…as Nigeria records increase in breastfeeding, birth registration
Precious Oham
Nigeria Vice-President, Yemi Osinbajo, has launched Nigeria’s 2021 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, MICS, and National Immunization Coverage Survey, NICS report.
The survey in collaboration with UNICEF which is targeted at providing reliable nationwide and internationally comparable data to monitor the situation of children and women in Nigeria, was launched on Tuesday.
According to the survey, results have shown that there has been significant progress towards national commitments and the Sustainable Development Goals.
The report read in part: “The MICS results reveal that Nigeria has made progress in some sectors. Child mortality decreased from 1 in 8 children dying before their fifth birthday (MICS 2016) to 1 in 10 children (MICS 2021).”
“There has also been significant progress in exclusive breastfeeding and birth registration rates – the exclusive breastfeeding rate increased from 24 per cent to 34 per cent, while nearly 60 per cent of Nigerian children are now registered at birth with civil authorities, compared to 47 per cent in 2016.”
“In addition, child marriage (women married before age 18) has reduced from 44 per cent to 30 per cent since 2016.”
In the same vein, Statistician-General of the Federation/CEO National Bureau of Statistics, Adeyemi Adeniran, noted that the data collated will inform policies and programmes towards ensuring the well-being of children in Nigeria.
He said: “The information collated will inform policies aimed at social inclusion of the most vulnerable population, help identify disparities, and allow for international comparability.
“The picture is a mixed one. While there has been some good progress, and we should celebrate that – we still have a long way to go to towards ensuring the well-being of children in Nigeria.”
“The findings of this survey will help guide the federal and state governments as they plan their budgets – providing evidence for where more support and funds need to be wisely allocated and utilized.”
Similarly, Peter Hawkins, UNICEF Representative in Nigeria, said: “Data is critical for effective budgeting and decision making – and the data from these surveys together paint a picture of the situation for children and families in Nigeria.”