BackgroundAbout 96.3 million children and adolescents aged 0–19 years reside in Nigeria, comprising 54% of the population. Without adequate access to surgery for commonly treatable diseases, many face disability and increased risk of mortality. Due to this population’s unique perioperative needs, increasing access to paediatric surgical care requires a situational evaluation of the distribution of paediatric surgeons and anaesthesiologists. This study’s aim is to identify the percentage of Nigerian youth who reside within 2 hours of paediatric surgical care at the state and national level.MethodsThe Association of Paediatric Surgeons of Nigeria and the Nigeria Society of Anaesthetists provided surgical and anaesthesia workforce data by state. Health facilities with paediatric surgeons were converted to point locations and integrated with ancillary geospatial layers and population estimates from 2016 and 2017. Catchment areas of 2 hours of travel time around a facility were deployed as the benchmark indicator to establish timely access.ResultsAcross Nigeria’s 36 states and Federal Capital Territory, the percentage of Nigeria’s 0–19 population residing within 2 hours of a health facility with a paediatric surgical and anaesthesia workforce ranges from less than 2% to 22.7%–30.5%. In 3 states, only 2.1%–4.8% of the population can access a facility within 2 hours, 12 have 4.9%–13.8%, and 8 have 13.9%–22.6%.ConclusionThere is significant variation across Nigerian states regarding access to surgical care, with 69.5%–98% of Nigeria’s 0–19 population lacking access. Developing paediatric surgical services in underserved Nigerian states and investing in the training of paediatric surgical and anaesthesia workforce for those states are key components in improving the health of Nigeria’s 0–19 population and reducing Nigeria’s burden of surgical disease, in line with Nigeria’s National Surgical, Obstetrics, Anaesthesia and Nursing Plan.
The 2020 census round (2015-2024), is being implemented in a changing context, marked by widespread adoption of new technologies, increasing demands for disaggregated data for implementation of SDGs, capacity challenges in many national statistics offices, funding challenges, as well as conflict and unrest which are affecting census coverage in many countries. This article details the UNFPA strategy to ensure that everyone is counted, and accounted for, in the 2020 census round. The strategy responds to the changing contexts and builds on lessons learned in previous rounds. Within this framework, UNFPA provides technical and operational support (tools and capacity strengthening); promotes adoption of new and innovative technologies and methodologies; advocates for wider utilization of census data, including free and open access to data while ensuring confidentiality; leverages institutional partnerships at all levels for coordinated census support; strengthens resource mobilization, and advocates for the inclusion of questions on disability and migration to support efforts to leave no one behind.
The population and housing census undergirds all national development. The collected data in a census provides critical information for governments to identify existing service gaps, such as accessibility, use of hospitals, schools, and roads, and where future investments could have the greatest impact. Beyond that, the census holds a significant social value, as the specific population characteristics in terms of ethnic and cultural self-identification, as well as the population’s geographic distribution and associated economic relationships, contribute to a country’s national identity. As the world battles the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of demographic and cartographic data to confront it has been illuminated, as almost all responses to this public health crisis require some input of geographic and demographic data to optimize their effect.
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