
The National Population Commission (NPC), Lagos State, has called for legislative framework to engender timely collection of data, to ensure resilient and equitable future.
NPC’s Federal Commissioner, Lagos State, Barr. Saidat Oladunjoye, made the call on Thursday in Lagos, during a news briefing to commemorate the 2024 World Population Day (WPD).
The 2024 WPD has the theme: “Embracing the Power of Inclusive Data Towards a Resilient and Equitable Future for All”.
Oladunjoye said that Nigeria needed to strengthen its data generating institutions, adequately fund periodic data collection exercises that would be inclusive and comprehensive.
“Most importantly, Nigeria needs to provide legislative frame to engender timely conduct of censuses, as well as promote the use of these data to guide policy decisions.
“Inclusive and reliable data/evidence can enable ascertaining a peaceful and prosperous future, building of resilient systems and societies.
“Data collection and analysis tool should be deployed to facilitate good representation and use of data, and Nigeria should champion data collection that counts people in their diversity and in all their complexity,” she said.
According to her, data collection exercise, particularly for the upcoming Population and Housing Census will be inclusive, compliant, and leave himno one behind.
She said the theme of the 2024 World Population Day was a reflection of the outcome of both global and regional reviews and evaluations of progress and achievements attained in the last three-decades.s
She said that it was a review of the implementation of the International Conference on Population and Development Programme of Action; a decade of the Addis Ababa Declaration on Population and Development; and almost two-decades of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), among others.
She said that the outcome reports at national, regional and global levels, particularly in Africa, show a dearth of data/information and sufficient evidence to explain situations.
Oladunjoye said that this year’s theme hinged on the golden rule of the SDGs agenda, with the promise to leave no one behind.
“Realising this promise requires the existence of data that are timely, credible; reliable; verifiable; comprehensive; well-disaggregated and geo-referenced, to enable a better understanding.
“It requires a better understanding of who the people that make up the numbers are; where they are located/reside; under what circumstances/situations do they exist/operate; what their ages and needs are; and how data generating institutions or researchers can capture/include them in their diversity during data collection processes,” she said.
Oladunjoye said that these data should be readily available to all decision-makers; planners; civil society organisations; businesses and citizens.
According to her, such date will help to shape policies; direct actions; advice on development options; and permits governments to be held to account, in a way that truly reflects the needs of everyone.
“Permit me to inform that, Nigeria was among nations who did not have sufficient, comprehensive and inclusive data to evaluate its performance, achievements nor challenges, during the regional review of AADPD+10 and for ICPD@30 PoA reporting during the 57th Session of the Commission on Population and Development, early this year.
”Therefore, I wish to reiterate that the theme calls for the evaluation of our data generating systems/institutions; our perceptions on issues of data; and has raised a concern we should not ignore, but collectively resolve it in the shortest possible time,” she said.
In his welcome address, the State Director, NPC, Mr Bamidele Sadiku, said that July 11 of every year had been designated as the World Population Day by the United Nations General Assembly.
Sadiku said that this was in order to call attention to the impact and effect of population on development.
He said that the rate at which population was growing had a tremendous impact on the environment, development and eradication of poverty.
According to him, this year’s theme focuses attention on the need for more understanding on the essentiality of inclusive data.
“It is about closing the data gaps that unintentionally aid inequality; allows the risk of groupthink; blind spots; biases; that can impair decision making and distort outcomes, among others.
“It is the commission’s believe that commemorating this day will keep population and the importance of data gathering in the front burner of national consciousness.
”At the same time, it will be a reminder to different tiers of governments to renew their commitment to the eradication of poverty, and general development of the citizenry; thereby, placing the country on the path to enhancing the achievement of the SDGs by the target year 2030,” he said. (NAN