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Nigeria Applies Advanced Geospatial Technology For Census Preparation

Published

1 year ago

January 23, 2024

For the First Time in Its History, the Country Plans to Use Digital Tools to Prepare an Accurate Population Count

Based on 2006 census data, the United Nations (UN) estimates that 224 million people now live in Nigeria. According to this estimate, Nigeria is Africa’s third-most populous country and the sixth-most populous country in the world. The UN predicts that by 2050, Nigeria will be the third-most populous country in the world, behind only China and India.

Having a more accurate count of how many Nigerians there are—and a better understanding of where they live—is critical for many reasons, including implementing health and education plans and discovering where housing may be in short supply. However, it’s been nearly 18 years since Nigeria conducted an official census..

In 2006, Nigeria’s census information was collected and recorded on paper. Now, Nigeria is preparing for its first digital census. Nigeria’s National Population Commission (NPC), which conducts the census, has embraced GIS technology—in particular, ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Pro, and ArcGIS Enterprise—as it prepares to create a digital record of the country’s population and housing. The census will be essential for eventually determining where to invest the country’s resources and provide services to the people who live there.

Former Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari has said that the country’s inability to conduct a census since 2006 had created an “information vacuum,” as the data had become out-of-date. Originally scheduled to take place in March 2023—less than a month after a presidential election—the census has been postponed twice as the country continues to wait (as of press time) for its new president to declare when it will be conducted.

USING GIS FOR AN ACCURATE COUNT

In the meantime, the NPC has spent years preparing, including conducting a trial census to test its operations. Its mission is focused on accurate and reliable data collection and analysis. That’s why the NPC turned to cutting-edge technology, said Foluke Yetunde Adebayo, coordinating director for the NPC’s GIS and data quality management.

“We developed a suite of customized geoprocessing tools designed to streamline and enhance critical aspects of our data management processes,” she said. The tools address several key functions in the NPC’s data management workflow, including data cleaning, editing, boundary delineation, geocoding, and data validation.

The NPC based the foundation of its mapping work on the Global Statistical Geospatial Framework, established by the UN.

“A fundamental aspect of this approach is the assignment of precise geospatial attributes to all new entities or records of persons, households, and buildings that are collected from the field,” Adebayo said. “These attributes are assigned based on the geographical location of the entities, enabling a robust geospatial dimension in the database.”

The NPC began introducing GIS into its census preparations in 2014 using ArcGIS technology. High-resolution satellite imagery was used to identify features on the ground, including buildings, roads, railways, water bodies, and boundaries of villages and towns. The identified features were then geocoded, resulting in a countrywide basemap. The basemap was then used to create enumeration areas, the geographic areas that census takers canvass.

TECHNOLOGY PLAYS A CRITICAL ROLE IN PREPARATIONS

ArcGIS Online serves as a central repository for the NPC’s large dataset, which includes millions of building records and the enumeration area frame. During an end-to-end test conducted in preparation for the census, ArcGIS Online also allowed for about 600,000 devices in the field to access the server simultaneously without any glitches or downtime, Adebayo said. This enabled workers to access and update data seamlessly, a critical aspect of a successful census operation.

The NPC’s GIS analysis team used ArcGIS Pro—and ArcPy in particular—to clean the dataset, identify and correct spatial topology errors, create thematic maps, and geocode.

In ArcGIS Enterprise, the commission used ArcGIS Server, ArcGIS Data Store, and ArcGIS Enterprise portal for tests and the trial census. So far, ArcGIS Enterprise has managed the results of field data collection, including household listing datasets. The NPC has also used ArcGIS Enterprise to create census dashboards for data visualization within a secure organizational environment. Eventually, ArcGIS Enterprise will play a vital role in managing and visualizing the resultant census data, Adebayo said.

Once the census is underway, the data collected by field enumerators will be cross-referenced with initial mapping data. This comparison helps identify any significant changes or discrepancies between the two datasets. The validation process will be automated using custom scripts in ArcGIS Enterprise. The scripts are designed to evaluate whether the observed level of change in the data falls within the expected range or if it exceeds the predetermined threshold, which prompts further review.

The commission plans to use a hybrid census mapping methodology to count people living in remote locations and areas of conflict. Aided by high-resolution satellite imagery and neighborhood analysis theory, the NPC demarcated all conflict areas that may be inaccessible. If the areas ultimately can’t be accessed by enumerators during the census, the NPC plans to estimate populations by using modeling techniques developed by spatial data solutions company GRID3.

LOOKING BEYOND THE CENSUS

Using the maps created for the census, the Nigerian Postal Service is developing a modern, digital postal code system. The NPC created custom tools in ArcGIS Pro to apply a set of well-defined rules and a coding system to meet the unique requirements of the project. “Its core function is to delineate the entire country into postcode areas, each of which was restricted to a size not exceeding two hectares [nearly five acres] and limited to containing no more than 99 postcode units,” Adebayo said.

In the future, the commission hopes to use geospatial artificial intelligence tools to assist in updating maps, processes, and estimates. “This will significantly enhance the accuracy, efficiency, and automation of geospatial data management and reduce the resources required to update the data,” Adebayo said.

The NPC also expects to develop more GIS tools and models for analysis. It won a Special Achievement in GIS Award at the 2022 Esri User Conference for its use of GIS technology in preparing for the census. By basing the census on a well-planned geospatial platform, the country will be able to standardize its procedures and more easily extract critical demographic data.

