By Muhammad Amaan
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has expressed commitment to support Federal Government to harness inclusive data to build resilient systems and societies.
Ms Deborah Tabara, the UNFPA Gender/Reproductive Health Analyst, said this during commemoration of the 2024 World Population Day (WPD) on Thursday in Bauchi.
WPD is annually commemorated on July 11 around the globe to raise awareness of global population issues and to celebrate those who contributed to solving such issues.
The 2024 edition of the global observance has “Embracing the Power of Inclusive Data Towards a Resilient and Equitable Future for All” as its theme.
According to the gender analyst, UNFPA stands ready to support Federal Government to harness the power of inclusive data.
She said “this is because inclusive data is not an end in itself, but a means to informed decision-making, especially to shape policies, programmes, strategies, plans and budgets that promote inclusivity and equality.
“Together with you, we can forge a future where every person is counted, every community is acknowledged, and every need is addressed.”
In a remark, Chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC) Alhaji Nasir Kwarra said “Nigeria is among the nations that do not have sufficient, comprehensive and inclusive data to evaluate its performance.”
He said making civil registration systems functional would guarantee all births and deaths are registered.
Represented by Alhaji Ibrahim Darazo, NPC Federal Commissioner, Kwarra said the 2024 State of the World Population (SWOP) report launched in Nigeria on April 24 this year dedicated its chapter three titled “Counting Every Stitch” to inclusiveness in data collection.
One of the features under that chapter was the necessity for African census to strive to count everyone.
He added that “for more understanding, inclusive data connotes ensuring that the data we collected or intend to collect gives account of all people, a person or part or a group of people, regardless of their age, gender, ethnicity and location.
“It is about closing the data gaps that unintentionally aid inequality, which allows the risk of groupthink, blind spots, bias that can impair decision-making and distort outcomes, among others.
