Nigeria Records Decline In Fertility, Improved Child Survival — Report

Nigeria has recorded notable improvements successful cardinal wellness indicators, including a diminution successful fertility and under-five mortality rates, according to the recently released 2024 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS).

The broad nationalist report, officially launched by the national authorities successful Abuja, provided important information connected colonisation health, reproductive and maternal health, kid survival, and non-communicable diseases, serving arsenic a usher for evidence-based policies and sustainable wellness planning.

Speaking astatine the launch, the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Salako, described the 2024 NDHS arsenic “an indispensable instrumentality for argumentation decisions, wellness equity, and businesslike assets allocation.”

He revealed that the country’s full fertility complaint declined from 5.3 children per pistillate successful 2018 to 4.8 successful 2024, reflecting gradual gains successful entree to and usage of household readying services. Similarly, modern contraceptive usage among joined women accrued from 12 percent to 15 percent, portion satisfied request for household readying roseate to 37 percent.

“These improvements are encouraging but stay beneath the levels required to execute accelerated societal and economical transformation,” the curate stated.

On maternal and kid health, Dr. Salako noted that antenatal sum present stands astatine 63 per cent, skilled commencement attendance astatine 46 per cent, and postnatal attraction wrong 2 days of transportation has accrued from 38 per cent successful 2018 to 42 per cent successful 2024, an betterment that nevertheless highlights ongoing gaps successful skilled maternal care.

The survey besides revealed advancement successful kid survival, with under-five mortality dropping from 132 deaths per 1,000 unrecorded births successful 2018 to 110 deaths per 1,000 unrecorded births successful 2024. However, neonatal mortality showed small improvement, lasting astatine 41 deaths per 1,000 unrecorded births, compared to 39 5 years earlier.

“Considering that up to 45 percent of under-five deaths hap successful the neonatal period, we indispensable intensify efforts to tackle the starring causes of newborn deaths,” Dr. Salako emphasised.

He revealed that the ministry has launched the Maternal and Neonatal Mortality Reduction Initiative (MAMII) and the Nigeria Child Survival Action Plan (2025–2029) to code these challenges done coordinated, context-specific interventions.

The NDHS besides provided penetration into immunisation coverage, showing that 39 percent of children aged 12–23 months are afloat vaccinated, portion 31 percent stay wholly unvaccinated, a concerning spread that underscores inequities crossed states.

Ownership of insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) remains high, with astir six successful 10 households owning astatine slightest one, and usage among large women present approaching half, reflecting advancement successful malaria prevention.

Dr. Salako further expressed interest implicit the debased diagnosis rates of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), noting that less than 10 percent of adults aged 15–49 person ever been informed by a wellness idiosyncratic of their humor unit oregon humor sweetener status, contempt grounds of rising prevalence nationwide.

He reaffirmed the Tinubu administration’s committedness to leveraging NDHS information for targeted investments, improved coordination, and reforms crossed each tiers of the wellness system.

Also speaking, the Chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC), Hon. Nasir Isa Kwarra, described the NDHS arsenic a “national mirror” reflecting Nigeria’s wellness advancement and challenges. He disclosed that the 2024 survey covered implicit 40,000 households crossed the 36 states and the FCT, generating credible information for some nationalist and subnational planning.

Kwarra commended improvement partners including USAID, UNICEF, UNFPA, WHO, The World Bank, The Global Fund, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for their fiscal and method enactment toward the palmy completion of the survey.