Dr Ejike Oji, Chairman, Association for the Advancement of Family Planning (AAFP) in Nigeria, has said that family planning is capable of preventing stunted growth in children.
Oji made the remark in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Monday.
He disclosed that children’s brain development occurred in the first 1000 days of their birth, adding that a child’s inability to access certain diets could result in stunted growth.
“Homes without family planning can be in poverty which is likely to cause shortage in supply of some food items needed for the child’s brain development.’’
Oji explained that a lot of children had been subjected to avoidable anatomical and economic deformities due to lack of family planning.
He stated that family planning could boost the income of both parents as well as impact positively on the children.
He said that spacing the birth of children was key to economic viability of both homes and nations, and urged families to take up family planning service.
Oji affirmed the commitment of AAFP to family planning, saying that it is the key to economic reforms.
According to him, Nigeria’s fertility rate at the moment is 4.8 , and this is very high.
He said that government’s economic policies would continue to suffer set backs unless the country’s fertility rate dropped.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the global standard for fertility rate is 2.5. (NAN)
