Country Comments

The individual Nigerian consumes minimal resources yet as a whole the country has almost twice as many people than it can sustain. In March 2021 in Science Direct a study reported environmental health-related risks are becoming a primary concern in Nigeria, with diverse environmental problems such as air pollution, water pollution, oil spillage, deforestation, desertification, erosion, and flooding caused mostly by too many people consuming too many resources and generating too much waste. Sustaining a healthy environment is critical in improving the quality of life and the span of a healthy life. (1)

Unfortunately Nigeria has had an entrenched culture of patriarchy, preference for male children, early marriages (girlsnotbrides.org reports that 44% of girls in Nigeria are married before their 18th birthday and 18% are married before the age of 15), large families, religious beliefs that discourage birth control and low literacy rates that especially impacts girls leaving them disempowered in decisions that affect their health and welfare.

Some states are trying to shift this damaging culture by engaging religious leaders in advocacy efforts on family planning. As recently as February 2022, the Independent, one of the most read newspapers in Nigeria reported the House of Representatives had urged the Federal Government to urgently control population growth with policies necessary to secure a better world for future generations. President Buhari in 2022 launched the Revised National Policy on Population for Sustainable Development, stressing the need for urgent measures to address Nigeria’s high fertility rate, a much needed and long delayed aim that will improve the health and welfare of its people and environment.

While the Nigerian Government provides contraceptives and other family planning commodities at no cost, state governments are responsible for getting the products to the clinics, pharmacies and other health facilities where women can access them.

(1) https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844021004357