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Osinbajo’s got something to say about forced marriages in Nigeria’s north

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.

Nigeria: “If a girl is 15 years old and she is not married, people will start complaining”. Photo: GirlsNotBrides.Org
Nigeria: “If a girl is 15 years old and she is not married, people will start complaining”. Photo: GirlsNotBrides.Org

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.

Yemi Osinbajo
Yemi Osinbajo.

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.

See Also

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.

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