Professional Evaluation of the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey Data Utilisation in Policy

The NDHS is the most comprehensive regular demographic and health survey in Nigeria, yet the extent to which its findings are actually utilised in policy design and implementation decisions at federal and state levels requires professional evaluation to improve its policy impact. This study evaluated the utilisation of NDHS 2018 and NDHS 2021 data in federal and selected state health policies. A professional evaluation methodology was applied, combining documentary analysis of 22 federal and state health policy documents and action plans from 2019 to 2023, structured interviews with 15 federal Ministry of Health planners, 10 state health officials from six geopolitical zones, and 6 NDHS data producers at NPopC and the implementing partners. Evaluation assessed whether NDHS indicators were specifically cited, used for baseline target-setting, or referenced in budget justifications. Results showed that NDHS data were explicitly cited in 68.2 percent of reviewed federal policy documents but in only 41.3 percent of state policy documents. Target-setting using NDHS baselines was present in 54.5 percent of federal documents. Budget allocations linked to NDHS-identified priority areas were documented in only 27.3 percent of cases. State planners cited inaccessibility of LGA-level disaggregated data as the primary utilisation barrier. Recommendations include investing in LGA-level sample size for future NDHS rounds, NDHS data-to-policy capacity building for state planners, and publishing annual NDHS policy briefs for each state.

Keywords: NDHS data utilisation, health policy, Nigeria, demographic survey, evidence-based policy