TheNewsGuru

Tag: Census

  • U.S. donates N32bn to conduct HIV/AIDS census in Nigeria

    U.S. donates N32bn to conduct HIV/AIDS census in Nigeria

    The United States Government has donated $90m (N32bn) to Nigeria for the HIV/AIDS survey that will take place across the country starting from June.

    The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, said this during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Federal Ministry of Health, the National Agency for the Control of AIDS and the United States Government in Abuja on Thursday.

    The survey, which has been tagged, ‘Nigeria AIDS Indicators and Impact Survey,’ will have a sample size of 170,000 people and is expected to last for about six months.

    The exercise, which is the largest survey of HIV/AIDS in the world, will take place across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory.

    Adewole said the American government had directly supported the survey with about $90m and, indirectly, through other partners.

    The minister said, “The resources for the survey are largely from the US government. Directly, they are giving us about $90m; and indirectly, they are working with other partners to ensure the success of the survey.”

    Adewole, who spoke on the importance of the survey, said, “The survey will put behind us the concept of making guess work in terms of burden of HIV disease in Nigeria.

    “We do not know how many people are infected; so, this study will enable us get a precise number.

    “This survey is not only about HIV, but about Hepatitis B and C.

    “This survey will also help us to drive forward the agenda to rid Nigeria of Hepatitis C. As you know, Hepatitis C now has a cure.

    “Also, people who test positive will be placed on treatment, as having HIV is not the end of the world.”

    Adewole said politics would not be involved in the process, even as he promised that the result of the survey would be published “so that we can discover the real state of HIV in the country.

    “It will serve as a drive to our effort to control the epidemic.”

    Also speaking, the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Stuart Symington, urged Nigerians and interested groups to ensure that the exercise was a success.

    He said the world was watching and a successful survey would make Nigeria a shining example and ultimately help bring the HIV epidemic under control.

    Symington said, said “An epidemic control has not yet been achieved anywhere, but with this effort the government of Nigeria in partnership with this extra ordinary team of partners funded by every man, woman and child in the United States of America, a huge success will be achieved. As one thing everyone can do this year, is to help make this survey a success.”

    The Director-General of NACA, Sani Aliyu, said the survey would help solve the problem of accurate data and also more precise information of the coverage of HIV in Nigeria.

    Aliyu urged Nigerians to participate in the survey, to enable accurate and precise results.

  • 2018 Census: No going back on preparations, NPC tells Dogara

    The Chairman of the National Population Commission, NPC, Eze Duruiheoma, has said despite calls in some quarters for a postponement of the proposed 2018 census, the Commission will go ahead with scheduled plans.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that Duruiheoma was reacting to calls by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara to postpone the census after the 2019 election year.

    Dogara noted that since the census can’t be achieved in 2017 (this year), there was no need conducting it a year to the general elections as politicians would take undue advantage of the window of opportunity made available by the census to maneuver figures for their selfish political gains.

    In his words: “I won’t advise anyone to conduct a national census in 2018. I said it before that if we are not going to achieve it in 2017, then we should just forget it until after 2019. If you conduct a census just before the elections, there will be so much pressure, crisis and a lure for people to manipulate the figures for political reasons, such that the agency cannot even cope with.

    “So, it is better for a fresh administration to conduct this exercise from the beginning of that administration when we do not have any pressure of elections in sight. Then we may have something that resembles reality, but I can bet on it that if the census is conducted in 2018, the outcome will be unreliable. Seriously speaking, because I know who we are and I know the kind of litigation, backlash and the pressure that come with this kind of exercise and we don’t need that now to be candid.”

    However, Duruiheoma had while reacting to the speaker’s position said the commission will go ahead with its plans because the Federal Government has not called for the cancellation of the census.

