Ask the Expert: UN Joint Census Monitoring Trip
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A journalist interviews Bruce Campbell.
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From 1 to 15 April 2009, thirty UN staff from five agencies helped monitor the 2009 Population and Housing Census in 21 provinces throughout the country. This is the first time that UN agencies in Viet Nam have jointly monitored a census. We asked Bruce Campbell, UNFPA Representative, to share some of the key findings from the monitoring missions.
Q: What was the purpose of the joint UN monitoring trips?
Supporting the 2009 Census is a key priority for the UN as it gives us the kind of information and data we need to better support the Government in designing and implementing development programmes. Through the monitoring trips we wanted to reinforce the importance of the national census so that more resources are made available by government authorities – thereby helping to ensure the quality data, and subsequent utilisation of census data in development policy and planning efforts.
Q: How was monitoring conducted?
The UN teams accompanied senior officers from the General Statistics Office and the Census Steering Committee (CSC) to monitor how data was collected. We observed data enumeration at individual households, watched particular groups such as students and migrant workers being interviewed, checked completed questionnaires and interviewed enumerators and their supervisors. Afterwards we shared our observations and recommendations with the CSC to further improve the quality of data collection.
Q: Did you find any problems with the data collection?
In general, we were happy with how data was collected. However, we did find that some of the questions, such as those relating to occupation, were difficult for people to understand. Enumerators reported that they had to provide a long explanation before the head of the household could answer these questions. One reason for this is that many people often have several forms of income which makes it hard for them to state their principle occupation.
Q: What was the value of the joint missions?
The presence of a joint UN team in the field underlined the UN’s support to the census and clearly demonstrated how we are working together as one. By working closely together, agencies also had the opportunity to learn more from each other and in addition were able to combine the monitoring missions with work on other One UN Planned activities, at no additional cost.
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