Alhaji Isa Kwarra, Executive Chairman, National Population Commission (NPC) has urged media professionals to educate Nigerians on why the country needs to reduce its National Annual Population Growth.
Kwarra who made the appeal on Tuesday in Abuja at a workshop for journalists on National Population Policy (NPP) orgnaised by National Population Commission (NPC) in collaboration with Africa Health Budget Network (AHBN).
Kwarra said the population growth needed to drop by two per cent by the year 2030, explaining that a reduction in population growth would accelerate development and demographic dividends.
“There is the need to prioritise investments by achieving reduction of national annual population growth rate by two per cent by the year 2030.
“We should also aim to achieve reduction in fertility rate from the current 5.3 per cent to four-point zero per cent by 2030,” he said.
The Executive Chairman reiterated the commitment of the commission to reducing unmet need for family planning from current 19 per cent zero per cent by 2030.
He said media remained a key to achieving that even as he affirmed the determination of the government to provide comfort to the citizens through the NPP.
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Kwarra said there was the need to prioritise conversations around population at every level of the country’s development planning.
Ms Margaret Edison, Director, Population Management and Development, NPC, called for the need to check the fertility rate.
Edison expressed the determination of the commission to continue to partner with relevant stakeholders in reducing the fertility rate.
She, therefore, said that such objects would be achieved through the dissemination and implementation of revised NPP by knowledgeable media professionals.
Dr Isiaka Yahaya, Acting Director, Public Affairs Department, NPC, said that the media could play the role of a watchdog in the implementation of NPP.
Yahaya urged the media to work against prejudice and misinformation around the revised NPP.
A member House of Representatives,Mr. Muhammadu Usman, commended NPC for putting the policy in place.
Usman pledged the support of the National Assembly for NPC in population management and data collation. (NAN)