The Nation Newspaper

Tag: population

  • How population affects economic growth, by don

    How population affects economic growth, by don

    Democracy dividends may not reach majority of Nigerians if the population growth is not controlled. Prof Peter Ogunjuyigbe of the Department of Demography and Social Statistics of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in Ile-Ife, Osun State, made this known last Tuesday.

    He was delivering the 247th inaugural lecture of the university, with the title: Human population dynamics and the mirage of demographic dividend in Nigeria.

    Uncontrolled population, he said, remained the key challenge affecting distribution of resources among the people, noting that the problem has affected the smooth running of schools, hospitals and other social amenities.

    Ogunjuyigbe said: “This lecture was to highlight the prospects of demographic dividend in Nigeria and considered the issues pertaining to male involvement in family planning, women’s right to contraceptive use, adolescent sexuality and reproductive health, childhood disease and mortality.

    “High rate of fertility ignites a population that challenges governments to satisfy the ever increasing demand for food, housing, education, health services and employment.”

    While explaining that the high fertility in the country was caused by tradition of the society that makes opinion of males in a family to override the decisions pertaining to reproductive health, Ogunjuyigbe said: “Men’s attitude and behaviour can either impede or promote sexual and reproductive health and consequently influenced fertility. Under such situation, the country can reap either a demographic dividend with productive young workers or a catastrophic number of jobless youths and overcrowded schools and hospitals. The problem will also lead to high crime rate and civil violence.”

    Given high birth rate, the nation, he said, may have its population almost doubled by the end of 2015.  If the growth rate was not unchecked, Ogunjuyigbe said it could make resources scarce and lead to humanitarian problems. He said the cycle of poverty prevalent in the nation may be difficult to be eradicated if corruption was not checked.

    The inaugural lecturer called for mass education of women to engender a healthy society. He added: “The more educated a woman is, the higher the chance of reduction in fertility.”

    The Vice-Chancellor, Prof Bamitale Omole, described the lecturer as in-depth researcher and competent teacher.

    Guests at the event included Olosu of Osu, Oba Jethro Adejola, and members of the university community, among others.

  • ‘Risk protection for low-income population rises’

    ‘Risk protection for low-income population rises’

    Risk protection for the low-income population by insurance has increased significantly over years, says a report by the Responsible Finance Forum.

    However, only adequate products of good quality can help low income households in effectively managing their risks.

    This entails consumer protection needs to be higher in this segment and failures can have severe consequences for the insured as well as for the development of emerging insurance markets in general.

    The report came during the Responsible Finance Forum, hosted by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) recently in Berlin, representatives of supervisory authorities, industry and development organizations discussed consumer protection in emerging insurance markets.

    The Responsible Finance Forum is an important milestone in sharing knowledge and best Practice around the topic of Responsible Finance, which includes three pillars: financial consumer protection regulation, industry self-regulation and the enhancement of consumer capabilities. The participants of the Forum exchanged ideas and experiences and presented initiatives on how to increase consumer protection within these three pillars for low-income-households in emerging insurance markets.

    The topic of responsible finance has become a priority of the G20 and of Financial Sector Development worldwide and the Responsible Finance Forum is an important milestone in sharing knowledge and best practice in responsible finance globally.

    The Forum was organized in partnership with the Access to Insurance Initiative (A2ii), the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the International Labour Office (ILO), the Microinsurance Network, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, and the Munich Re Foundation.

    At the fourth Responsible Finance Forum, hosted by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) and organized by GIZ on June 24-25, 2013 in Berlin, representatives of supervisory authorities, industry representatives and development organisations discussed consumer protection in emerging insurance markets.

     

     

    The timing of the debate on responsible microinsurance could not be more pertinent, the report had stated.

    “There are now more than 500 million micro insurance consumers and that number keeps growing. Innovations are taking place to bring down costs, guarantee profits, achieve affordability and extend the reach. In order to sustain growth, achieve scale and sustainability, consumers must experience true value. 85 high-ranking participants from 23 countries exchanged ideas and experiences and presented initiatives on how to advance the agenda for responsible finance in emerging insurance markets.

