NOA, UNICEF Engage Journalists in Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey

Over 70 Journalists across the Southwest states of Nigeria are participating in a media dialogue on the 2021 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, MICS 6, in Ibadan, Oyo State.

The two-day discourse, which kicked off on Thursday, was put together by the National Orientation Agency, Lagos Directorate in collaboration with United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF.

The UNICEF Social Policy Specialist and Officer in charge of the UNICEF Lagos Office, Muhammad Okorie described the MICS as a household survey done every two years.

He said he was pleased that the recent tool; MICS 6 has accurate data that would help to measure the situation of children and women in Nigeria.

Acknowledging the impact of the media on society, Mr. Okorie explained that the media have a wider platform to publicize the MICS report for it to reach all stakeholders and thereby bring about narratives that will transform the lives of women and children in Nigeria.

In his opening remarks, the Director of the National Orientation Agency, Lagos State, Dr. Waheed Isola advised the Journalists to make optimal use of the data in the survey report in their reportage and programming.

Earlier the UNICEF Communication Officer, Blessing Ejiofor said the essence of the dialogue was to discuss the recent data and assess the works done so far on the protection of rights of children and women in the Southwest zone of Nigeria.

She explained that the new survey, MICS 6 as an advocacy tool, would enable journalists to report accurately and do the right advocacy for children and women by analyzing their situation in an informed manner that would be convincing to the stakeholders.

While reviewing the MICS 6 results across the Southwest states and their implications for health, violence against women/girls and others, UNICEF Planning and Monitoring Specialist, Oluwasola Olanipekun noted that MICS data are reliable which are used for planning and strengthening the national statistical capacity.

Mr. Olanipekun added that new modules were introduced in the MICS 6 such as household energy use, social transfer and financial inclusion, with over 250 indicators.

He reiterated the credibility of the survey which he said had produced reliable data.

Some of the indicators which include health, nutritional and sanitation indicators were reviewed vis-a-vis each state’s data.

For instance, from the Health indicator Oyo, Ondo and Ogun states were reported to be at the lowest rung of the ladder in the zone in terms of Institutional delivery.

The three states have the highest percentages of children not delivered in health facilities in the zone which implied that such deliveries were handled by non-skilled health workers.

Also, the infant mortality rate of babies from age zero to eleven months is lowest in Lagos and Osun states, while Ogun State has the lowest infant survival rate in the zone.

Generally, the under-5 mortality rate is lowest in Lagos state and highest in Ogun State.

From the Nutritional indicators of the 2021 MICS report, children are said to eat less frequently in Oyo state and more frequently in Lagos state.

On sanitation indicator (WASH), Oyo state is reported to be the highest in open defecation, while Lagos has the lowest rate.

A health specialist, Dr.Ijeoma Agbo pointed out that some events at the health centres may not be recorded because of inadequate personnel to document the reports, hence data could only be gotten from what was recorded.

She cautioned that the percentage assessment of individual states could be misleading, and advised the media to focus more on the absolute figure which constitutes the percentage for better assessment of the performance of each state.

A media Trainer and Manager, Ify Onyegbule advised Journalists to maximize the use of social media platforms to tell their stories from the available data.