NGO Highlights Health, Economic Gains of Family Planning to Nigeria

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

The Association for the Advancement of Family Planning (AAFP) has enjoined Nigerians to embrace family planning as means of achieving improved healthcare and economic wellbeing.

Following the minimal progress so far attained in the family planning, the association pleaded with the federal government to release the N2 billion outstanding in this year’s budget meant to execute intervention programmes across the country.

It said that what the country is witnessing in form of the Japa syndrome is that a lot of young Nigerian trained young doctors, ICT professionals and others are leaving the country in droves due to hunger and economic difficulties.

Speaking at an interactive session with journalists in Abuja, Chairman Management of the AAFP, Dr. Ejike Orji, said that with the current fertility rate, Nigeria’s population may hit 450 million by 2050.

He said that the prevailing economic trend and other future expectations will not support such a spiraling population growth, adding that if nothing was done to arrest the situation, it could get to a stage when people may not be able feed.

Speaking on the high fertility rate which the country is currently grappling with, Ejike said there are some developments in fertility rate already which suggested that Nigeria is heading for higher population numbers in the years ahead.

“I mean, there is a high percent rate of fertility, about 4.8 percent percent in Nigeria today. But we would have needed to achieve much more but the fertility rates are still very high.

And then, with only that much in transit, we need to get to a fertility rate of at least 4.

“So, we are going back to the fact that we are still not in crisis in any country you see a bulge of young people. Nigeria has 75 percent of the population that is at the age of 34 and largely unemployed.

“So, you have a lot of hungry, angry young men and women all over the place. So, what do you see next? Some of them will start leaving the country.

“That is what we have seen in the Japa syndrome That is happening in the country. All our trained young doctors, ICT, are leaving the country,” he said.

Orji who expressed appreciation for the government’s payment of the $4 million counterpart fund, also appealed to the federal government to help release the N2 billion outstanding in this year’s budget for family planning programmes.
While drawing historically analysis, Orji said: “Nobody is in doubt that Nigeria is facing a national crisis, unless people who refuse to agree, is not in which they can decide.

“In 1960, when we got independence from the British, our population was just about 42.5 million, while the British people that colonized us was about 50 million.

“Our income per capita at that time was higher than the British people. In the last census we did in 2007, we were 140 million. Now Britain is just 60 million, while we are well above 230 million.

“And that’s why we are quite excited that the $4 million was supposed to be used about a month or two ago. And we’re now calling for the N2 billion left to be used by this year. And to make sure that conversation is heard loud and clear, the fifth, the eighth Nigerian family planning conference is coming on the 6th of December,” he said.

Orji used the opportunity to highlight issues that will future during the December family planning conference saying that stakeholders will devote more attention to issues of sustainable financing through advocacy and resource mobilization, drive multi stakeholder accountability and advance rights-based quality services.
On his part, the President of the Albino Foundation, Mr. Jakes Apelle, who spoke on behalf of the Persons With Disabilities, PWDs, urged Nigerians to remove minds from the religious and cultural inhibitors to family planning and highlight the health and economic benefits therein.