Verbal, social autopsy survey key to addressing maternal health challenges – Health Minister

The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, has said data generated from the 2019 Verbal and Social Autopsy (VASA) survey would provide needed information to identify key deficits in maternal and child health and other developmental deficits. He stated this during the launch and national dissemination of the 2019 Verbal and Social Autopsy (VASA) study […]

The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, has said data generated from the 2019 Verbal and Social Autopsy (VASA) survey would provide needed information to identify key deficits in maternal and child health and other developmental deficits.

He stated this during the launch and national dissemination of the 2019 Verbal and Social Autopsy (VASA) study undertaken by the Federal Ministry of Health in conjunction with the National Population Commission (NPC).

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He said: “It will also help us channel resources to address developmental needs, as well as monitor and evaluate progress towards meeting our Universal Health Coverage agenda and of the Sustainable Development Goal 3, with regards to maternal and child health in Nigeria.”

He said the Verbal and Social Autopsy Study provides an up to date health and social indicators on under-five deaths in Nigeria and the distribution along geopolitical zones and individual states.

Minister of State for Health Dr Olurunnimbe Mamora said the 2019 VASA report would be a veritable tool for planning for neonates, children and maternal health in the country.

The Chairman, National Population Commission, Alhaji Nasir Isa Kwarra, revealed that the Verbal and Social Autopsy Survey was a study that sought to ascertain the causes and determinants of under-five mortality in Nigeria between 2013 and 2018.