Felix Uka, Abakaliki
Federal Commissioner, National Population Commission (NPC), representing Ebonyi state, Chief Darlington Okereke said that use of inappropriate local medical service facilities, lack of proper family planning, poor hygiene account for high mortality rate in Nigeria.
He explained that bad habits like smoking, drunkenness are inimical to healthy living and pose challenges to health.
Okereke, former member of House of Representative who spoke in Abakaliki yesterday noted that the situation was worrisome and needed the collaboration of all stakeholders to reverse the conditions.
The NPC boss spoke on the backdrop of official launch of the 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey report in Abakaliki, recently.
Okereke urged policy makers, relevant government Ministries, Departments and Agencies, the organized private sector and other data end-users to carefully study and use the data presented by the NPC in order to ensure improvement in the health sectors.
Recall that the National Population Commission had in its report of 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) presented in
Abakaliki disclosed that 20 percent of children in Nigeria have sickle cell trait.
Also, 2% of women and 2% of men in the country between ages of 15 and above have difficulty or cannot function in at least one domain of disability such as seeing, hearing, communicating, remembering or concentrating, walking or climbing steps and washing all over the body or dressing up.
Also, 9% of women and 10% of men have some difficulty in at least one domain.
