High fertility rate has serious implication - Iddi

Tamale (Northern Region) 15 Oct. '98 Alhaji Seidu Iddi, the Northern Regional Minister, has said the uncontrolled population and fertility growth rates in the region have a serious socio-economic implication for individuals, families and the nation as a whole.

The region's fertility and growth rates of 7.3 per cent and four per cent respectively, imply that the average woman within the reproductive age group is likely to give birth about seven to eight times more than her counterparts in other parts of the country. He was speaking at the launch of the regional family planning campaign in Tamale on Wednesday.

He said ''a visit to the average family home in our region amply bears testimony to this fact. Very often what one perceives is a large number of malnourished children of the same age group competing for meagre domestic resources and consigned to a state of hopelessness,'' he observed.

The ceremony was attended by religious and traditional leaders, students of second cycle schools and other stakeholders in family planning.

Alhaji Iddi expressed optimism that, despite the numerous challenges facing the region, a properly co-ordinated and sustained effort will reverse the high trend of population growth rate in the region. Alhaji Iddi described as " unhealthy" the competition among rivals over child bearing and polygamous marriages saying they are enslaving women, leaving them with little or no opportunity to contribute to decisions affecting their health. GRi