NPC seeks support for conduct of health survey in Plateau

THE National Population Commission (NPC) on Monday sought the support of security agencies, community leaders and local government officials for the success of the 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS).

Mr Augustine Iliya, the NPC Supervisor for the Plateau team, made the plea at a press conference in Jos on Monday.

He said that the support of the officials was required to sensitise the people on the importance of the exercise and to ensure it was conducted in an orderly manner.

“ The survey is a national exercise to gather data on maternal and child health, assess the prevalence of malaria and investigate factors leading to maternal and child mortality, among others.

“ More than 50 per cent of the clusters to survey in Plateau are in the rural areas; the questionnaire is very concise, but requires the patience of the respondents to ensure the collection quality data.

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“The community leaders and local government officials are critical to ensure compliance of respondents through enlightenment and mass mobilisation for cooperation, ‘he said.

Mr Sale Abdu-Ganmbazai, the Director of NPC in Plateau, said the exercise would be conducted in 15 local government areas selected through random sampling.

He said that the exercise, which would involve nurses and lab scientists as team members, would be conducted in 525 clusters in the selected LGAs.

“ We have 35 clusters each in the LGAs, our team comprising 12 members, would complete the fieldwork in Plateau on 15th December 2018.

“Our Team was part of the rigorous training conducted for the NHDS personnel of interviewers, lab scientists and nurses to equip them for the requisite skills needed to conduct the exercise,“ he said.

Mr Isa Agaye, the Head, Technical Unit of the Jos office of NPC, said that the exercise was unique because of the malaria test introduced in the survey.

He said that respondents would undergo a malaria test and be given immediate appropriate treatments if required.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the exercise would be conducted also in indigenous languages to ensure quality data.

NAN reports that the NDHS is conducted after every five years with the support of the United State Agency for International Development (USAID).

The exercise is often coordinated by the NPC in collaboration with Federal Ministry of Health.