Alex Ukam, the federal commissioner representing Cross River in the National Population Commission, has decried the fertility decline worldwide, saying it is unfair to blame women for infertility in Nigeria.

Mr Ukam disclosed this during a press briefing in Calabar on Friday in commemoration of the 2025 World Population Day (WPD).

WPD is marked annually on July 11 to raise awareness on global population issues, such as population growth, reproductive health, gender equality, poverty, and sustainability.

The theme of the 2025 observance is “The Real Fertility Crisis: the Pursuit of Reproductive Health Agency.’’

Speaking on the matter, the federal commissioner said many factors, including health, education, economic conditions, cultural norms, and access to reproductive services, influenced fertility decisions.

According to him, addressing fertility issues required comprehensive efforts, which included increasing awareness, improving access to reproductive health services, and empowering women.

“Recent demographics show severe fertility decline worldwide, more worrisome is the disturbing fact that millions of individuals and families out there face challenges of inability to have the number of children they desire.

“We must approach this issue with empathy, understanding, and a commitment to supporting our people to make informed decisions that affect their reproductive health,” he said.

Mr Ukam noted that in Cross River, NPC had engaged hard-to-reach communities on the importance of birth registration and conducted a malaria survey.

On his part, Governor Bassey Otu, represented by Bong Duke, the chief executive officer of the State Planning Commission, said the state’s greatest asset was its population, as suggested by socioeconomic indicators.

He noted the benefits of population when the state invested in human capital development, saying that the population would be a disaster without proper investment.

‘’As the world celebrates WPD, we must recommit ourselves to policies and actions that ensure every citizen, regardless of age, gender and background, has the opportunity to thrive in an equitable and sustainable society,’’ Mr Otu said.

Similarly, Andrew Kirima, Head of Office of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Cross River sub-office, called for a reproductive agency to tackle the infertility rate.

According to him, the real crisis is not the decline in fertility rate or the eight billion world population size, but the lack of reproductive agency.

Represented by Lanre Alabi, Monitoring and Evaluation Analyst with UNFPA, Mr Kirima said that among the most affected were young people who were embarking on their journeys to adulthood.

“Helping young people to become economically independent through securing jobs and sufficient income for housing and other living costs will help them feel financially stable to choose whether to have children,” he said.

(NAN)