BRIEFING PAPER

UNITED NATIONS’ SUPPORT TO THE VIETNAM
POPULATION AND HOUSING CENSUS 2009

Census Background Information

Since the unification of Viet Nam in 1975, three national population censuses have been undertaken, in 1979, 1989 and 1999. These censuses provided data to help assess the past, portray the present and estimate the future with regard to population number and characteristics and some housing indicators.

The 2009 Population and Housing Census, which took place from 1 to 15 April 2009 nationwide, will provide data and information on the size, structure distribution and characteristic of the population, migration and quality of housing at regional and administrative levels.

This census has been focusing on improving the quality of every phase from preparing, implementing and data processing to disseminating the results, based on lessons learned from previous censuses. It will also help to establish a comprehensive database on population and housing.

Among United Nations (UN) agencies, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is taking a lead role in supporting the census. UNFPA has assisted in planning of the census, design of the questionnaires, the testing, piloting, training and monitoring process, and has also supported publicity campaign of the census. Once the enumeration is finished, UNFPA will support data analysis and dissemination. The total cost of the census is around USD 33 million. The State covers USD 30 million of the expected costs, while UNFPA contributes USD 3 million.

United Nations Monitoring Missions

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.

Supporting the 2009 Census is a key priority for the UN as it provides the kind of information and data needed to better support the Government in designing and implementing development programmes. Through the monitoring trips, the UN 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 utilization of census data in development policy and planning efforts.

The UN teams accompanied senior officers from the General Statistics Office and the Census Steering Committee (CSC) to monitor how data was collected. The teams 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 the teams shared their observations and recommendations with the CSC to further improve the quality of data collection.

The presence of a joint UN team in the field underlined the UN’s support to the census and clearly demonstrated how the UN agencies 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 monitoring other Programme Coordinating Groups (PCG) activities, at no additional cost.

Key Findings from the Monitoring Missions

Government’s preparatory:

There was a strong commitment to the Census from the Party, the People’s Committees and the CSCs at all level. The census preparation, including publicity activities, mapping and listing, training and monitoring, was conducted seriously.
The logistics preparations were carried out well. All materials and facilities for enumeration were provided to the province, district and commune levels in time.
In most provinces, the hotlines were active. However in some provinces, they were not free of charge. Most calls received were from supervisors and enumerators on technical issues rather than from the public.
The publicity campaigns in the provinces were very effective. The monitoring teams noticed the presence of banners, posters, logos for the census on roads, streets at all levels. The communication materials from the central CSC were utilized to be broadcasted on the loudspeakers of the local areas and also in public meetings.

Enumeration and data collection:

Both enumerators and supervisors received useful training so they understood their roles and responsibilities in the census enumeration. However, the amount of work by enumerators was very heavy, especially in areas where they had to pay repeated visits to the same household in order to collect all the information required.
In many provinces, supervisors met with enumerators after each day to check the completed forms, correct mistakes and share lessons learned so their confidence and interviewing skill were improved a lot after the first few days of the census enumeration.
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.
The observation of enumeration in some sample areas and the interviews with some enumerators revealed that many female interviewees felt more comfortable being asked sensitive questions on mortality and reproductive health by a woman rather than by a man.

Recommendations

Continue the multi-media publicity campaign until the end of census enumeration. Encourage people to use the census hotlines if they do not receive the visit of enumerators.

Continue and reinforce the monitoring of the enumeration at all levels, especially at enumeration areas. All questionnaires, long and short form, should consistently be checked for mistakes by enumerators themselves, their supervisors, and supervisors from the district/city/provincial level in order to be timely corrected before submitting to the provincial/city CSC for coding.

The Central CSC needs to issue guidance on the process of checking, and the handover of the completed questionnaires from local to higher levels for coding. It is also recommended to increase the monitor of the checking the quality of completed questionnaires and the handover of these questionnaires to the higher levels.