NPC selects 42,000 households for 2018 demographic, health survey

By Tobias Lengnan Dapam Abuja

The National Populations Commission (NPC), has said this year’s Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) will include 42,000 households.
The project Director of the 2018 NDHS, Amaka Ezenwa stated this on Wednesday in Kafanchan, Kaduna state, where staff of the commission are being trained for the NDHS.
Addressing guests during the opening ceremony of the event meant to equip the field workers, the project director said the NDHS which is the 6th of its kind in the country “will focus on 1,400 clusters, 37 in each state with the exception of Kano and Lagos which will have 43 clusters because of their population”.
She added that 30 households per cluster will be interviewed.

Ezenwa said the survey which will begin from 15Augusts to 15 December, will have 371 staff of the commission deployed to the field for the assignment.
On his part, the Commission’s boss, Eze Duruiheoma said the DHS will provide “up- to- date information and reliable estimates of fertility levels and preferences, awareness and use of family planning methods, breastfeeding practices, nutritional status of mothers and young children, early childhood mortality and maternal mortality, maternal and child health, knowledge and behaviour regarding HIV/AIDS and other sexual transmitted infections (STIs), female genital cutting, fistula and domestic violence.
“In addition, the 2018 NDHS will provide estimates of anaemia prevalence among children age 6-59 months and adults, as well as estimates of malaria prevalence among children age 6-59 months. It will also provide estimates of sickle cell disease”.
The NPC Chairman who was represented by the Chairman planning and research committee of the survey, Benedict Ukpong, a Federal Commissioner representing Akwa Idoma state, said, “the conduct of the 2018 NDHS will compliment existing demographic data in providing relevant, detailed and up-to-date information for planning purposes . More importantly, it will produce the necessary data set that will make positive contributions to the change agenda and Economic Recovery and Growth Programme (ERGP) of the present administration as it relates to health care service delivery, human capital development and achievement at the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).”
He further called on members of the public to cooperate with the interviewers to ensure the successful conduct of the survey.
Earlier, the Minister of Health, Prof. Issac Adewole said the outcome of the survey would be used as reference for planning for the next five years.
The Minister, who spoke through Director, Medical/ Head Monitoring and Evaluation, Dr. Emmanuel Meribole, urged participants to ensure that the right records are taken even as he expressed hope that this would be accepted both nationally and internationally.
“NDHS started last year because preparations began last year and we hope that results from the survey will be accepted Internationally and nationally. Let me also appeal to you participants that whatever you will produce will be a reference in the next five years for planning.”