Valerie Azinge, says Family Planning, FP, practice in the country is important to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals One (SDG 1) of ending poverty by 2030.
She made this known in Abuja on Monday at the 2018 women pre-conference meeting for the fifth National Family Planning Conference.
Mrs Azinge, a Senior Advocate of Nigerian, SAN, while delivering the keynote address on the topic, ‘Family Planning as Human Right’, noted that life would be easier when couples have the number of children they could cater for.
According to her, a planned family, where children are adequately spaced, will likely have a higher standard of living, which in turn results to healthy living.
“One of the key issues confronting Nigeria today is over population and a country is considered to be over populated when number of existing human population exceed the current economic capacity a nation can reach.’’
According to a report by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Nigeria is projected to be the world’s third most populous country by the end of 2050.
“It is evident that when children are left uncared for, it affects the development of the society as they constitute nuisance to their immediate environment and the nation at large.
“At the rate at which our population is growing, Nigeria needs to adopt efficient FP methods in order to provide effectively for her citizens,” she said.
Mrs Azinge, however, noted that beliefs such as the use of contraceptives leading to sexual immorality, as well as encouraging abortion, remained some of the challenges to achieving FP in the country.
She, therefore, called on the government and private sector to work together to ensure that Nigerians are enlightened on the benefits of FP.
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