By Chidinma Ewunonu-Aluko
As Nigeria marks World Population Day on Saturday, health experts are warning that rapid population growth is putting unsustainable pressure on maternal healthcare delivery across the region.
This surging population growth is overwhelming public medical infrastructure, creating critical shortages of vital personnel and essential lifesaving supplies in many urban primary healthcare centers.
As a result, reproductive health services are becoming increasingly overstretched, forcing experts to call for immediate, strategic interventions to safeguard vulnerable mothers and newborns across the Southwest.
The experts emphasised that family planning was the most effective tool to save mothers’ lives, reduce teenage pregnancies, and ease hospital overcrowding.
With contraceptive prevalence at just 18 per cent and thousands of young women lacking access, they are urging governments to prioritise funding, youth-friendly services, and accurate sexuality education.
World Population Day is observed on July 11 annually, with the 2026 global theme as, “Realizing the hopes and aspirations of young people for their futures”.
The Planned Parenthood Federation of Nigeria (PPFN) South -West Coordinator, Mrs Elizabeth Abimbola, said Nigeria’s rapidly growing population was putting additional pressure on health facilities, providers, and contraceptive supplies in the Southwest.
Abimbola noted that from PPFN’s experience, the growing demand was stretching outreach programmes and the availability of contraceptive commodities.
Citing data from the 2024 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS), Abimbola noted that 53.99 per cent of women surveyed (21,083 of 39,050) were aged 15 to 29 years.
According to her, the above data shows that more than half of women are within the reproductive age group.
However, she added that 18,246 women aged 15 to 29 years were not using any contraceptive method.
This, she said, indicated a significant unmet need among young people.
The PPFN South-West coordinator observed that the majority of PPFN’s family planning clients were adults aged 30 years and above.
“This suggests that many young people who need these services are either not accessing them or are accessing them too late.
“Many young people believe family planning is only meant for married couples or those who have completed childbearing,” Abimbola stated.
She added that fear of judgment by providers or community members, spousal approval, misinformation, and myths about side effects also discourage uptake.
“Limited access to accurate sexuality education continues to discourage uptake of family planning services,” she added.
Abimbola further referenced the 2024 NDHS, which shows that 18,246 women aged 15 to 29 years are not using any contraceptive method.
This, she said, indicated a substantial unmet need for information and services among younger women.
To address this, she remarked PPFN implemented the Comprehensive Life Skills Health Education curriculum in 45 secondary schools in Oyo.
“This school-based approach has enabled over 700 students to obtain accurate and comprehensive Sexual Reproductive and Health (SRH) information,” she noted.
Abimbola said PPFN had introduced an e-Health application for confidential telemedicine, counselling, and referrals.
She explained that the digital innovation improved access, protects clients’ privacy, and helps reach more young people.
She added that PPFN also upgraded facilities and diversified method mix through one-stop-shop centres to ensure nationwide access to SRH services.
She warned that unmet need led to unintended pregnancies, closely spaced births, and pregnancy-related complications.
“Economically, unintended pregnancies increase household burdens and make it difficult to afford healthcare and education.
“Among adolescents, it can interrupt education and limit future economic potential,” she said.
On government support, Abimbola acknowledged progress in collaboration with partners and integration of Family Planning (FP) into primary healthcare.
“However, challenges remain, including inconsistent funding, commodity shortages, and inadequate youth-friendly service points,” she said.
She advised the government to prioritise investments in Family Planning, youth-friendly services, and sexuality education with increased domestic funding.
“To communities- promote open dialogue and reduce stigma; to young people: your reproductive health matters.
“The PPFN e-Health application provides a confidential way to access professional counselling whenever you need them,” she advised.
Dr Olufemi Aworinde, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at LAUTECH Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso, said Nigeria’s population growth was outpacing health infrastructure and worsening maternal health outcomes.
Aworinde noted that the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), projected Nigeria’s population at 237.5 million in 2025 with a fertility rate of 4.5.
He, however, emphasised that infrastructure and personnel were not growing at the same rate, leading to burnout and poor quality of care.
“The likelihood of optimum service to the people is very, very low,” he added.
Aworinde said teenage pregnancies were producing the deadliest complications in Oyo, including death, anemia, obstructed labor and unsafe abortions.
He added that stigma forced many teenagers out of school and out of antenatal care, so they presented late with anemia, malaria and small-for-gestational-age babies.
“Many of these unwanted pregnancies result in unsafe abortions and there are injuries, infections and deaths,” he said.
The consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist described family planning as one of the most important tools for reducing maternal mortality.
“This is because it prevents pregnancies that are too early, too late, too many or too close.
“It prevents unintended pregnancies, it gives you a choice, it makes it possible for you to prevent or delay pregnancies.
“In Nigeria, contraceptive prevalence is presently 18 per cent,” he said.
Aworinde, however, listed availability, affordability, acceptability, policy failure and health worker shortage as the biggest gaps.
He also debunked myths around contraception.
“Another misconception is that ‘it encourages promiscuity’, that is not true, the most important thing is having informed choice and talking to a trained health personnel,” he said.
He urged policymakers to treat population growth as a development crisis, not just a health issue.
“We are growing at too fast a rate to meet the demands of this population.
“The growth is causing deforestation, uncontrolled urbanization and increase in communicable diseases because we have poor water and poor waste disposal,” he said.
He cited projections that Lagos alone could reach 80 million people in under 30 years with 60 to 70 per cent being young people.
He, therefore, urged the government to invest in infrastructure, water, food and jobs.
“One important way to reduce population growth is access, availability and accessibility to family planning services.
“Families should be responsible, we need to give birth to children that we can cater for.
“These are the reasons why the insecurity problem in Nigeria is increasing, because we have people we cannot cater for; if people are gainfully employed they will not become a problem,” he said.
The consultant reiterated that most maternal deaths could be preventable and Nigerians must understand the role of planning.
“The one thing I wish every Nigerian knew is that family planning saves lives, it is about having children when you are ready, when you can cater for them, and when your body is ready.
“Most maternal deaths are preventable with antenatal care and skilled delivery when mothers live, families live; when mothers live, the nation grows,” he stressed.
Also, a Senior Registrar at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Dr Olufiade Oyerogba warned that Nigeria’s rapid population growth was stretching maternal and reproductive health services.
Oyerogba, of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, UCH, said Nigeria’s rapid population growth continued to place enormous pressure on the healthcare system, especially maternal and reproductive health services.
She said hospitals were seeing increasing numbers of pregnant women in antenatal clinics, labour wards, and emergency units.
“This can lead to longer waiting times and increased workload for healthcare providers,” she noted.
Citing WHO estimates, she said Nigeria contributed a significant proportion of global maternal deaths.
“The country has a maternal mortality ratio of over 1,000 deaths per 100,000 live births in recent reports; these figures highlight the urgent need to strengthen reproductive health services,” she added.
The gynaecologist remarked that teenage pregnancies are commonly linked with serious complications.
According to her, teenage pregnancies are associated with anaemia, hypertensive disorders, obstructed labour, preterm birth, and low birth weight babies.
She added that many teenagers present late for antenatal care, emphasising that it increases the risk of poor maternal and neonatal outcomes.
On closely-spaced births, she said pregnancies within 24 months of a previous birth carried high risks.
“They are associated with maternal anaemia, uterine rupture, postpartum haemorrhage, and fetal growth restriction,” Oyerogba explained.
While she said she does not have verified institutional figures, she noted these complications are regularly encountered.
The doctor described family planning as one of the most effective public health interventions, saying it enables women and couples to plan the timing and spacing of pregnancies.
“This reduces unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortions, and pregnancy-related complications,” she added.
According to Oyerogba also, women who space pregnancies by at least two years experience better recovery.
“Family planning also allows women with hypertension, diabetes, or heart disease to optimise their health before conception,” she stated.
Oyerogba said many patients still believed myths about contraception.
“Some believe contraceptives cause permanent infertility, cancer, or accumulate inside the body.
“Others think family planning is only for married women or those with many children, most of these beliefs are not supported by scientific evidence.
“Modern contraceptive methods are safe, highly effective, and reversible in most cases,” Oyerogba noted.
She advised patients to seek counselling from trained healthcare providers, while cautioning people to avoid relying on myths or information from unverified sources.
She urged the government to match population growth with investments, strengthen primary healthcare and ensure consistent availability of family planning commodities.
To families, she urged open communication and support for girls’ education.
“The public should embrace healthy birth spacing and attend regular antenatal care.
“A healthy population is not simply about numbers. It is about ensuring every pregnancy is planned and every childbirth is safe.
“On the 2026 theme, reproductive choices are fundamental human rights, investing in women’s health and family planning is one of the smartest investments any nation can make.
“When women are healthy and empowered, families prosper, communities become stronger and national development accelerates,” Oyerogba stressed. (NANFeatures)
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