The Resident Representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Ms Ulla Elizabeth Muller, on Tuesday, disclosed that Nigeria recorded 2.5 million unintended pregnancies annually.
This was coming as the Federal Government (FG) through the National Population Commission (NpopC) launched its 2022 State of the World Population report.
Muller who made the disclosure at the launch of the report in Abuja expressed worries over the development saying “This is an unseen crisis unfolding right before our eyes.”
Speaking on the report theme: “Seeing the unseen: the case for action in the crisis of unintended pregnancy,” opined that the challenges with population and development were sexual and reproductive health and rights issues.
According to her, unintended pregnancy is a health issue stressing that “It is both a cause and an effect of gender discrimination, and of restrictions on the urgency and bodily autonomy of women and girls. It is a humanitarian issue.
“Women in conflict zones, those living in refugee camps and other humanitarian settings. are at high risk of unintended pregnancy, particularly from violence. These women are too often overlooked in crisis response, even though women in these situations are vulnerable to gender-based violence, barriers and often faced barriers. to reproductive health services. unintended pregnancy is a development issue.”
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While every country continues to experience acceptably high rates of unintended pregnancy, she said there is a strong correlation between the rates of this and the lack of development.
Earlier, the Chairman, National Population Commission (NpopC), Hon Nasir Isa Kwarra, in his call for action sued for the enactment of legislation that seeks to abolish child marriage with penalties for defaulters or perpetrators.
He said the report reflected that almost a quarter of all women across the globe have no say in their personal healthcare and sexual life.
According to him, the report is focused on circumstances that drive, surround and facilitate the incidence of unintended pregnancy.
He stressed that unintended pregnancy particularly among teenagers/ adolescent girls is a major health concern, as it is associated with high morbidity and mortality of both mother and child, including outcomes of malnutrition.
“Unintended pregnancy connects with age at first marriage. Early/Child/Forced marriage constitutes a huge challenge, where 43 per cent of girls marry before their 18th birthday; while 8 per cent marry before their 15th birthday. This experience is contributory to the prevalence of teenage childbearing currently at 19 per cent.
“Much more, 27 per cent of rural girls have commenced motherhood compared to 8 per cent in the urban areas. Also, 29 per cent of teenagers in the North West have begun childbearing as well, which is highest amongst all the regions in Nigeria,” he said.
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Nigeria recorded 2.5 million cases of unintended pregnancies annually ― UNFPA
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