Population Growth: Nigeria To Add 224million Babies By 2050

By Ajoke Babareke, Abuja

Between 2031 and 2050, Nigeria is projected to add 224 million babies, which means an addition of 21 percent of the births in Africa and eight per cent of all births in the world, UNICEF publication on issues of birth registration and the increasing population figure in Africa and the world.

Only 44 percent of births in Africa are registered, leaving an estimated 85 million children under five unregistered, the report, Generation 2030 Africa published by UNICEF revealed.

This corroborates Nigerian Demographic Health Survey 2015, which indicated that 70percent of children in Nigeria did not have their births registered.

There are no official records for births of children in this category.

Available records also show that majority of these unregistered births took place riverine areas and remote places.

According to Rapidsms Dashboard, a central data system of all states coordinated by the National population commission (NpopC), Rivers State, as at February 2018, had birth records of 25percent of children under age one and six percent of births of children under age five were recorded.

Rapidsms Dashboard shows that these unregistered births are found in fishing settlements of Ikuru, Oyoronkoto and old Bakama.

Findings by Swift investigation revealed that these areas are the most difficult areas to either collect data of child births or gain access to sensitize individuals on the importance of birth registration due to transportation challenges and activities of militants.

There is no major primary health care centre at Oyoronkoto which further gives credence to the fact that the communities are the lowest registered areas in the state.

Demographic experts say low birth record of the communities may have contributed to challenges of not having social amenities such as schools, functional health centres and portable water.

This, they argued may also be responsible for high rate of early marriage in the areas.

Both Andoni and Degema local government areas of the state have the larger number of unregistered births.

Rapidsms Dashboard indicated that in Cross River State, a total number of 13,883 births of children under age one (19percent) have been recorded so far since February 2018 while only 15,298 children under age five (6percent) were recorded as being born in year 2018 alone.

In Belekete and Mpkot communities both in Obanlikwu and Ankpa local government areas , two border towns with Cameroon, SWIFT findings revealed that no birth registration data is captured in these areas.

Birth registrars attached to the health centers in the communities were said to be constantly denied access to the communities due to bad roads. In Nyala Local Government Area which is the second largest Local Government Area in the state, only one birth attendant and one birth registrar work there.

In Bayelsa State, Rapidsms dashboard shows 25 percent of birth record of children under age one and only seven percent of under age five children.

Rivers, Cross Rivers and Bayelsa State governments needs to collaborate and synergize with the National Population Commission on the need to give identity to every child born in these States.