By Murtala Adewale, Kano
Fertility rate of Kano State is at astronomical levels with a record of 1,000 births daily.
With the increase in the reproductive level in the state, the projection of the state’s population hitting 50 million by 2050 may not be far from reality.
Former Director, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Prof. Abdulsalam Nasidi, who made the shocking revelation, yesterday, at Government House, Kano, worried over dwindling rate of health workers, despite the increasing population.
The public health practitioner spoke during the inauguration of implementation committee for the establishment of College of Health Sciences of Aliko Dangote University of Science and Technology (ADUST), Wudil, by Kano government.
Nasidi said: “I want to bring to your attention a daily reality. Today, daily outpatient at Kano-owned Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital stands at 9,900, one of the busiest hospitals in the world.
“Again, the daily delivery in the same hospital is put at 70 and 350 daily average delivery in hospitals across the state. Now, if we considered home births, which is the majority, this means we have about 1,000 deliveries in Kano daily.”
According to the WHO Consultant on AIDS and Haemorrhagic, Nigeria is facing a population pressure of over 218 million, which is projected to increase to 377 million by 2050, even when the country battled with one doctor to 6,000 patients ratio. The figure, he said, is far less to WHO recommendation of one doctor to 600 patients.
Source: The Guardian
