The National Population Commission (NPC) has disclosed that the occurrence of teenage pregnancy in the country might increase to over 60 million by the year 2015.
The Federal Commissioner of the NPC in Kogi State, Mohammed Akubo Aikoye, who put the ages between 15 and 19 expresses fear over the figure stressed that the Government need to take drastic measures at preventing teenage pregnancy.
Speaking at the 2013 World Population Day in Lokoja at the weekend, Mr Aikoye explained that going by the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS), adolescent fertility in Nigeria in 2008, topped other African countries with 121 live births per 1,000 births, stressing that this is relatively high when compared with other African countries that have considerably reduced adolescent fertility rates.
He pointed out that the increasing rate of teenage pregnancy in the country can be appreciated against the background that about one third of Nigeria population, that is 44.5 million young people between the ages of 10-24 got pregnant in 2006.
Mr Aikoye noted that the health, social and economic implications of teenage pregnancies were enormous as pregnancy was the greatest killer of teenage girls worldwide, highlighting other bad effects such as unsafe abortion, pregnancy complications , poor ante-natal care, weak pelvic bones, high fertility rate, curtailment of education attainment and unstable marital life.
He lamented that poverty, sexual abuse, ignorance cultural and religious beliefs were salient factors responsible for teenage pregnancies in Nigeria, adding that teenage pregnancy varied markedly in the northern and southern geo-political zones and rural areas with one in every three teenage girls in the north and one out of 10 in the south.
Right response
The Association for Reproductive and Family Health (ARFH) insists adolescent pregnancy is not just a health issue, but a development issue.
“Young people including adolescents in Nigeria constitute a significant proportion of the population and face unique challenges, which may compromise their health and developmental potentials if not addressed,” said ARFH president, Oladapo Ladipo in comments marking World Population Day.
He spoke of growing recognition of a need to “respond effectively to the health and developmental challenges of young people in Nigeria.”
ARFH calls for “age-appropriate comprehensive sexuality education to develop the knowledge and skills” young people need.
“However, education and information are not enough. Good quality reproductive health services must also be readily available in order for adolescents to make informed choices and be healthy,” he said.
Unrealised potential
Adolescent pregnancy is one reason “females don’t realise their full potentials,” said Akin Jimoh, programme director of Development Communications Network.
He said young girls “are vulnerable to sexual violence when they are ignorant of their rights.”
United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-Moon called for a worldwide pledge “support adolescent girls to realize their potential and contribute to our shared future.”
Some 16 million girls under age 18 give birth each year globally. An estimated 3.2 million of them undergo safe abortions and are exposed to complications in pregnancy, which are leading causes of death among girls aged 15 to 19 years.
Most are faced with complications as obstetric fistula, illness, injury and death.
Analysts blame early marriage for adolescent pregnancies, after surveys like the National HIV/AIDS and Reproductive Health Survey which show 73% of girls aged 13 to 19 are married in northeastern Nigeria.
Married adolescents in the northeast and northwest make up 42 percent of total married adolescents aged under 19 in Nigeria, according to the survey, and they contribute 71 percent of annual births.
UNFPA executive director, Babatunde Osotimehin, said adolescent pregnancy “is not just a health issue, it is a development issue.”
“It is deeply rooted in poverty, gender inequality, violence, child and forced marriage, power imbalances between adolescent girls and their male partners, lack of education, and the failure of systems and institutions to protect their rights,” he said.