The Federal Government has announced plans to commence local production of family planning commodities in Nigeria, as it inaugurated a committee to drive the initiative. Speaking at the inauguration in Abuja, Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, said the country’s growing population must be deliberately transformed into a productive resource to accelerate economic growth and national prosperity.
The Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate.
The Federal Government has said it will begin production of family planning materials locally to strengthen whole-of-government coordination and harness Nigeria’s youthful population as a driver of sustainable national development.
A statement signed by the Assistant Director, Information and Public Relations, to the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, Ado Bako, on Friday, noted that the government has also inaugurated an inter-ministerial platform to drive the initiative.
Prof. Pate described the development as an important milestone for Nigeria and the wider sub-Saharan African region, reiterating that local production would reduce dependence on imported commodities, create employment opportunities for young Nigerians and generate economic value within the country.
While inaugurating the platform in Abuja, Pate said Nigeria’s population remains the country’s greatest asset and must be deliberately transformed into a productive resource capable of driving economic growth and national prosperity.
The Coordinating Minister said the Platform was established within the overarching vision of President Bola Tinubu for a prosperous, peaceful and people-centred Nigeria, stressing that the country’s rapidly growing population could become either a major asset or a liability depending on the investments made in its health, education, empowerment and productivity.
He said Nigeria, with an estimated population of about 230 million people and a predominantly youthful demographic, adds millions of people to its population annually and is projected to reach between 450 and 500 million by 2050; therefore, he stressed the need for deliberate investments in human capital to ensure that the growing population is healthy, educated, skilled and economically productive.
Pate explained that the Inter-Ministerial Platform would adopt a life-course approach, bringing together relevant government institutions to address the needs of Nigerians from adolescence through adulthood, parenthood and old age, noting that each participating institution has a clearly defined role in achieving the objectives of the Platform.
According to him, the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare would focus on strengthening health systems, improving access to essential services, promoting equity and advancing health and social welfare outcomes, while the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning would drive national development planning, human capital investment and efficient resource allocation.
He added that the Federal Ministry of Finance had a critical role in creating the fiscal environment required to translate investments in health and other social sectors into productivity and economic growth, and highlighted the roles of the Ministries of Women Affairs, Education and Youth Development, noting that reproductive health, girls’ education, youth empowerment and access to health information were interconnected components of human capital development.
He also identified the National Population Commission (NPC) as a key partner in population planning, fertility trends, demographic projections and efforts to harness Nigeria’s demographic dividend.
On primary healthcare, the Coordinating Minister stressed the importance of ensuring availability of essential maternal, newborn and child health services, noting that reducing child mortality was closely linked to fertility decisions and the ability of families to plan their desired family size.
deepen understanding of the linkages between family planning, health-system strengthening, maternal and newborn health, human capital development and sustainable national development.
She urged members of the platform to focus on practical and measurable actions that would strengthen collaboration and partnerships among relevant MDAs.
“Let us use this platform to move beyond discussions to concrete, coordinated and measurable actions. Let us leave this meeting with a renewed commitment to collaboration, shared responsibility and collective action towards achieving our national development aspirations,” she said.
Stakeholders from the Ministries of Youth Development, Women Affairs and Social Development, Finance, and Budget and Economic Planning, as well as the National Population Commission, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) and civil society organisations, have pledged their support for the newly inaugurated Nigeria FP2030 High-Level Inter-Ministerial Platform on Family Planning, Health, Human Capital and National Development.
