The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Afghanistan goes to Chighcheran in Ghor Province to attend the Socio-Demographic and Economic Survey (SDES) official launch organized by the Central Statistics Organization of Afghanistan (CSO) with local authorities, media and local community on 5th August 2012.

"This is a very important day for Ghor because the survey will give us precise statistical data we can use in planning and implementation of development projects for our province" said Dr. Abdullah Hewad, the Governor of Ghor Province during the SDES opening ceremony.

The SDES is rolled out by the Central Statistics Organization of Afghanistan, financially supported by the Government of Japan with the technical support of UNFPA Afghanistan.

"The survey that CSO inaugurates today is an important step forward to collect information about growth, movements, structures, living conditions, and spatial distribution of the country's population which is vital for relevant policy formulation, planning and implementation, and for monitoring and evaluation. With about 2,500 Surveyors, Controllers, Assistant District Statistics Officers, and Assistant Cartographers who will be hired in the different districts of Ghor province, the Socio - Demographic and Economic survey is also a job and learning opportunity" said Dr. Laurent Zessler, UNFPA Country Representative.

Some preliminary activities of the survey, such as sketch mapping, locating the villages on the map, preparing a list of all the households and coding the survey areas have already been completed by the CSO. A comprehensive training for enumerators in ongoing and the survey enumeration phase will soon begin in Ghor. The SDES will be implemented in accordance to the international criteria. After the completion of the survey - including data entry, editing, coding, processing, and final analysis - the findings will be disseminated nationally and internationally.

Hajera Hassanzadah, a young female hired as surveyor says she was encouraged by her family to be a part of this survey. "I became a surveyor because I think this survey is very important for our people. I want to be part of the survey and see the impact it will have on my life as a woman here. I am hoping that as a result of this survey we will see more education and employment opportunities for women and I hope this survey leads to establishment of more health facilities for us so no more women lose their lives because of pregnancy and childbirth", she added.

Another surveyor, Bahawuldin Wafayi, seems very optimistic about SDES. He foresees no major challenges and obstacles being a surveyor. "The people hired to carry out this survey comes from the most educated and respected people of our community. They have been hired through a transparent process. They understand the problems of the people here and know how to communicate with them. This is why I believe this survey will have the results expected by the implementers", said Bahawuldin.

As a result of the survey important information and data will be collected on the province's population structure and composition, educational characteristics of the population, employment status, fertility and mortality information, household and housing characteristics. These data will be used for of evidence-based plans for social and economic development in Ghor.

"If an organization wants to build a girls school in your province it will be very useful for the organization to know the number of girls in this province, the number of girls who go to school and the number of girls who don't, the number of schools that already exist and the areas where these schools exist. This is the kind of exact data this survey will be providing and it will lead to building more schools, hospitals and other public services in your province", said Ms. Sachiko Furuya representative of the Embassy of Japan.

Overall the people of Ghor have received this survey with open hearts and minds and they are committed to support the process. After the survey being completed in Bamiyan Province in 2011, the SDES will reach Daikundi Province before the end of 2012 with the objective to cover all the 34 provinces of Afghanistan in the years to come depending on security and funding availability.

"The survey will reflect the needs of these provinces, and their economic and social conditions. Additionally, the survey will enable us to attract financial and technical support nationally and internationally for planning social and economic development programmes for the welfare of the people", explained Mr. Abdul Rahman Ghafoori, CSO President General, during the SDES launching ceremony.