Osinbajo’s got something to say about forced marriages in Nigeria’s north
By Yemi Osinbajo, Nigeria’s Vice President…
There is now emerging in the country a convergence of opinions, that forced and early marriages represent a challenge and a drawback especially as it affects issues around maternal mortality in Nigeria.
Yesterday (September 28), I met with the Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund, Prof. Babatunde Osotimehin, Permanent Secretary of the UK’s Department for International Development, Mr Mark Lowcock who both led a delegation from UNFPA and DFID.
Nigeria constitutes 2% of the world’s population but contributes 10% of the world’s maternal mortality.
Prof. Osotimehin, Mr Lowcock, Prof. Isaac Adewole (Minister of Health) and I discussed the need for Federal and State governments to work with global agencies to reduce maternal mortality in Nigeria.
Prof. Osotimehin, who is himself a former Health Minister in Nigeria said maternal mortality rates in Nigeria is very high, with 111 dying on a daily basis.
UNFPA’s plans to restart a national programme to reduce the rate of maternal and child mortality in Nigeria, especially in the North. The proposed programme aims to ultimately reduce maternal mortality in Nigeria by 30% through a child spacing and family planning initiative.
This will augment DFID’s programme that currently supports 6 million couples on family planning annually.