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*

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.

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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.