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Nigeria needs productive population, not just numbers – UNFPA

Nigeria needs productive population, not just numbers – UNFPA
By Christian Njoku
Population
Calabar, July 11, 2019 (NAN) Dr Yakubu Aliu, Programme Analyst, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) says Nigeria needs a productive population and not just a large number of people.
Aliu said this at a programme to commemorate the 2019 World Population Day (WPD) on Thursday in Calabar.
The WPD is an annual event observed on July 11 and seeks to raise awareness of global population issues.
He said population was not about counting the number of citizens in a country but ensuring that the number of the citizens counted was productive.
According to him, Nigeria has a youthful population with a large number of young persons that are still depending on the fewer working class citizens in the country.
Aliu said that the situation had given rise to a high dependency ratio in Nigeria.
The UNFPA official said to get a quality population and not just population control, women need to be educated and allowed to make choices for their lives and reproductive health.
He said that this was necessary so they could decide to have fewer children and effectively use contraceptives.
Aliu said it was UNFPA’s vision to ensure that by 2030, every woman has access to family planning and address unmet needs, zero preventable maternal deaths and zero gender based violence including female genital mutilation.
“We know that scientifically, no matter how developed a country is 15 per cent of its pregnant mothers would require medical attention for complications like haemorrhage, eclampsia, long obstructed labour, infections or complicated abortion.
“It is the women that give birth to the population and we know that given birth too early, too late, too frequent or too many contribute to maternal mortality.
“It is sad that Nigeria is a very religious country that has citizens that prefer to pray instead of doing the right thing.
“So, many women prefer to go to prayer houses to deliver which contributes to complications,” he said.
Aliu added that for Nigeria to meet up with the 2030 target of UNFPA, it must put up deliberate policies to reap demographic dividends.
The UNFPA official said the government needs to ensure that it reduces the dependency ratio by having more working class citizens than dependent citizens.
“So, first, you have to ensure reproductive health and fewer children who will be able to have better education, health, economic prosperity, gainful employment and good governance.
“As the population reduces, the quality of the population improves, you have less dependants, more productive population, improved life expectancy and economic prosperity,” the UNFPA official said.
Similarly, the State Coordinator of the National Population Commission (NPopPC), Mr Billy Eteng, said if Nigeria did the right thing, it would not have the problem of over population in the future.
Eteng said it was important to empower the women because they were important members of the work force.
“If we continue getting them pregnant without education and empowerment, we would not be helping ourselves.
“Nigerians must engage in family planning as it does not make sense anymore to have a large family that you cannot cater for; the men should support the women in this drive,” he said. (NAN)
CBN/AOS/MST
Edited by Bayo Sekoni/Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Health

Nasarawa Govt task youths on productive activities

Nasarawa Govt task youths on productive activities

NAN-HG-6

Youths

By Awayi Kuje

Garaku (Nasarawa State), April 12, 2017 (NAN) The Nasarawa State Government has urged youths in the state to engage in meaningful and productive activities to enable them to contribute their quota to national development.

The Deputy Governor of the state, Mr Silas Agara, made the call onWednesday in Garaku while opening a two-day youth summit organised by Mada Youth Movement, Garaku chapter, Kokona Local Government Area of the state.

Represented by Mr Dandaura Tsetse, his Special Assistant, Agara advised youths to engage themselves in meaningful ventures and shun social vices that could destroy their future.

The deputy governor urged the youths and other Nigerians to continue to contribute their quota to the development of the country.

He said that the cornerstone of successful living were serious hard work, dedication, strength of character and the fear of God.

He, therefore, advised youths in the state to embrace education so as to become productive and useful citizens.

“Imbibe the fear of God, be humble, disciplined and respectful, and remain focused in your academics as well as other endeavours, which are basic requirements for a successful life,” he added.

He also appealed to Nigerians to live in peace and tolerate one another irrespective of ethnic, religious and political affiliations for the overall development of the country.

Earlier, Mr Obadiah Audi, the association’s Chairman, said that the summit was organised in order to promote unity and peace among Mada youths and other ethnic nationalities.

“It has also provided an avenue for the youth, my people and others to interact, to exchange positive ideas and pleasantries for the overall development of the state and the country at large.

“I also want to use this medium to call on my fellow youths and Nigerians to embrace western education and different skills acquisition programmes in order to be self-reliant and to contribute their quota to national development,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the summit featured paper presentations where resource persons enjoined the youths to pursue education with all seriousness so as to excel in life. (NAN)

AKW/MOL/MST

Edited by Mustapha Lamidi

Health

80 per cent of TB patients in Plateau aged between 15 and 54 – official

NAN-H-1
Tuberculosis

Jos, April 4, 2017(NAN) Eighty per cent of people infected with Tuberculosis in Plateau fall within the productive age group of 15 and 54, Dr. Kuden Deyin, Commissioner for Health, said on Tuesday in Jos.

Deyin told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the figure was based on a survey conducted by the ministry in 2016.

“Out of 2,493 cases recorded in 2016, 1,998 of the patients, which constitute 80 per cent, were within the productive age group of 15 to 54 years; this is a great threat to the economic growth of the state,” he said.

He said that the disease, if not controlled, would bring the the Plateau economy to its knees “in the next few years”.

The commissioner said that Plateau had consistently paid its counterpart funds to secure free treatment for  Tuberculosis patients, but regretted that some issues had made the control of the diseases rather difficult.

He identified the issues to include inadequate equipment and manpower to clinically ascertain the correct status of suspected cases.

Another impediment is the difficulty in accessing certain terrains, where some patients, believed to be infected with the disease, reside.

The official suggested that the treatment and diagnosis of Tuberculosis be integrated into the main stream of the health care delivery system so that every clinic, no matter how remote, should be able to detect the micro-organism that causes the disease.

“Such clinic should also be able to administer treatment as it is absolutely free,” he said.

He also suggested that traditional healers and patent medicine vendors should be trained to identify the basic symptoms of the disease, pointing out that those groups were usually the first medics visited by patients in the rural areas.

“Training the traditional healers and patent medicine dealers on how to identify the symptoms of Tuberculosis and referring them to the nearest hospital or clinic, where they can access treatment, is very fundamental to saving lives,” he said.

The commissioner listed symptoms of the disease to include night sweat, fever, loss of weight, chest pain, difficulty in breathing and blood in the mucus, while coughing.

Deyin advised people with such symptoms to visit the nearest hospital for prompt attention.

He also advised patients to complete their medication to avoid complications that could result into multi-drug resistant Tuberculosis. (NAN)

UBO/ETS

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Ephraims Sheyin