Alhaji Isa Kwarra, Executive Chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC), called for the engagement of all stakeholders to prevent the population explosion as well as gender-based violence (GBV).
Kwarra made the appeal on the occasion of the commemoration of World Population Day 2021 (JMP) on Tuesday in Abuja.
The theme of this year’s JMP is: “Rights and Choices are the Answer: Whether it’s a baby boom or a collapse, the solution is to prioritize reproductive health and human rights. rights of all. “
The President, represented by Dr Sulaiman Ismaila, Federal Commissioner of Kano, underscored the imperatives of prioritizing reproductive health and rights for all in Nigeria, especially women and girls, to achieve the demographic transition.
“The National Population Commission considers this to be:
“An opportunity, a responsibility and a call to duty from all here today to ensure that women’s rights are protected, promoted and guaranteed.
“Creating opportunities for them to make choices that will improve their well-being and allow them to lead productive lives,” he said.
Kwarra said that before the advent of COVID-19, Nigeria faced the challenges of rapid population growth propelled by high fertility rates.
According to him, the high fertility rate compromises efforts to manage the population through responsible reproduction.
He denounced the low rate of contraceptive prevalence as well as access to family planning products, saying that “unfortunately gender-based violence is on the increase”.
The President noted that the census would provide the population with sufficient data to advise and inform them of the state of affairs for the formulation of policies and decisions.
United Nations Resident Coordinator Edward Kallon said bodily autonomy is essential to protect girls and women.
Kallon, who called for a synergy of all to promote the sexual and reproductive rights of women and girls, warned that child marriage was on the rise.
He blamed the upsurge in gender-based violence and child marriage, however, on COVID-19, saying it resulted in unwanted pregnancies, among other consequences.
Professor Oka Obono from the Department of Sociology at the University of Ibadan, in his opening speech, described women as the essence of freedom for humanity through childbirth.
Obono said the world has yet to begin respecting human rights with the patriarchal domination and suppression of women.
He added: “We have not yet started to respect basic human rights as long as we do not respect women’s bodily autonomy as their rights.
“In an ideal world where all rights, including sexual, developmental and reproductive rights, are fully respected, there would be no vulnerability. “
However, he called for concerted action to free women from the limits of patriarchal subjugation and poverty. (NAN)
