Africa region remains the continent with the highest total fertility rate among other major regions of the world such as Europe, North America, Asia and Latin America and Oceania. This paper examines the determinants of high fertility in sub-Saharan Africa; it also determines the policy implication for reaping and optimizing demographic dividend. Secondary data sources were employed in achieving the set objectives. This paper submitted that determinants such as age at first marriage; high child mortality; low female education; gender preference; and limited birth spacing were the determinants of high fertility in Africa. For Africa to harness the demographic dividend, certain policy implications such as investment in child survival and health programmes; investment in quantity and quality of education; multi-sectoral approaches and meeting infrastructural development; enhance job market and enact and enforce laws to prevent early marriage among other policy programmes must be embraced. The paper concludes that there is high fertility in sub-Saharan Africa because of the in-built population momentum of the populace. Also, fertility must be reduced significantly if sub-Saharan Africa must reap and optimize the promising dividend. This paper, therefore, recommends that all government in Africa continent should come up with and implement effective population policy that will help to reduce high fertility level.
Purpose: The study examined the determinants of disparity in desired fertility among married women in urban and rural centres in Southwest Nigeria. Methodology: The study adopted a mixed method research design. A total number of one thousand one hundred and eighty-seven (1,187) women (urban=713; rural=474) of reproductive ages (15-49) years were drawn from Southwest States in Nigeria using multi-stage sampling technique. Questionnaire method was used to gather data from the field. Three levels of data analysis were undertaken to achieve the study objectives. Frequency distribution of socio-demographic factors by place of residence was used at the univariate stage of analyses, chi-square test and binary logistic regression were used at the bivariate and multivariate levels of analysis. Findings: The results showed that more than three-quarter (79.4%) desired four children and below while more than one-fifth (20.6%) of the women desired 5 children and above. Higher percentage of women (84.8%) desired four children and below in rural area when compared with women in urban centres (75.7%). However, among those that desired 5 children and above higher proportion (24.3%) was found in the urban centres when compared with their counterpart in rural areas (15.2%). There is significant relationship (p<0.05) between desired number of children and education of women, husband’s education, religion, age of husband and birth interval urban areas while there is significant relationship between desired number of children and women and husbands’ education in rural areas. Further analysis showed that women’s education especially women with below secondary education had higher odds of desiring more children than those with post-secondary education (OR: 1.57; 95% C.I: 0.70-3.56). In addition, women whose husbands had no education, below secondary education and secondary education were less likely to desire more children in the urban areas than those with post-secondary education. In rural areas, there was significant relationship (p<0.05) between women whose husbands had no education, below secondary education and desired fertility. Women whose husbands had no education and those whose husbands had below secondary education were 16.94 and 2.93 more likely to desire more children than those in the reference category respectively. In addition, women who were Christian were more likely to desire more children in urban areas than their counterparts who were traditionalists. It was also discovered that women who spaced their births for twenty-four months and below were 0.51 times less likely to desire more children than their counterparts in the reference category (OR:0.51; 95%C.I 0.32-0.80). Recommendation: The study recommends that policy aimed at reducing the desired fertility in both urban and rural areas should be implemented with the hope that high fertility rate will be reduced to a manageable level.
Purpose: Sub-Saharan Africa still faces high fertility rate among other sub regions globally. This study examined the contextual determinants of children ever born (CEB) among women of reproductive age in selected Southwest states in Nigeria. Methodology: A total number of one thousand, one hundred and eighty-seven (1,187) women of reproductive ages (15-49) were randomly drawn from Southwest states using multi-stage sampling technique. Questionnaire method was used to collect relevant data from the field. Three levels of data analysis were undertaken to achieve the study objectives. Frequency distribution was used at the univariate level of analysis while linear regression methods were employed at the bivariate and multivariate level of analyses at 0.05 level of significance. Findings: The result shows that education, age at marriage and employment negatively significantly predict children ever born (CEB) while age of respondents is positively significantly related to children ever born (CEB) in Southwest Nigeria. Unique Contribution to Practice and Policy: Government specific policies that will encourage female education and give room for their widespread employment should be implemented to control fertility in the country.
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