Federal Commissioner of National Population Commission for Benue, Mrs. Patricia Kupchi has said that the commission has begun the 2023-2024 National Demographic and Health Survey, NDHS in the State.
Mrs. Kupchi stated this at a press briefing held at the Commission’s office in Makurdi on Wednesday.
She stated that the exercise will hold in 19 out of the 23 local government areas of the State.
It should be noted that the NDHS is the second-largest survey by the NPC after the National Census
Represented by the State Director Mr. Chris Nege, Mrs Kupchi said that for thirty years, the Commission in collaboration with key partners has diligently implemented the NDHS, consistently raising the bar for demographic and health data collection in Nigeria.
Mrs Kupchi further explained that the essence of the exercise which will last till April 2024 was to gather high-quality data on a wide range of indicators including fertility rates, maternal and child health, contraceptive use, childhood mortality, gender-related issues, HIV/AIDS awareness and more.
She said that the exercise was meant to provide data supporting evaluation needs of maternal and child health and fertility planning programs, enabling evidence-based planning and resource allocation, to produce timely results and ensure wide data dissemination, informing program managers and policymakers.
The federal commissioner added that it is to strengthen national capacities by using collected data to identify demographic and health-related basic social needs, develop equitable growth strategies, address social poverty, and align with national development strategies.
According to her, “In Benue, we have already embarked on building numbering and household listing. The survey will be done in clusters.
“We are targeting 45 households in each cluster, that is a total of 1,845. The survey will capture men between the ages of 15-50 years and women between the ages of 15-49 years.
“In each household, there is questionnaire for the male and female. We are dealing with regular households, not IDPs. It is a household-based survey which JDPs do not fall into.
“The Commission is taking precautionary measures not to expose its staff to security challenges. Where there is insecurity, exercise will not hold”.