NPC seeks more funding to tackle population management challenges

The National Population Commission (NPC) has stressed the need for proper population management, calling on the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning and other donor agencies to provide sufficient funds for sectors to enable the coordination of activities in the country. 

Chairman of the Commission Hon. Nasir Isa-Kwarra, made the call Thursday, at the official launch of the Revised National Population Policy Strategic Implementation Plan (SIP) by the Population Advisory Group (PAG) which held at Stratton Hotel Asokoro,  Abuja.

The Strategic Plan of Action is a well-organized document that link all the sectors and other population and development issues to the National Population Policy.

These sectors include Health Concerns; Adolescents and Young People; Education; Communication; Population Dynamics; Population Groups with Special Needs; Environment; Gender; Population and Development Planning; Population Statistics; ICPD25 Nairobi Summit Commitments; Sustainable Development and Population Goals, among others.

Isa-Kwarra noted that  the operationalization of the Strategic Plan, will facilitate the implementation of the National Development Plan (2021-2025) and enable a wholistic tackling of population management challenges in Nigeria.

According to him, the effective implementation of the Strategic Plan will position Nigeria to achieve the overall goal of “Improving the Quality of Life and Better Standards of Living for all citizens.  

“The Action Plan is a variant of a logical framework designed to facilitate implementation, track financing of activities, mapping of progress and is reader-friendly.

“The implementation of the Strategic Plan will require elaborate, consistent, sustained and well-coordinated stakeholders’ involvement and engagements at all levels including effective collaboration and partnerships,” he explained. 

“We need money (domestic and from donors) to adequately finance the implementation of the Strategic Plan,” he stressed. 

“I hereby call on the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning to provide sufficient funds to sectors and coordination activities; while I request Donors and Partners to include funding for the Strategic Plan in their respective annual country programme budgetary provisions for Nigeria,” he added.

Earliet, the PAG Spokesperson, Ambassador Usman Sarki, explained that the Revised National Population Policy and the Strategic Implementation Plan are the guidelines towards the effective population management and conduct of the census in the country. 

He added that Plans and strategies around human capital development, effective implementation of social and economic policies and the extension of services like education, healthcare and housing to Nigerians, saying this will be contingent on the successful realisation of the objectives of the Revised National Population Policy and the Strategic Implementation Plan.

“Adequate resourcing for the  implementation of the Strategic Plan and the overall work of the NPC will be crucial to the attainment of the Federal Government’s objectives towards conducting a credible, objective, scientific, unbiased, legitimate and successful national population and housing census in 2023.

“Beyond financing and other material resourcing, the deployment of well trained, capable and competent personnel to man the various complicated and arduous efforts entailed in such an exercise should not be underestimated,” he said.