Teryima Andrew, Jos
National Population Commission (NPC) has identify increase in child abandonment in Nigeria to high rate of unwanted pregnancies.
“Most of the cases of child abandonment in Nigeria is as a result of women getting unwanted pregnancies.”
Chairman, National population commission Eze Duruiheoma, through the Plateau stste director of the commission Saleh Danbazai, in a press conference has revealed.
Mr. Duruiheoma, stated this on Tuesday in Jos, during a media briefing as part of activities to mark World population day.
The commission task religious and traditional institutions to help control population density in Nigeria.
“I therefore wish to call on religious leaders traditional rulers and community leaders to take up this challenge of promoting the demand for, and utilization of family planning service for the sake of building a healthy and prosperous society.”
He said lack of sound education was the major contributing factor to unwanted pregnancy.
“An estimated 225 million women in developing countries would like to delay or stop childbearing but are not using any method of contraception.”
He said the results of lack of child spacing and unwanted pregnancy has brought about violence against women and maternal death.
“Universal access to voluntary family planning can reduce maternal death by a third, and child death by as much as 20 percent.
The population control expert said NPC was collaborating with other international organization to stop harmful practice in childbearing.
“In 2016, contraception provide by UNFPA had the potential to prevent 11.7 million uninterrupted pregnancies, close to 3.7 million unsafe abortion and prevent an estimated 29,000 maternal death.”
