The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has stated that the difficulty in funding family planning in Nigeria may lead to rising unwanted pregnancies and abortions.
The UNFPA stated this during an event to commemorate the 2023 World Population Day. The event was organized by the National Population Commission recently in Abuja.
During a panel discussion titled ‘Dialogue on financing and investment in family planning: meeting the growing demand of Nigerian women’, Technical Specialist, Maternal & Reproductive Health of UNFPA, Dr Adeela Khan, said that the funding gap for family planning was getting bigger, increasing from $25m in 2022 to $32m in 2023.
According to her, this funding gap would lead to 700,000 unwanted pregnancies, which would further lead to 300,000 unplanned births and 300,000 unsafe abortions.
She said: “Family planning programme is largely dependent on funding, and that is dwindling funding. As far as 2022, there was a gap of $25m. This year, we are looking at a gap of $32m. What is very important about this gap is that if you are casting it, there will be 700,000 unintended pregnancies, which will result in approximately 300,000 unplanned births and 300,000 unsafe abortions.”
Khan noted that the government had been making some efforts through policies like the National Policy for Population and Sustainable Development in 2022, and financial commitment to ensuring family planning.
She added: “The Nigerian government has been recognizing the importance of investing in family planning.”
She said, “As we all know, population growth has far-reaching implications for socio-economic and environmental development. It is imperative to approach this issue with a holistic and sustainable mindset. One of the key aspects of sustainable development is investment in health and education.”
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