Kabul, Afghanistan - The Ambassador of Japan, H.E. Reiichiro Takahashi, and the UNFPA Representative, Dr. Laurent Zessler signed an agreement for 11.4 million USD to support the Central Statistics Organization of Afghanistan. The agreement refers primarily to the Socio-Demographic and Economic Survey (SDES) implementation in Ghor and Daikundi Province.
"Having accurate statistical data is very important for Afghanistan and the SDES is a very good starting point. We highly appreciate the work done by the Central Statistics Organization (CSO), with the technical support of UNFPA, to run the SDES in Bamiyan province last year, we are proud to support the survey implementation in two new provinces, Ghor and Dailundi, in 2012 and we hope the survey will be further expanded in coming years" said H.E. Reiichiro Takahashi, Ambassador of Japan.
The Socio-Demographic and Economic Survey is a fundamental opportunity to obtain complete and accurate information on the size, age and sex composition as well as marital status of the population; to gather information on educational characteristics of the population such as school attendance, educational attainment, and literacy; to collect data on the economic status of the population and on population movements, fertility, mortality, household and housing characteristics.
"The aim of this data collection is to provide planners, policy makers, administrators, and other public entities, academia, non-governmental organizations, the private sector and other relevant organizations, as well as the public at large, with accurate and reliable data for evidence-based planning, program development, and project monitoring and evaluation. UNFPA stands close to the Central Statistics Organization of Afghanistan to achieve this important goal" said Dr. Laurent Zessler, UNFPA Afghanistan Representative.
In 2012, the SDES will reach the provincial centers of Ghor and Daikundi provinces and nine and eight districts, respectively.
