Africa-Press – Mozambique. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has revealed that Mozambique in the next three decades Mozambique could see its population double, reaching over 60 million inhabitants.
According to the World Population Situation Report, which was recently presented in Maputo, the number could reach 69 million, with major implications for the economy and social services.
According to UNFPA representative, Nélida Rodrigues, citing the report, in Mozambique, around half of all girls give birth for the first time before the age of 18 and around 48 per cent of women get married before the age of 18.
“On average, approximately one child in each household is born unwanted or unplanned, which is less than or equal to the number of children women have. Only 25 per cent of women between the ages of 15 and 49 use contraception, while more than 27 per cent of women have an unmet need for family planning”, she said.
According to Rodrigues, the UNFPA will continue to support Mozambique in adopting actions “in order to ensure the sexual and reproductive rights of all, and to gender-based violence and maternal mortality.”
According to the report, globally about 50 per cent of countries did not develop fertility policies between 1976 and 2019, which jeopardizes the exercise of reproductive rights and sustainable population planning.
For her part, Eliza Magaua, chairperson of the National Statistics Institute (INE), said that the country’s recently approved National Development Strategy (INDE 2025-2044) points out that the fertility acceleration transition is a critical path to realizing the demographic dividend and promoting the country’s sustainable and inclusive development.
“This is an acceleration which, however, must be rooted in rights and choices, and means ensuring that every couple has access to information and support services to make informed decisions about their bodies, their families and their futures”, she said.
She also said that the INE and other organizations rely on this type of report in order to comply with the Sustainable Development Goals.
“The INE reiterates its collaboration with academia in general so that the policy makers may formulate their decisions based on evidence”, she said.
Source: AIM
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