    “Adequate consumer protection solutions can help consumers to use microinsurance effectively, ensuring greater trust in microinsurance and as a result encouraging further market development.

    Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, UN Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development (UNSGSA), underlined in her written welcome note to the conference that it is essential to guarantee the provision of “products that are responsible, that build consumer confidence and trust, and reach scale and sustainability”.

    Participants recognised that the main challenge in consumer protection in microinsurance is to strike the right balance between effectively protecting the consumer and increasing access to microinsurance by promoting the development of the microinsurance market. In doing so, the three pillars of responsible finance were confirmed to increase both protection and access for low-income households:

    In respect of the first pillar of responsible finance, consumer protection through regulation, the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) is playing an essential role in setting standards and building regulatory and supervisory capacity.

     

  • NPC to Fed Govt: Nigeria ‘s population will become asset if…

    Following the over 170 million Nigeria’s population, the Chairman, National Population Commission (NPC), Eze Festus Odimegwu, has advised government that the country’s population can become our asset if properly managed.

    Odimegwu spoke in Abuja when the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) team, led by its Regional Director for West Africa , Dr. Benoit Kalasa, paid him a working visit.

    He however said if Nigeria ‘s population is not well managed, it can become our liability which may lead to disaster in the nearest future.

    The NPC boss advised people, especially couples, to take proper decisions on family size.

    Odimegwu, who was represented by the Head, Technical Management, NPC, Mr. Festus Uzor, said the NPC has identified 16 population quality improvement issues that need to be addressed, which when addressed, will turn Nigeria’s population into greatest asset.

    The issues he said are: resolution of historical challenges or divisive issues, putting Nigeria first before tribe or religion and development of visionary leadership for political parties.

    Other problems to be tackled, he said are: “stopping corruption and impunity and ensuring good education at all levels, promoting agricultural transformation and rural development and industrialisation-driven urbanisation for increased productivity.

    “Our population in Nigeria can become our asset if well managed. If it is not well managed, then it becomes liability. People should be able to take proper decision on family size.

    Commenting on the visit, he said, “it is my hope that this visit will mark the beginning of effective collaboration between the UNFPA and NPC not only in the conduct of the 2016 Census but also in the implementation of the strategic architecture.”

    The UNFPA boss, Dr. Benoit Kalasa, promised to support Nigeria in conducting the 2016 census with a view to achieving success.

    Kalasa said if the census is successful, other African countries will emulate Nigeria, urging the country to ensure acceptability in providing a good result.

     

  • ‘Nigeria should watch its population growth’

    ‘Nigeria should watch its population growth’

    Nigeria’s population is growing too fast and failure to check the rate may be disastrous, Nigeria’s first woman professor of Mathematics, Prof Olabisi Ugbebor, has said.

    Prof Ugbebor, who was 25 when she got her PhD from the University of London in 1976, was recently promoted Professor of Mathematics by the University of Ibadan (UI).

    The Ilesa-born woman said she is researching into Nigeria’s population growth rate, adding that this is a cause of concern in international circles.

    Prof Ugbebor noted that though population issue is a controversial area of research, she felt duty-bound to do it because Nigerians may one day be unable to get enough water to drink, if the growth is unchecked.

    The don, who teaches at the Department of Mathematics in U.I, explained that a similar warning was issued to India decades ago and the Asian country swung into action.

    With Nigeria’s poor infrastructure and inequitable distribution of resources, Prof Ugbebor warned that the nation, especially its women and children, would suffer, if nothing is done to make the system work.

    She said: “If a European should come and say, look your population is rising, we will say they don’t want us to be many. The thing is sensitive; many people have run away from this research but I feel I should do it as a mother because when problems come, it is the mother who is left with the children at the end of the day.

    “We have to look at this thing and let me tell you, if we don’t do anything about growth rate, a time will come when there will not be enough water in this country to drink. Are we going to annex Chad and drink their water? India was told many decades ago that their population will so boom that they would all start eating one another. They went into science and technology; that is what saved them…”