Demographic and Health Survey, 2008

Fifth Round

The 2008 NDHS is a national sample survey designed to provide up-to-date information on background characteristics of the respondents; fertility levels; nuptiality;
sexual activity; fertility preferences; awareness and the use of family planning methods; breastfeeding practices; nutritional status of mothers and young children;
early childhood mortality and maternal mortality; maternal and child health; and awareness and behaviour regarding HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted
infections.

The primary objective of the 2008 NDHS is to provide estimates with acceptable precision for important population characteristics such as fertility, contraceptive prevalence, selected health indicators, mainly infant mortality and an HIV/AIDS module for women and men.

The target groups were women age 15-49 years and men age 15-59 years in randomly selected households across Nigeria. Information about children
age 0-5 years was also collected, including weight and height. While the survey is expanded in scope and sample size, the 2008 NDHS is a follow-up to the
1990, 1999, and 2003 NDHS surveys and provides updated estimates of basic demographic and healthindicators covered in the earlier surveys.

The 2008 NDHS is the first DHS to include the collection of information on violence against women. In addition to presenting national estimates, the report provides
estimates of key indicators for rural and urban areas in Nigeria, the six geo-political zones, and for the first time, the thirty-six states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The overall goal of the National Policy on Population for Sustainable Development is to improve the quality of life and standard of living for the Nigerian population (NPC, 2004). This is to be achieved through the attainment of a number of specific goals that include:

• Achievement of sustainable economic growth, protection and preservation of the environment, poverty eradication, and provision of quality social services,
• Achievement of a balance between the rate of population growth, available resources, and social and economic development of the country,
• Progress towards a complete demographic transition to a reasonable growth in birth rates and a low death rate,
• Improvement in the reproductive health of all Nigerians at every stage of the life circle,
• Acceleration of a strong and immediate response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic and other related infectious diseases,
• Progress in achieving balance and integrated urban and rural development.

The National Policy on Population for Sustainable Development operates on the principle that achieving a higher quality of life for people today should not jeopardise the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (NPC, 2004). To guide policy, programme planning, and implementation, the following targets were set:
• Reduce the national population growth rate to 2 percent or lower by 2015.
• Reduce the total fertility rate by at least 0.6 children every five years by encouraging child spacing through the use of family planning.
• Increase the contraceptive prevalence rate for modern methods by at least two percentage points per year through the use of family planning.
• Reduce the infant mortality rate to 35 per 1,000 live births by 2015.
• Reduce the child mortality rate to 45 per 1,000 live births by 2010.
• Reduce the maternal mortality ratio to 125 per 100,000 live births by 2010 and to 75 by 2015.
• Achieve sustainable universal basic education as soon as possible before 2015.
• Eliminate the gap between males and females in school enrolment at all levels and in vocational and technical education by 2015.
• Eliminate illiteracy by 2020.
• Achieve at least a 25 percent reduction in HIV/AIDS adult prevalence every five years.

Health Policies and Programmes
A national health policy targeted at achieving health for all Nigerians was promulgated in 1988. In view of emerging issues and the need to focus on realities and trends, a review of the policy became necessary. The new policy, referred to as the Revised National Health Policy, launched in September 2004, describes the goals, structure, strategy, and policy direction of the health care delivery system in Nigeria (NPC, 2004a). Roles and responsibilities of different tiers of government, including non-governmental organisations are outlined. The policy's long-term goal is to provide adequate access to primary, secondary, and tertiary health care services for the entire Nigerian population through a functional referral system.

The following principles and values underpin the Revised National Health Policy:
• Social justice, equity, and the ideals of freedom and opportunity affirmed in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria are a basic right.
• Health and access to quality and affordable health care is a human right.
• Equity in health care for all Nigerians will be pursued as a goal.
• Primary health care (PHC) shall remain the basic philosophy and strategy for national health development.
• Good quality health care shall be assured through cost-effective interventions that are targeted at priority health problems.
• A high level of efficiency and accountability shall be maintained in the development and management of the national health system.
• Effective partnership and collaboration between various health sectors shall be pursued while safeguarding the identity of each
.
The overall objective of the Revised National Health Policy is to strengthen the national health system such that it will be able to provide effective, efficient, quality, accessible and affordable health services that will improve the health status of Nigerians through the achievement of the healthrelated Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The main health policy targets are the following:
• Reduce the under-five mortality rate by two-thirds between 1990 and 2015,
• Reduce the maternal mortality rate by three-quarters between 1990 and 2015,
• Reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS by 2015,
• Reduce the burden of malaria and other major diseases by 2015.

Education in Nigeria has been through a series of policy changes over time. The overall responsibility establishing national policies and guidelines for uniform standards throughout all levels of education is vested in the Federal Ministry of Education. These policies and guidelines are protected by various statutory instruments such as the National Policy on Education, the Education Decree No. 16 of 1985 and the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Accordingly, the Federal Ministry of Education focuses on six spheres of education-Early Childhood Education, Basic Education, Secondary Education, Tertiary Education, Adult and Non-formal Education, and Special Needs Education (Federal Ministry of Education, 2009).
The National Policy on Education provides every child the right to tuition-free primary education. This has resulted in an increase in the school enrolment and in the number of educational institutions, particularly in the public sector. The 6-3-3-4 system introduced in 1981 provides six years of primary education, followed by three years of junior secondary education, and three years of senior secondary education. The last segment of four years is for university or polytechnic education.

Subsequently, the National Literacy Programme for Adults was launched, followed by the establishment of Nomadic Education to address the needs of children of migrant cattle herders and fishermen in the riverine areas. The Universal Basic Education (UBE) system, launched in October 1999, made it compulsory for every child to be educated free of tuition up to the junior secondary school level in an effort to meet Nigeria’s manpower requirements for national development