The National Population Commission (NPC) is conducting fieldwork on Verbal and Social Autopsy (VASA) in 67 selected Kogi communities to determine the causes of maternal and child deaths.
 
The Federal Commissioner in Kogi State, Yori Afolabi, made the disclosure yesterday while briefing journalists on the current survey, which was last carried out in 2019.
   
According to him, the exercise was held from November 17 to December 17.  He said the commission’s trained data collectors would visit households to conduct interviews with family members and gather information that could assist the NPC in understanding the circumstances surrounding maternal and child deaths.
  
Afolabi disclosed that the nationwide exercise was being executed in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health.His words: “This round of VASA study is aimed at building on previous efforts in 2014 and 2019, which provided valuable information that helped shape health policies and interventions aimed at reducing preventable deaths. The study is a follow-up to the 2023-2024 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey that was concluded in May this year. We will be going back to the NDHS households to ask for information that will help the government understand and plan to address the biomedical and social causes of death of children under age five, and for women of reproductive age.”

He stated that the survey would collect essential data on both maternal and child mortalities, focusing on the social and health-related factors that contribute to these tragic losses.
 
The NPC commissioner added that the information would empower decision-makers to address the underlying issues that lead to these deaths, and will ultimately inform policies aimed at improving maternal and child health in the state and beyond.