NPC Records 2,757,833 Births In Katsina From 2017 To 2021

Katsina State recorded 2,757,833 births between 2017 and 2021, the National Population Commission has said.

Isiaka Yahaya, the acting Director, Public Affairs of NPC, in a statement, explained that the data was recorded from the RapidSMS, a tracking tool that collects and collates real-time information on birth registration in Nigeria.

According to the statement, Katsina recorded 542,368 births in 2017, 489,488 in 2018, 474,068 in 2019, 499,843 in 2020 and 752,066 in 2021.

Yahaya explained that the figures were higher than the ones from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

He explained that the birth registration figures credited to Katsina State by the NBS constitute a gross underestimation of the substantial progress made in the registration of births in Katsina State which currently maintains 201 registration centers across the 34 local government areas of the state, stressing that births and deaths are registered on daily basis and free of charge.

He said that the boost in birth registration, according to the federal commissioner representing Katsina State, Engineer Bala Banye, was following the tremendous support of the Katsina State Government in collaboration with development partners and the traditional institution.

It noted, “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.”

It said 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.