BAMYAN - Hundreds of field workers in the Central Highlands Region have begun training for the first national door-to-door survey of Afghan households. Download the UNFPA press release

The Socio-Economic and Demographic Survey (SEDS) will begin next month in Bamyan and be rolled out in all 34 provinces during coming months.

“Knowing how many people live in a given area, who they are and where they live and work, is essential to guide plans, policies and programmes to meet people’s needs and improve their lives,” said Arie Hoekman, Representative of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), at the first training session for supervisors who will oversee the field work.

More than 400 workers – mostly young adults from the region - will gather and process information about the size, age and gender, as well as marital status of every other home in each village. The SDES will also collect data
on migration, as well as educational and professional characteristics of the population, such as school attendance and literacy.

The Afghan Central Statistics Office (CSO) is implementing the survey with support from the provincial government and financial assistance of the Government of Japan. UN Population Fund (UNFPA) has been providing technical support.

The main targets of the data collection include policy makers, non-governmental organizations and the private organizations which can use “accurate and reliable data for evidence-based planning, program development, and project monitoring and evaluation,” UNFPA said in a statement released today.

By UNAMA Bamyan