Death certificate
The
Director, Public Affairs Department, National Population Commission,
has explained why Nigerians should obtain the death certificate of their
loved ones.
Mr Mohamed Isah, the Director, Public Affairs Department, National
Population Commission, has urged Nigerians to always obtain death
certificates for their deceased ones.
Isah gave the advice during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Friday in Abuja.
He explained that death certificate was another platform of
updating the country’s population, saying that it is as important as
birth certificate.
He said the certificate provides demographic records to the
commission, which it analyses and disseminates as data for public
consumption.
According to him, death certificate is important because it states
the cause of death as well as age and time the death occurred.
Isah noted that it also helped in informing the populace that a particular cause of death was endemic.
“With the information gathered, we can tell Nigerians that a particular ailment has been causing deaths.
“It can also help the government plan as well as intervene in order to prevent future deaths.
“Death certificate also gives a next of kin the right to get or collect the deceased entitlements,” he said.
Isah further said that death certificate also helps in gathering
information on infants and maternal mortality, epidemics and endemics as
well as keep track of diseases.
The director explained that when the practice of collection of
death certificate becomes a norm, it would no longer be necessary to
conduct census, because the records would have been up to date at any
particular material time.
“Nigerians find it difficult to collect death certificate if there is nothing to inherit from the deceased.
“But it is not about inheritance; the information gathered from cause of death is key.
“Like in Kaltungo town in Gombe State, snake bite is a major
cause of death in that town and with that information, government was
able to intervene,” he added.
Isah, therefore, appealed to Nigerians to always obtain a death
certificate to assist the commission in its statutory role of data
collation and analysis.
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