National Population Commission (NPC) has put in place strategic plans to make the Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) in the country a huge success.
In line with this direction, the commission yesterday launched the 2023-2024 NDHS in Kogi State.
The state director of NPC, Mr Abiodun Titus Ojo, told a press conference heralding the official launch of the NDHS in Lokoja, that the programme is a five-year project designed to assist institutions in collecting and analysing data needed to plan, monitor and evaluate population health and nutrition programmes.
He said it is an internationally funded programme in collaboration with some implementing partners in Nigeria.
Ojo said the main objectives of the programme worldwide include but not limited to providing improved information through appropriate data collection, analysis and evaluation.
It also improves coordination and partnership in data collection at an international and country level and improve data collection analysis tools and methodologies and improve the dissemination and utilisation of data.
The state director pointed out that this current edition of the survey is the 7th in the series and is aimed at providing information on population, fertility, family, marriage, maternal and child health, child survival, HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), reproductive health, nutrition, gender issues, domestic violence, tobacco and alcohol use in Nigeria.
Ojo further stated that all these are health indicators that are very key and helpful to policy makers and programme planners in health and health related planning.