IT has been postulated that unless measures were put in place as a check, the population of Bauchi State is expected to double in the next 19 years because the state has witnessed a steady population growth over the years.
This was contained in a fact sheet released by Health Policy Plus (HP±) ahead of the launch of a comprehensive report on Resources for the Awareness of Population Impacts on Development (RAPID) model about the impact of population growth in the state.
The Health Policy Plus (HP±) is a five -year cooperative agreement funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), being implemented by Palladium.
According to the report, based on the current growth rate of about 3.6 per cent per year, the population of Bauchi will double in about 19 years.
It noted that projections estimated that the state’s population would grow almost four times larger by 2050.
“Bauchi’s population has increased sevenfold since 1960, from about a million people to close to 6.8 million in 2015. The population of Bauchi is estimated to be close to 7.3 million.
“While the Bauchi State government recognises the need to improve access to vital resources such as education, healthcare and employment opportunities, greater investment in family planning in the state is critical to help curb the potentially negative consequences of rapid population growth,” the report stated.
The report further stated that over half of Bauchi State’s population is under age 15, and would continue to rise as the population continues to grow, an issue, it added, should be considered by the government.
According to the report, the population of the youth would have implications on future socioeconomic development as many of the youth are unemployed.
It urged all stakeholders to embrace and educate people on the need for family planning measures, adding that a reduced population growth would save education and healthcare delivery costs and provide jobs.
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