Health
Fertility rate in Nigerian women too high, population explosion imminent – Gynaecologist warns
Prof. Josiah Mutihir, a consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist with the University of Jos Teaching Hospital have said Nigeria’s fertility rate is too high and must be checked.
Mutihir explains that “Women in Nigeria have an average of 5.3 children per woman which is high compared to other countries whose total fertility rate is 2.3 children per woman,”
He warned that there was a “population explosion threat in Nigeria” as he emphasized the need for family planning.
The consultant observed that Nigeria’s population was not growing in line with the available resources and blamed that situation for the rise in social ills in the country.
“We need family planning; it does not necessarily reduce the population but will control population growth,” he told NAN.
Mutihir said that there was an urgent need to watch the fertility rate in Nigeria, revealing that Nigeria currently ranks the 7th country with the highest population in the world.
“By 2050, Nigeria might be ranking the 3rd in terms of countries with the highest population in the world,” he warned
Mutihir opined that Nigeria would not develop if it failed to use family planning to control the growing population.
The consultant stressed that a higher fertility rate stretches Nigeria’s available resources, which in turn affects the economic growth of the nation.
He mentioned that family planning not only helps people have the desired number of children but contributes to the nation’s social and economic development.
“Family planning has been known to be directly related to the developmental growth of every nation,” he added.