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Featured

Childhood Cancer on the Rise

Published

2 days ago

February 18, 2025

The Gleamer

* Affects 40,000 children aged 0-19 annually* Their journey can be made easier – Survivor* Genetic issues exposure to harmful chemicals play significant roles – Prof Amodu* Increased diagnostic, treatment capabilities a plus for Nigeria – Prof

While cancer is not only debilitating but life threatening, sufferers also have to contend with stigma and emotional distress. However, this becomes more disheartening when children become involved, JULIET IBIMINA writes.

At just eight years old, Adekemi Oyewusi was diagnosed with Burkitt’s lymphoma, a disease she and her family had never even heard of.

The next two years of her life were marked by pain, isolation and an uphill battle against a disease that stole her childhood. “I longed to play with my siblings and peers, but my world was confined to the four walls of a hospital, where pain and solitude became my constant companions,” Oyewusi reminisced.

The chemotherapy treatments, administered through her spinal cord, were excruciating, causing nausea, fatigue and the devastating sight of her hair falling out which all left her feeling like a shadow of her former self; but against all odds, she survived.

Now, 25 years later, Oyewusi is not just a survivor, she is an advocate, amplifying the voices of children battling cancer and pushing for equitable healthcare policies, believing that while Nigerian children with cancer demonstrate incredible resilience, their journey could be made easier with more support.

“It is crucial for the government, healthcare providers, philanthropists, NGOs and society at large to recognise and address the unique needs of survivors. Comprehensive insurance plans, increased awareness of late effects, educational support and psychological counseling are all necessary,” she said.

She called for more pediatric oncology centres across the country, greater financial support for affected families and public awareness campaigns to educate communities on early detection.Ike Oyewusi, Shittu Adewumi also had an unsavoury experience, also echoing the struggles of many children fighting cancer in Nigeria.Diagnosed with lymphocytic leukemia at just six years old, his family believed they were witnessing the end of his young life.

“It was harrowing; he suffered immensely and the cost of treatment was unbearable,”his mother, Titilayo Adewumi recounted.”The government should support children fighting cancer because this is not something one family can handle alone; it is a huge financial burden.

“When you visit Federal Government hospitals, you see so many children battling cancer; they need urgent help,” Mrs Adewumi pleaded.According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), an estimated 400,000 children and adolescents aged zero to 19 years develop cancer globally each year.

The organisation also said that unlike many adult cancers, most childhood cancers have no known cause and are not linked to lifestyle or environmental factors.In Nigeria, the exact prevalence of childhood cancer remains unclear due to poor data collection.

However, the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) Cancer Center houses the country’s first Childhood Population-Based Cancer Registry, which has recorded 237 cases in just over a year.Prof. Abidemi Omonisi, the President, Nigeria Cancer Society (NCS) and founder of the registry, warns that childhood cancer is indeed on the rise and needs urgent attention.

“For too long, the focus has been on breast, cervical and prostate cancers, while childhood cancer has been neglected,” he said.Dr Timipah West, a pediatric oncologist at Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital, identifies some of the most prevalent childhood cancers in Nigeria to be Lymphomas such as Burkitt’s lymphoma, Neuroblastoma a cancer of the adrenal glands and Nephroblastoma known as kidney cancer.Others are Retinoblastoma (eye cancer affecting the retina), Rhabdomyosarcoma (cancer of the muscle tissue) and acute leukemias (blood cancer affecting white blood cells).West said that while the causes remained largely unknown, potential risk factors of childhood cancer included genetic predispositions, exposure to chemicals, certain infections and environmental changes.

Speaking to reasons why childhood cancer was now on the increase in Nigeria, she said it was due to a lot of factors.She identified an increase in diagnostic capabilities and availability of more treatment facilities and more awareness among the populace about childhood cancers based on increased advocacy as some of the reasons.The oncologist also added that environmental factors including climate change that lead to genetic changes as also a contributing factor.

“The Nigerian Society of Pediatric Oncology (NISPO) working with NCS and the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare play huge roles in creating awareness on childhood cancer.

“This advocacy is very important because some people in the general public think that only adults can have cancers.

”She noted that preventive measures could be employed before the cancer develops, listing early detection and commencement of treatment to prevent complications and death.According to her, genetic studies can be done for those at risk of developing certain cancers so they are identified at the very early stages.

She added that those with conditions that predisposes them to certain cancers such as down syndrome and leukaemias should be followed up closely and treatment commenced as soon as possible.

“Also, adequate diet, environmental protection against climate change and chemicals and drug exposure are very important.”The introduction of Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) Vaccination that can prevent future development of cervical cancer is also very important.

“Treatment options available include chemotherapy, surgery, radiotherapy and immunotherapy. The most commonly available in Nigeria are chemotherapy and surgery.

”West emphasised that childhood cancer was treatable when detected early with available treatment options in Nigeria including chemotherapy, surgery for tumor removal, radiotherapy and immunotherapy which was still emerging.

On his part, Benjamin Amodu, a professor of phytomedicine from the Triune Biblical University, USA, said parents have a great role to play in both prevention and management of childhood cancers.

“You see, because many of these children do not yet know what is actually happening and can’t take care of themselves, the parents must be very observant to detect it early since early detection increases the chances of survival.

“Also, pregnant mothers must be very careful of what they consume, be they medications, hard drugs and even cosmetics, as the exposure to harmful chemicals either as a fetus or early childhood have been found to increase the risk factors for cancer, chronic kidney disease, and other chronic diseases in children.

“Annually, on February 15, the International Childhood Cancer Day (ICCD) is commemorated as a global campaign to create awareness about childhood cancer and support for the patients, survivors and their families.

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