Stakeholders in Lagos State government in partnership with United Nations Population Fund(UNFPA), Access corporation and HACEY Health Initiative have highlight measures to harness demographic dividends in the country to attract viable opportunities for resource allocation, human capital development and expand competitiveness in foreign and labour markets.
The stakeholders said this would champion the need for private and public partnerships at regional and state levels to address the critical issues of state migration while urging the full implementation of demographic documents.
This is even as they asserted that poverty, illiteracy and religion have been projected to be the problem of population in Nigeria while hinting that a record of over 1.8 million unplanned pregnancies occured in 2020 which resulted to pandemic babies.
Similarly, in its bid to create viable opportunities despite the growing population, the stakeholders launched its first demographic dividend roadmap and estimation profile as part of efforts to harness the demographic dividends in Lagos State while adding that, this would improve sex education and create future awareness to propel growth and development.
The launch of the roadmap, according to the state government, will boost credible data collection in terms of population growth, Investment plan, employment, governance, skill development and migration.
Speaking in his welcome address in Lagos yesterday, the special adviser to the governor on Economic Planning and Budget, Aare Adebayo Sodade, said the launch of the Lagos State Demographic Dividend Roadmap and Profile is intended to air out new thinking in optimum operation management while, adding that, this is line with international best practices to ensure that human capital, growth and development are on the front burner of socio-economic plans, programs and project.
“The demographic dividend estimation profile, he said, is intended to identify the logical potential that can be harnessed by countries during a period of demographic transition. It is a long look through the window of opportunity and their use depends on several aspects like economic institutional condition of states, operations of the financial sector, family behavior amongst others,” Sodade added.
Corroborating him, the head of Sustainability at Access Bank, Omobolanle Victor-Laniyan, said it is very important to harness demographic dividend for Lagos residents and Nigerians as a whole, noting that data is something Nigeria needs to improve on.
Also speaking, the executive director, HACEY Health Initiative, Rhoda Robinson, said, HACEY has spent over 15 years working actively in the development space to ensure that the underserved population, especially, women and young people achieved and are partakers of development and are not overlooked from the grand scheme of things.
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