Launch of the Socio-Demographic and Economic Survey in Parwan province

The Central Statistics Organization of Afghanistan with technical support of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and financial support of the Government of Japan rolls out the Socio-demographic and Economic Survey in Parwan.

Parwan, 18 June 2014- The Governor of Parwan and the Central Statistics Organization (CSO) with technical support of UNFPA and the financial support of the Government of Japan launched the Socio-demographic and Economic Survey (SDES) in Parwan. Parwan is the fifth province after Bamyan, Daikundi, Ghor and Kabul to conduct SDES.

Given the lack of access to some parts of the country, due to insecurity, a census hasn't been possible for more than three decades. Considering the growing demand for disaggregated data about the country's population and in the light of the current Afghan situation, CSO and UNFPA opted to carry out a provincial staggered survey that would provide estimates at the district and village levels needed for local development planning.

I would like to welcome this great initiative to Parwan province and I would like to thank everybody involved in the process of conducting this survey. This survey will be very helpful for future effective relief and development work and the data gathered, which doesn't exist so far, will give us important information about the lives of people. People's support for the success of the survey is vital and we expect that the kind people of Parwan will help the survey workers who are your own people. I ensure that CSO and UNFPA will have the support of the office of the governor in any way possible. We totally understand the importance of this initiative for the people of the province and I would like to call upon all government entities, particularly the security forces in the province to support the survey process", said General Abdul Baseer Salangi, governor of Parwan province.

Socio-demographic and Economic Survey is a large scale survey based on international standards, which is being conducted for the first time in Afghanistan. Preparatory activities for the conduct of the field data collection are being carried out in Parwan. Survey field work for data collection is scheduled to begin in mid-August with the preparation of sketch maps containing all establishments, buildings, street and lanes taking place in late June.

"The characteristic of the survey is such that it will highlight the requirement of the residents of Parwan province and reflect on their economic and social status. The results of the survey will also help us attract financial and technical support at national and international level for building social, economic and development planning for Parwan. The results of the survey will also help us use the such support to better and effectively develop the lives of the people of Parwan," said Engineer Shir Mohammad Jamizada, President General of Central Statistics Organization.

Some 800 people will be hired to conduct the survey in Parwan. These recruits include cartographers, surveyors, controllers, data processors, and monitors. All these people will be hired from Parwan province to ensure a fieldwork team who are familiar with the terrain, the people and their culture. This team will be supported by experts from CSO and UNFPA.

"The Socio-demographic and Economic Survey will collect disaggregated data at the village level, data in Afghanistan that hasn't been collected since 1979. This data will tell us about the economic and socio-demographic status of households in Parwan province and we hope eventually about the whole country as the survey should cover all provinces in the country. This data will help the Afghan government develop evidence-based policies and plans", said, Dr. Annette Sachs Robertson, Country Representative of UNFPA.

At the end of the survey, data will be checked, coded, recorded into computers, summarized, and analyzed before disseminating. After Parwan the survey will be rolled out to cover other provinces, consequently covering all 34 provinces in the country.

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