Nigeria Tracks Over 40 SDG Indicators in Nationwide Social Survey – NBS

Nigeria is undertaking one of its most comprehensive household surveys in recent history, with data being collected on more than 40 indicators linked to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) across all states of the federation, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The Statistician-General of the Federation, Adeyemi Adeniran, disclosed this during a monitoring visit to survey enumerators in the Idi-Oro area of Mushin, Lagos State, where fieldwork is ongoing under the seventh round of the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS).

The exercise, which is being implemented by the NBS in collaboration with UNICEF, is designed to generate nationally and sub-nationally representative data on the living conditions and wellbeing of women, men, children and adolescents.

Adeniran explained that the visit was part of a quality-control process to ensure that enumerators and supervisors are adhering strictly to survey guidelines and professional standards. He said Lagos was the second state to be visited by the monitoring team, following an earlier exercise in Adamawa State.

According to him, the MICS is not only about data collection but about equipping policymakers with credible evidence needed for planning and evaluating social and economic interventions.

He noted that the survey captures a wide range of indicators directly aligned with global development benchmarks, making it a critical tool for assessing Nigeria’s progress on education, health, nutrition, child protection, water and sanitation, and broader welfare outcomes.

To safeguard the integrity of the data, Adeniran said the bureau has deployed multiple layers of oversight, including real-time data editors at the headquarters who review submissions daily and provide immediate feedback to field teams.

He also acknowledged operational challenges, particularly in reaching children under the age of five, many of whom are often unavailable during daytime visits due to schooling and other routines. As a result, enumerators are required to return to households later in the day to meet required sampling thresholds for this crucial demographic group.

Security concerns in some locations were also identified as a constraint, although Adeniran said contingency measures were in place to ensure continuity of the exercise.

Speaking on behalf of UNICEF, the organisation’s Chief of Planning and Monitoring in Nigeria, Wayne Bacale, said the agency is providing technical assistance to ensure the survey meets international standards of statistical reliability and representativeness.

He described the MICS as a multi-sectoral and child-focused survey that supports evidence-based policymaking across ministries, including education, health, and water resources. Bacale said the current phase involves nationwide data collection, which is expected to conclude by March, followed by data analysis in collaboration with the NBS.

Preliminary findings, he added, are expected to be available by mid-year, providing critical insights to guide national and state-level interventions.

Also speaking, the National Consultant for MICS 7, Dr Isiaka Olarewaju, highlighted Nigeria’s long-standing participation in the survey since its inception in the mid-1990s. He stressed the strict confidentiality measures embedded in the process, noting that individual households or respondents cannot be identified in any published results.

He further revealed that Nigeria’s MICS datasets are among the most accessed globally, underscoring the international relevance of the country’s social data.

Officials from the Lagos Bureau of Statistics and UNICEF also called for broader access to anonymised datasets at the state level to enable deeper analysis and capacity building among local institutions.