The Chief Executive Officer, Association for Reproductive and Family Health (ARFH), Prof. Oladapo Ladipo, who spoke at the fourth Nigeria’s family planning conference in Abuja yesterday, also called on all tiers of government to promote initiatives that give prominence to the exploration of the resources of the nation’s population for the country’s prosperity.
He said: “We have a population policy that currently encourages four children per couple. I think that policy needs to be revisited by government and we all sit down together to do what is rational. I will not support legislation. Family planning should be free. It is by choice. But everybody should recognise that everyone has the right to family planning.”
Ladipo, who called for the adoption of family planning by couples to enable them to give birth to children they can cater for and raise families that will become assets to the nation, lamented how the country’s population had been made to become a burden rather than an asset.
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Also, President, Association for the Advancement of Family Planning, Dr. Ejike Oji, said that contraceptive prevalence in the country had remained at 10 per cent since 2006.
He said: “This has become a source of concern for us and that is why we have structured the conference into various parts. We do not prioritise health funding in Nigeria. The health budget for this year is 4.62 per cent as opposed to the 15 per cent minimum stipulated. We have convinced the government to help with the funding in 2012 and they agreed to give out $3 million every year.
However, we have only received $3 million in three months instead of $9 million.”Ladipo further said: “Without any doubt, it is very important for us to begin to discuss the merits and wisdom of family planning. I believe there is no country in the world, classified as developed, that has not moderated its growth. The Asian Tigers are good examples. Nigerians love to go to those countries, but they have failed to do what they did to achieve development that we so admire.
“There are about 188 million people in this country today; there are about 45 per cent under the age of 15. That means in about 24 years, we could double the population of this country.”You can imagine the implication in terms of survival.”
Currently, poverty is endemic in this country. And, there are many people in this country whose legacy for their children is poverty. Those that we train in this country are looking for greener pasture because the local environment is not conducive. In other words, we are exporting our greatest resource because the environment is not conducive for them to stay. This is a negative thing to the nation.”
