OGUN TOPS AS NPC REGISTERS 49,000 DEATHS IN SIX MONTHS

National Population Commission (NPC) has stated that no fewer than 49,917 deaths have been registered with the Commission this year.

The figure is contained in an app called RapidSMS designed by the NPC as a data collection and reporting platform for online and offline birth registration and death registration. The RapidSMS App is on the NPC website, www.nationalpopulation.gov.ng.

Data from the RapidSMS showed that 49,917 deaths have been registered with the NPC within the first six months this year.

A breakdown by gender showed that 32,746 of the dead were male while 17,171 were female.

The app further revealed that 29,701 deaths were certified while 20,216 were uncertified.

A breakdown of reported causes of death showed 7,400 people died as a result of fevers/typhoid; 4,041 died as a result of accidents/injuries; 1,227 died from childbirth; 968 from HIV/AIDS, and 36,281 from other ailments.

For reported age at the time of death, 765 of the dead males were aged below one year; 866 were aged one to four years; and 31,115 were aged five years and above.

For the females, 585 of the dead were aged below one year; 757 were aged one to four years; and 15,829 were aged five years and above.

The app further revealed that Ogun State had the highest death registration of 7,211, followed by Lagos with 7,082; and Abia, with 4,473 registered deaths.

For Plateau, it was 1,388 deaths; Yobe, 369; Taraba, 246; Sokoto, 450; Rivers, 1,171; Niger, 694; Kwara, 2,221; Kebbi, 20; Katsina, 1,583; Imo, 2,609; Kano, 663; Kaduna, 3,754; Jigawa, 3,896; Enugu, 597; and Ebonyi, 501 deaths.

For Borno, 1,024; Benue, 85; Akwa-Ibom, 17; Anambra, 3,661; Bayelsa, 1,024; Edo, 1,731; Ekiti, 341; Ondo, 842; Osun, 1,537; Federal Capital Territory, 11; and Kogi, 698.

However, data from Zamfara, Nasarawa, Bauchi, Oyo, Gombe, Delta, Adamawa and Cross-River states were not listed in the App.

Meanwhile, despite efforts by the NPC to get people to register the death of their relatives with the Commission, the registration of deaths in Nigeria is still abysmally low at 10%. People come to collect the death certificate of their relatives only when there is a need for it.

Recently the Commission with the support of UNICEF has digitalised the registration of births and deaths in Nigeria. UNICEF is supporting the Government of Nigeria through the National Population Commission, NPC to explore innovative measures and strategies to ensure every child that is born is registered at birth and every person that died in Nigeria is registered.

In a similar development, the Commission has registered 944,102 births within the first six months of 2023 while the birth registration coverage in the country is at 57%.