     

    Speaking in an interview with reporters in Abuja on Tuesday on the stand of the commission, Duruiheoma said: “The NPC is an agency of government. Whatever we say, whatever we do, we give it to government; government reacts and directs us. The Speaker (Dogara) is entitled to his views, any other person is also entitled to his or her views. That is where we are. We are supposed to be an umpire.

    “We have not been asked not to go on with preparations, so we will continue to prepare. In any case, even if it is to be held in 2020 or 2021, there has to be preparations. I expect government to direct us.”

    The NPC boss added, “If the census will take place in 2030, there has to be some preparations. Preparation is a regular thing. It is not an election. Even if it is an election, you have to prepare for it.”

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that the Commission had proposed that conducting the census next year will cost the nation an estimated N272bn and this has attracted severe criticisms.

  • Census may hold early 2018 – NPC

    Census may hold early 2018 – NPC

    Dr Ghaji Bello, Director General of the National Population Commission says the National Population Census will hold in 2018 if necessary logistics are provided.

    Bello, in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in New York on Sunday, said that the exercise should have been conducted in 2016 in line with international practice.

    “If we are given all the resources that we need today, we may need possibly the first quarter of next year before we can do proper census.

    “Because there are quite a number of processes that have to be undertaken as part of the preparatory activities between now and the actual census phase itself.

    “And that would be sometimes in the first quarter of 2018 and thereabout.

    “Ordinarily, it ought to have a cycle of its own and that cycle should be five years or 10 years.

    “We should have conducted the last census in 2016 but for a variety of reasons outside the control of the population commission, we were unable to do it.

    “One, in 2015, there was a general election; because of the preparations towards the general election, that in a way affected our ability to be mobilized to move with full gear for the 2016.

    “Secondly, once the election was concluded and there was a new government in place, that government also has to get its foot on ground before it can move forward.

    “But no sooner had it started to settle down than there was the issue of recession, collapse of the oil in the international market and with a variety of other reasons again, it just didn’t happen.”

    To meet the UN 10-year benchmark, Bello said the commission was working for a constitutional amendment that would allow for scheduled conduct of the census.

    Bello added that the conduct of the census under the present administration would give the exercise a deserved National and International credibility and reliability.

    “We are of the firm belief that if it is conducted under this government, that there will be a lot of international credibility for the exercise.

    “This is given the persona of the president that is there presently.

    “And then people take advantage of climes and environment and chances and there are times when everything works in your favour.

    “We believe firmly in the National Population Commission that census conducted under President Muhammadu Buhari would go a long way in actually achieving the credibility that we want.”

    The director-general explained that Nigeria would take advantage of technology in the next population census through the use of biometrics.

    ‘’That will put to rest, the issue as to whether people are counting donkeys or fishes or horses or cows or trees.’’

  • 2018 census will be biometric based – FG

    The Federal Government has announced that to eliminate to the barest minimum the possibility of human errors, the 2018 Census will be bio-metric based.

    This was revealed on Monday by the Sokoto State Federal Commissioner of the National Population Commission, NPC, Barrister Muhammadu Aminu Jason while addressing newsmen.

    In his words: “As a prelude the commission will today (Monday) commence the third phase of Enumeration Area Demarcation, EAD, in Illela Local Government Area, LGA of Sokoto State.”

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that EAD is said to be a process of deploying high calibre technology to divide the landmass of a country into small units that can be easily covered by a team of enumerators during census enumeration.

    Speaking further, Jason said: “The significance of the EAD exercise goes beyond the conduct of the 2018 census hence it will be used as an established national data for generating accurate locality list including house numbering for subsequent census.

    “The commission had previously demarcated 37 local government areas in all the 36 states of the federation including Federal Capital Territory, Abuja in the previous EAD exercise.

    “Nigerians have no reason whatsoever not to believe the outcome of the 2018 census as we are deploying sophisticated technology in carrying out the EAD exercise,” Jason stated.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that the Federal Government, had last week released over N775 million for the conduct of EAD exercise ahead of next year’s census.