The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) yesterday, charged key players in the private sector to get involved in the sustainable population growth programmes as the country’s population growth poses a great threat which might not be able to be managed in the near future.

The programme which was organized by UNFPA to mark its 50thanniversary alongside her sister agency; International Conference on Population Development (ICPD) which also marked its 25th years of existence partnered with Access Bank and HACEY Health initiative.

In a keynote address delivered by the Assistant Representative UNFPA, Osaretin Adonri revealed that the country’s population growth rate is at 3.2 per cent yearly and that drastic actions should be taken to address the alarming rate.

He said, “Presently, in Nigeria population is growing at the rate of 3.2 per cent yearly and in less than twenty years the country’s population will double.

“Life expectancy in the country is 55 years and one in every four Nigerian women marries at the age of 15 years and that is posing a great health challenge for those involved”.

Osaretin however revealed that in 1969 when UNFPA was set up the county’s birth ratio was five children to one woman and now the figure is still the same with no significant decrease on the number of child birth as against the world figure.

He buttressed that the mission of the agency is aimed at reducing the maternal mortality, ending gender based violence in the country, engaging in capacity building of health workers; doctors, nurses and midwives and promoting awareness in family planning.

Mr. Osaretin however concluded, “It is the right of the individual to have any number of children it should have and where to have and it is the duty of the government to provide a good facility for such individual during birth and what we do at UNFPA is to advice that child spacing should be allowed.

The event was rounded up by a panel session with representatives from the private sectoron how to tackle the issue at hand.