The Federal Government (FG) has commenced training of interviewers for the 2022 fertility and health expectation survey in five states.
The states are ; Akwa-Ibom, Bauchi, Borno, Kano and Oyo.
Speaking at the opening of the training organized by the National Population Commission (NpopC) in partnership with the University of Bristol, the Commission’s Chairman, Hon Nasir Isa Kwarra, said the survey became imperative as Nigeria is regarded as the most populous country in Africa.
According to him, with a projected population of about 216 million in 2022, this is largely influenced by a high fertility rate of 5.3 per woman and a low contraceptive usage of 17 per cent in married women based on the 2018 NDHS.
He stated that the rapid growth could be an asset or a liability depending on government policies and programmes.
“But policies should be formulated and implemented from an informed point of view. The Fertility and Health Expectation Survey, a sample survey, can complement data form censuses — such as the planned 2022 Nigeria Population and Housing Census to contribute to the reservoir of data available for the government to make informed decisions about the population,” he added.
