By Hosea Parah,Abuja

The Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo,has officially launched Nigeria’s 2021 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) and National Immunization Coverage Survey (NICS) report in Abuja.
Osinbajo who was represented at the occasion by the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning Dr. Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed explained that the survey are veritable instrument for providing reliable nationwide and internationally comparable data to monitor the situation of children and women in Nigeria.

The Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey is a household survey developed by UNICEF and implemented by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS)  to assist Nigeria and other countries in filling data gaps for monitoring human development indicators in general and the situation of children and women, in particular.
The survey project has evolved over the years to respond to changing data needs, expanding from 28 indicators in the first round in 1999 to 200 in its current sixth.

The Vice president assured MICS-NICS government support financially, and the implementation of the Survey report in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Osinbajo commended the good work carried out by the NBS in the implementation of MICS which provides data on all encompassing areas like, child mortality, health, nutrition, education, child and social protection, women’s health care and empowerment, water, sanitation and hygiene, while NICS assesses vaccination coverage provided through the health systems in the country..

Speaking at the occasion, the statistician-General of the Federation and Chief Executive Officer, NBS, Prince Adeyemi Adeniran stated that the Survey which has over 200 indicators, recorded the highest response rate in the MICS series, with and impressive response rate of 99 percentage.

“The 2021 Nigeria MICS-NICS report provides evidence-based data for all key stakeholders to prioritize quality services for children and women with higher efficiency and effectiveness,” said Statistician-General “pointing out that the information collated will inform policies aimed at social inclusion of the most vulnerable population, help identify disparities, and allow for international comparability
Mr. Peter Hawkins UNICEF Representative in Nigeria speaking at the occasion said “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.”

Prince Adeniran said MICS also had some notable improvement to the survey, making it the most comprehensive MICS Survey ever to be conducted in Nigeria. This is the first round to be conducted since the advent of covid-19 in Nigeria adding that the severe effect of the pandemic on the health status of the citizens, the results of the survey will shed more light on how the pandemic has affected households.

Prince Adeniran added that these improvements were in the form of an addition of an entirely new questionnaire to the survey, as well as the inclusion of the new modules to existing questionnaires. A completely new questionnaire which focuses on Children aged 5 to 17 was introduced under this round.

He explained that questionnaire deals with issues such as foundational learning, Child functioning, and parental involvement. However, these new modules include; Energy use, Social Transfers, and Food Security, which were added to the Household Questionnaire. “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.

Adding that 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.”

Statistician-General of the Federation said, pointed out that the surveys will build back better from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the MICS-NICS survey provides evidence to shape interventions and focus resources in a way that helps children and their families reach their full potential,” While new modules on Victimization and financial Inclusion were added to the men and women questionnaires. Looking critical at the nature of these new additions, it is evident that these are topical issues and areas in which more information is required by Government and policymakers, to enable them to monitor relevant policies and programs, and intervene where necessary´. He said.

Hawkins, stated that, 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.

He stressed that the Indicators produced for the first time include social transfer, household energy use, child functioning and foundational learning skills. The survey measures the government’s progress towards national commitments and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Also speaking at the event, the Minister of the State for Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Ikanade Agba said the 2021 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey and National Immunization Coverage Survey Report will provide data for tracking both social and economic activities relating to women, Children and Nigerians at large at both the National and Sub-national levels ultimately, to serve as a reference material for policy formation and decision making.

He enjoined all the stakeholders to take advantage of the survey program to continuously promote the generation and use of data and statistics for evidence-based design, implementation as well as evaluation of the projects and programs as enshrined in the National Development Plan 2021 to 2025.

He added that the launched Survey Report will immediately be disseminated across the six geo-political zones for wider coverage and utilization by all. He commended all the agencies and Directors involved for the success of the round of Survey.