African countries like Nigeria are under pressure to boost investment in family planning programs as a method of reducing unintended pregnancies and births and promote development.
The 2022 Population Data Sheet projects Nigeria’s population will be about double to over 400 Million by 2050 based on the nation’s current fertility rate.
Research has shown a very large proportion of young people in a country’s population structure could present numerous challenges as well as opportunities.
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Unfortunately, Nigeria is largely populated with people under the younger age group than the working age group.
Going by Nigeria’s current status, with fewer births each year and a decline in fertility rates among the youthful populace, the country can reap economic gains by increasing the active workforce, according to research. Under this arrangement, more working adults than children, more workers than dependents would present a window of opportunity for accelerated economic development.
The development is defined as a demographic dividends. However, reaping demographic dividends is not automatic. This is because there must be strong planning and investments in family planning, education, health, infrastructure, and good governance to convert the opportunity to all-round economic growth.
Economic growth of any country is measured by its Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is the total monetary or market value of all the finished goods and services produced within the country’s border in a specific time period. As a broad measure of overall domestic production, it functions as a comprehensive scorecard of a given country’s economic health.
Consequently, for Nigeria to reach its development goals, the country must reduce its fertility rate by investing in reproductive health and family planning.
According to Reproductive health experts, fertility means a natural capability to produce offspring. When fertility rates in a community increase, more babies are born.
Listing some challenges posed by having a huge young population experts says that Nigeria needs to grow more food to feed her increased population. This raises questions about food security. Other associated challenges to this include nutrition and climate change.
Unless there are investments and labour policies, a large number of people will be jobless. This may pose security challenges and a breakdown of law and order. There is also the aspect of rural-urban migration and stretching of social services beyond their threshold.
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The way forward is for Nigeria to lower its fertility rate in order to slow down population explosion and grow economically through strong family planning programmes supported by all stakeholders.
Reducing fertility would enable today’s large young population to enter adulthood with fewer dependents, favourable education, health, labour policies, a larger proportion can be employed and support economic growth.
Similarly, investment in infrastructure and attracting investments can also help the teeming population gainfully employed.
The arrangement has to be now and continue to be dynamic with emerging issues every day. Leaders need to be challenged to ensure quality education and healthcare are provided and all skills acquisition is prioritised, infrastructure optimised, as well as continuous attraction of investment.
Without these, today’s economic depression and its attendant challenges will be amplified as the number of young people continue to grow along with the demand for social services.
Research has shown that Nigeria’s high fertility rate is due to increased fertility and births which is rooted in culture, traditions, social norms, early marriages, and high unmet need for family planning.
All these have adverse effects on the physical, mental, and social well-being of women and children, and ultimately on maternal health, especially if the births are not adequately spaced.
Similarly, the risk of mortality in infancy and early childhood is greater for closely spaced births and for the mother, high risk of hemorrhaging and mortality.
Unarguably, boosting contraceptive use among Nigerians would lower the country’s fertility rate. However, to reduce the high Total Fertility Rate in Nigeria, there is a need to increase the uptake of family planning services among women of reproductive age.
Consequently, there is an urgent need for governments investment in family planning and provide enabling policy environments to reduce barriers to family planning access as well as increase demand generation.
Maternal and child mortality as well as the fertility rate of young women would drop through investment in family planning. No doubt, this will enhance Nigeria’s labour force, with more opportunities created for young mothers who have access to contraceptives to control pregnancies and childbirths, now able to deploy their efforts to economic benefits. Ultimately, this would provide a further window of opportunity to grow Nigeria’s GDP and drive development.
