From John Adams, Minna
Pathfinder International has called for increase funding for family planning programmes in Nigeria, saying the growing population in the country is a result of a lack of proper family planning.
A lack of adequate funding, according to the NGO, is largely responsible for the increase in the rate of deaths from abortion-related issues among women and girls in Nigeria.
Speaking at a three day “Responsible Journalism Media Workshop”, Pathfinder’s Media and Communication Officer, Mr Bayo Ewuola, said in addition to increasing funding for family planning activities in Nigeria, there should be laws and policies to legalise abortion.
He described as worrisome the maternal and mortality ratio of 512 death from every 100,000 live birth in Nigeria, pointing out that family planning is the most cost-effective approach to reduce death among the women and gilts in Nigeria.
He disclosed that every year, the incidence of abortion in Nigeria is 49 out of every 1,000 women of age between 15 and 49 years, adding that ‘apart from the need for increase funding for family planning activities, empowerment of health workers in the country is very key.’
He maintained that the current ratio of one Doctor to about 5,000 patients in Nigeria is not acceptable, stressing that “this has accounted for the high death rate in Nigeria. It is among the highest in the world”.
He equally attributed the growing population in the country to the lack of adequate family planning activities in the country occasioned by poor funding, suggesting that with adequate funding, the maternal and mortality rate will be minimised.
The three-day responsible media journalism workshop, organised by Pathfinder International to increase the knowledge of media personnel in Advance Family Planning (AFP) states on the ethics of journalism as it relates to family planning reports, has selected journalists from across the country attending.
The workshop is expected to end on Friday.