From Jude Owuamanam, Jos
The National Population Commission has begun the 2023 -2024 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey. The survey, which began on December 11, 2023 is expected to end in April 11, 2024
The exercise, according to the Federal Commissioner, Felicia James Mwolpun, is to take place in 39 selected clusters in all the 17 local government areas of the state.
Mwolpun told newsmen at a press briefing on Friday that the survey will involve 30 households in each of the 39 clusters.
According to her, the objective of the survey is to collect high quality data on fertility levels, awareness and use of family planning methods, maternal and child health, childhood mortality, childhood immunization, breastfeeding and young child feeding practices, nutritional status of women and children as mortality.
The survey, she said is also intended to gather information on women empowerment, domestic violence, female genital mutilation, fistula, prevalence of malaria, awareness and behaviour regarding HIV/AIDS and other secually transmitted infections (STIs), including other health related issues such as disability such as disability, tobacco, tuberculosis.
The survey is also intended to assess factors that impact on maternal and neonatal health, including antenatal and delivery care, and treatment of pregnancy-related conditions
She said that the survey is also intended to assess the nutritional status of women (15-49) and children under age five through anthropometric measurement (height and weight), to conduct blood testing on women aged 15-49 and children aged 0-59 months to estimate the prevalence of anemia, to provide information to address evaluation needs of maternal and child health and family planning programmes for evidence based planning and to produce results in timely manner and ensure that the data are disseminated widely for use by programme managers and policy makers in government and non-governmental organizations.
The federal commissioner also said the survey is intended to foster and reinforce Nigeria’s ownership of data collection, analysis, presentation and use by utilizing its own manpower and to strengthen national capacities by implementing better use of collected data for identifying demographic and health-related basic social needs, using the data to develop strategies for equitable growth and social poverty reduction, and linking such strategies to national development strategies.
NPC Programme Officer, Moses Agada, who gave an overview of the survey design, said it is a project funded by USAID to provide technical assistance to low and medium income countries in the area of collection and the use of data and to monitor and evaluate health and nutrition.
According to him, the exercise is countrywide involving 1400 clusters in 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. Of these clusters, 701 are in urban clusters and 699 in rural clusters, with data to be collected in 30 selected households.
Agada , who gave the sample size, said that in all, the demographic survey will be conducted in 4200 households and 41,918 women from age 15-49 and 13, 389 men will be interviewed.
He said that the age specific for women was because it was the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended reproductive age for women.