NPC begins campaign to curb population explosion

The National Population Commission has launched the Revised National Population Policy Strategic Implementation Plan by the Population Advisory Group to control population growth and fertility in the country.

Speaking at the launch in Abuja on Thursday, the Chairman, NPC, Nasir Isa-Kwarra, noted that the document would help in effective population management.

The document linked all the sectors and other population and development issues to the National Population Policy.

He stressed the role of relevant stakeholders in actualising the plan.

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“The implementation of the Strategic Plan will require elaborate, consistent, sustained and well-coordinated stakeholders’ involvement and engagements at all levels including effective collaboration and partnerships,” the NPC chairman said,

Isa-Kwarra  spoke on the need for funding to ensure that the plan’s objectives were accomplished.

He said, “We need money (domestic and from donors) to adequately finance the implementation of the Strategic Plan. I hereby call on the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning to provide sufficient funds to sectors and coordination activities; while I request donors and partners to include funding for the Strategic Plan in their respective annual country programme budgetary provisions for Nigeria.”

Also speaking at the launch, the Spokesperson of the Population Advisory Group, Usman Sarki, spoke on the essence of the plan.

He said, “The Revised National Population Policy and the Strategic Implementation Plan are the guidelines towards the effective population management and conduct of the census in the country. Plans and strategies around human capital development, effective implementation of social and economic policies and the extension of services like education, healthcare and housing to Nigerians, will be contingent on the successful realisation of the objectives of the Revised National Population Policy and the Strategic Implementation Plan.

“The role of the PAG therefore; will be to provide expert advice towards leveraging the services and facilities that are available in various funds, programmes and agencies of multilateral bodies like the United Nations, and international finance institutions like the World Bank, the African Development Bank among others.

“Adequate resourcing for the implementation of the Strategic Plan and the overall work of the NPC will be crucial to the attainment of the Federal Government’s objectives towards conducting a credible, objective, scientific, unbiased, legitimate and successful national population and housing census in 2023.”