re committed to execution of quality family service at all levels of healthcare.”
This year’s World Population Day, which was themed “Family Planning:  Empowering People, Developing Nations”, focused on the urgency and importance of population issues.
The surge in Nigeria’s population is coming amidst decay in health sector infrastructure and social services, posing grave imminent demographic menace to a country that is already grappling with numerous socioeconomic challenges.

According to the United Nations Population Funds statement to mark the global event, close to 214 million women in developing countries who want to avoid pregnancy are not using safe and effective family planning methods either because they lack access to information, or because they can’t get support from their partners or communities.
“Many of those with an unmet demand for contraceptives live in the poorest countries on earth,” the statement said.
Sikiru Ojo a medical practitioner based in Lagos had noted that Nigeria’s population should draw attention to the challenges posed by an ever-increasing population.
Ojo said that rapid population growth among the global poorest group results from poor family planning habits. This leads to rapid consumption of natural resources, which makes it difficult for them to feed and recover from the effects of climate change, such as increased flooding, malnutrition, and cholera.
He therefore suggested increased education and awareness about the benefits of family planning and dangers of population spike.
“A lot of our patients are very skeptical on using family planning because they do not have knowledge on how it functions. Unless we are able to educate them in our hospitals, community then we can improve in awareness.”
“The major problem of using family planning to control population in this part of the world has to do with the level of education and knowledge, high level of misconception, and wrong belief system.” Ojo said.
According to Ojo, the educational level of the populace is very important, Nigerian need to pick one of these modern methods of the family planning.
Funke Fayehun a demographer in the University of Ibadan said that the theme for this year’s world population day event is the best way to handle Nigeria’s rapid population growth as it seeks to encourage family planning.
“The population growth is affecting the infrastructure, sectors and the environments, but it has been established by study that ‘if they plan the family very well, it can curb or control the growth of the population and we can reduce Nigeria’s population,” Fayehun said.
“If you look at the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), family planning cost across all the goals ensuring the health and well-being of people and their environment depend on each other. Population size and age, fertility, mobility, poverty, equity, and resource availability and consumption all influence the impact on the environment”
“Nigeria should focus on more influence in advocacy of family planning, the need to enhance people’s knowledge on the modern family planning especially in rural areas” said Fayehun
According to United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs as published on 21 June, 2017, global population will reach to 9.80 billion by 2050.
World Population Day is observed mainly to address 5 major issues: increase the acceptance level of family planning, ensure gender equality, reduce poverty, ensure maternal health and establish human rights.
Access to safe, voluntary family planning is a human right. It is also central to gender equality and women’s empowerment, and is a key factor in reducing poverty.

Source: Business Day
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