CSO signs a letter of understanding with the Governor of Samangan to support the Socio-demographic and Economic Survey in the province

Central Statistics Organization of Afghanistan Signs a Letter of Understanding with the Governor of Samangan to Support the Socio-demographic and Economic Survey in Samangan Province

Kabul, 9th November 2014 - Central Statistics Organization (CSO) of Afghanistan and the Samangan Governor signed a letter of understanding for CSO to roll out the Socio-demographic and Economic Survey (SDES) to Samangan province and for the Samangan governor's office to support SDES activities in the province. The signing took place at the Central Statistic Organization in Kabul. UNFPA- the United Nations Population Fund provides technical support to CSO to conduct the survey.

"Findings of SDES will represent a general picture of Samangan province. Policy makers, and planners can use these findings for development planning for this province. Additionally, national and international organizations who work at the provincial level can also use the information to plan their projects. SDES has been partly funded by the government of Japan in 6 provinces already and UNFPA provided technical support for the conduct of SDES. Considering weather conditions, we are planning to conduct sketch mapping and listing of establishments in Samangan and survey field work will commence in the beginning of next solar year," said President Genral of CSO Sher Mohammad Jamizada.

Samangan is the 7th province to undertake SDES after Parwan and Kapisa. International census experts, including experts from CSO gathered in Turkey in 2010 and planned to conduct provincial SDES in lieu of a census which was postponed due to insecurity in the country. The first province that undertook SDES in 2011 was Bamiyan province.

"We are committed to assist the Central Statistics Organization of Afghanistan to conduct the survey, whenever required. On other hand, we do all we can to make sure that Samangan province is secure, and all government institutions in the province contribute to such efforts. In Samangan province security threats are minimal and hopefully there will be minimal to no security issues for the conduct of the survey," Said Khairullah Anosh Governor of Samangan province.

The conduct of the survey requires large scale activities throughout the province and different activities of the survey are conducted in multiple phases. The first stage of the survey is sketch mapping of all establishments in the province, numbering all lanes, houses, offices and any existing building. The maps and listing will help the surveyors to find their way in the villages and districts of the province and ensure that no household or establishment is left out.

"The survey will collect information about fertility, economic status of households, migration, living and housing conditions and spatial distribution of the country's population which is vital for relevant policy formulation, planning and implementation, and for monitoring and evaluation. The survey will also bring learning and short term job opportunities to Samangan province," Said Dr. Annette Sachs Robertson, UNFPA representative.

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