The Chairman, Association for the Advancement of Family Planning in Nigeria, Dr Ejike Oji, has identified family planning as a key solution to addressing multidimensional poverty in the country.
Oji stated this on Tuesday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, urging Nigerians to embrace family planning for improved quality of life.
“Nigeria is currently among the countries experiencing multidimensional poverty,” he said, noting that many households lack access to essential needs such as healthcare, food, water, and education.
He expressed confidence in the role of family planning in alleviating poverty, stressing that proper planning for childbirth and child spacing would enable parents to provide basic resources for their children and themselves.
The medical expert also linked the rise in insurgency and insecurity to the absence of family planning, arguing that children born without adequate planning were more likely to become vulnerable to societal vices.
“Many of the insurgents and terrorists in the country were children born without proper planning,” he alleged.
Oji called on governments at all levels to implement policies that promote family planning both locally and nationally.
According to the National Multidimensional Poverty Index by the National Bureau of Statistics, 133 million Nigerians, representing over 60 per cent of the population, are multi-dimensionally poor. The report highlights that these individuals are deprived of at least one essential need, such as good health, education, or gainful employment.
