Katsina state ranks highest in states with teenage pregnancy and motherhood, recorded 65 per cent, the Chairman, National population Commission, Eze Festus Odimegwu, has said.
The NPC boss who disclosed this on Thursday while briefing newsmen as part of the activities to mark this year’s World Population Day said Edo State recorded the lowest percentage with 2.9.
He said Teenage pregnancy is the biggest killer of young girls, caused 50,000 death every year.
The Chairman who was represented by National Commissioner, Alh.Yusif Moh’d Anka said the Teenage pregnancy not only imposes severe health and psychological strains on the baby and its mother but also have long time negative impacts on sustainable development efforts.
He called for a law that should ban early and forced marriages and advocates severe penalties for sex offenses. “Penalties for sex offenses should be more severe, not just two imprisonment, it should severe and strictly enforced for effectiveness” he charged.
The Chairman said the commemoration of the 2013 World population Day, which seeks to draw the attention to the negative impacts of teenage pregnancy, is consistent with the determination of the present commission to effectively manage the nation’s population as a veritable tool for sustainable development.
He said to give practical expression to this commitment, the commission has prepared a strategic architecture with a sequence of activities spanning 2013 to 2017 in order to deliver its mandate.
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