The National Population Commission (NPC) has called for the support of

Nigerians to enable the commission to produce credible results in the ongoing Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS).

NPC federal commissioner in Bauchi, Ibrahim Darazo, made the call at a news conference in Bauchi on Wednesday as part of activities to galvanise support for the 2023/2024 NDHS.

The last NDHS was in 2018 and was the sixth conducted in Nigeria, following those implemented in 1990, 1999, 2003, 2008, and 2013.

NPC implemented the NDHS in collaboration with the National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP) of the Federal Ministry of Health.

The survey’s primary objective is to provide up-to-date estimates of basic demographic and health indicators.

Specifically, the NDHS collected information on fertility, awareness and use of family planning methods, breastfeeding practices, nutritional status of women and children, maternal and child health, and adult and childhood mortality.

Others are women empowerment, domestic violence, female genital cutting, prevalence of malaria, awareness and behaviour regarding HIV/AIDS and other Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), disability, and other health-related issues such as smoking.

The information collected through the survey is to assist policymakers and programme managers in evaluating and designing programmes and strategies that will improve the health of Nigerians.

Therefore, Mr Darazo called for the cooperation of the Bauchi government and residents to ensure a smooth survey. He said the NDHS 2023-2024 survey in Bauchi was conducted in 41 selected clusters across 17 local government areas.

Mr Darazo added that the selected clusters had been mapped, and the respondent households listed during the first stage of the survey were expected to last for four months.

The NPC commissioner said in the ongoing second stage of the survey, the interview team of nine members would visit selected clusters “to collect and analyse data collected, as the data will not merely be numerical values; the data must represent the health, aspirations, and challenges of our communities.

NPC director in Bauchi, Hudu Babale, said the commission received 100 per cent support from the people during the mapping exercise, which was the first stage.

He said the call for more support “is due to the fact that the interview stage is very important as personal but confidential questions will be asked from the respondents.”

(NAN)