Katsina registers 2.7m births in 5 years – NPC

The National Population Commission (NPC) says Katsina State recorded 2,757,833 births between 2017 and 2021.

The Acting Director, Public Affairs of NPC, Isiaka Yahaya, disclosed this in a statement on Monday.

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He said data from the RapidSMS, a tracking tool that collects and collates real-time information on birth registration in Nigeria indicated that Katsina recorded 542,368 births in 2017, 489,488 in 2018, 474,068 in 2019, 499,843 in 2020 and 752,066 in 2021.

He said the figures were higher than the report of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

“The birth registration figures credited to Katsina State by the NBS constitute a gross underestimation of the substantial progress made in registration of births in Katsina State which currently maintains 201 registration centres across the 34 local government areas of the state, where births and deaths are registered on daily basis and free of charge,” he said.

He added that the boost in birth registration, according to the federal commissioner representing Katsina State, Engineer Bala Banye, was made possible by the tremendous support of the Katsina State government in collaboration with development partners and the traditional institution. 

“Under the Enumeration Area Demarcation for the 2022 Population and Housing Census, the state government supported the commission in the training and recruitment of ad hoc registrars to mop up registration of under-five children in selected local government areas.

“In order to boost birth registration in Katsina State, efforts are being made to register and issue birth certificates to vulnerable children in Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps across the state,” he added.