Today is World Population Day. This date has been marked since July 11, 1987 when the world population reached 5 billion. The world is headed to 7 billion in a few months (On 31 October 2011, the world population will reach 7 billion, according to the United Nations Population Division) and Nigeria is front and centre in the bid to getting to that mark.
Nigeria’s population today is projected at 150 million people and this is almost double what it was two decades ago (1991 Census - 88.9 million, 2006 census - 140.4 million). Nigeria’s population is growing at the rate of 3.2% per annum. The total fertility rate of the country is estimated at 5.7, with some regions of the country having rates nearing 8.0 (National Population Commission, 2009). This population explosion in the country is virtually unsustainable given the fact that crude oil exports which are the mainstay of the economy are unstable and may even be declining. This growing population without a commensurate increase in the income and quality of life of the people is the basic problem with the health sector as people cannot afford healthcare, education, clean water and housing. The high birth rate in the country has been a hindrance to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) particularly goals on reducing infant and maternal mortality rate and eradicating extreme poverty and hunger.
However, through extensive advocacy and with the support of traditional leaders and politicians, there is a possibility that the fertility rate can be markedly reduced by at least half, and this will bring improvements in those aforementioned indices. The reason for this improvement will be that families will probably have sufficient resources to seek healthcare and get their children educated simply because their families are smaller in size. Nigeria’s political structure and revenue distribution among states depends on the population distribution and this has undermined efforts at population control in the country. However, in the view of the obvious population crisis the country is facing, the government urgently needs to put in place policies to decrease the fertility rate by reducing early marriages, early childbearing, increasing the use of contraception and bringing the issues of the population explosion to light for frank political discourse.
Trying to fix public health problems like infant mortality and maternal mortality without addressing this population problem directly (especially the extra-high fecundity) is like trying to fill a basket with water under a running tap. And Nigeria has a great chance to actually start addressing the issue now that a respected Nigerian, Prof. Babatunde Osotimehin leads the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
REFERENCE
National Population Commission (NPC) [Nigeria] and ICF Macro. 2009. Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey 2008. Abuja, Nigeria: National Population Commission and ICF Macro. Available online at < www.measuredhs.com/pubs/pdf/
