The Abia State National Population Commission, NPC has revealed that over three decades, it has spearheaded the implementation of the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey, in close collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health, and key partners.
The State Director National Population Commission, Lady Juliana Ada Ezebuiro, who disclosed this during a press conference in Umuahia, also expressed the NPC readiness to have quality data from the 2023-24 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey, NDHS.
According to her, the program symbolizes the culmination of strategic planning, collaborative efforts, and unwavering commitment from all participating stakeholders.
Lady Ezebuiro noted that the survey has been instrumental in providing invaluable insights that inform evidence-based policies, enhance public health interventions, and contribute to the broader development agenda of the Nation. She, therefore, urged the public to cooperate and give necessary support to the field workers who would be deployed to various locations and areas in the state for data collection.
In her address, the Abia state commissioner for health Dr Ngozi Okoronkwo represented by the permanent secretary Ministry of Health, Dr Ifeanyinwa Blossom Uma-Kalu stated that the present administration in the State led by Dr. Alex C. Otti, is committed to making health care delivery very accessible, affordable, timely and of good quality, to the Abia citizenry.
She thanked the National Population Commission and the Federal Ministry of Health, adding that their mission in Abia State will set the stage for making critical decisions concerning Abia citizens, especially women, and children.
Dr Uma Kalu maintained that the state government is therefore looking forward to positive impacts that will be driven by the data generated through the survey.
Earlier in his address, a South East Coordinator of NDHS, Mr Cyril Obike said the survey which would be held in 30 households in each selected cluster in Abia State, would be carried out by well-trained personnel from NPC and the Federal Ministry of Health.
Obike said the data on maternal and child mortality, HIV/AIDS, domestic violence, primary healthcare accessibility etc, would be collected while anemia tests would also be run on women and children.
The South East Coordinator, however, lamented that his office in the past, faced frosty reception from some communities in Abia.
He also begged community youths and religious leaders to welcome and cooperate with the NPC data collectors, even as he assured them that no woman would be sexually assaulted by the NPC personnel.
