Ahead of the next Census exercise, the National Population Commission (NPC) has commented Enumeration Area Demarcation (EAD) Phase 9 in Ebonyi State.

Briefing journalists on Tuesday in Abakaliki, the Federal Commissioner representing Ebonyi State, Hon. Darlington Okereke, said the area involves the delineation of the country into small geographical units that could be easily covered by a pair of enumerators during the census period.

According to him, the phase of the EAD would cover additional one local government area across the 36 states of the federation including the FCT.

He said the training and field work expected to take place from November 25 to December 22, 2019 at Afikpo North and Afikpo South local government areas.

Acting Chairman of NPC, Bimbola Salu-Hundeyin, whose address was read by Darlington Okereke, said the 2019 Verbal and Social Autopsy (VASA) survey starts from the period October 19 to December 18.

VASA survey, he explained, serves as a research study that seeks to obtain data to determine the causes and contributory factors to deaths in children aged 0-5.

According to Salu-Hundeyin, the 2019 edition of the VASA survey is the second in the series conducted by the NPC adding that the first time the survey was conducted in Nigeria was in the year 2014.