Irish Aid contributes 2 million Euros through UNFPA for Malawi’s 2008 population and housing census
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From left to right: UNFPA res. Rep. Espernace Fundira and DFID’s Charlotee Duncan UNFPA res. Rep. Espernace Fundira DFID’s Charlotee Duncan and Irish Aid’s Brian O’Brien with a census field supervisor examining a census questionnaire in Dedza. |
LILONGWE, 15 May 2008 – Irish Aid has made a contribution of Mkw 440 million (2 million Euros) in support of the Malawi Population and Housing Census, which is scheduled to take place in June of this year. The announcement was made following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Embassy of Ireland and The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Lilongwe. UNFPA has agreed to manage the contribution on behalf of the Irish Government.
The last Population and Housing Census was conducted in 1998. The completion of a census at regular intervals is critical for development planning and investment, providing current data on population size, composition, distribution, and social and economic characteristics. UNFPA is working with the National Statistical Office (NSO), the government department responsible for collecting, analysing and disseminating social economic data for Malawi, to support the successful completion of the 2008 census.
At the signing ceremony, Esperance Fundira, UNFPA Representative in Malawi, said that the census is taking place at an opportune time to monitor Malawi’s Growth and Development Strategy and to track the gap for the country to meet the Millennium Development Goals.
“We are very pleased with this substantial contribution from Irish Aid. UNFPA has been working with NSO since 2003, when it began mapping the country, the largest pre-census activity and one of the most decisive exercises for a successful census. The census will provide the country with valuable information for good governance, decentralisation and development planning,” said Fundira.
Fundira said that the funds received will among other things speed up planned activities including procurement of equipment, training of enumerators and distribution of information to the general public. She further appealed for more support from international donors and organisations to ensure successful completion of the entire process up to the final analysis and release of data.
Liam Mac Gabhann, the Irish Ambassador to Malawi said: “the successful completion of the 2008 Population and Housing Census will be of benefit to all the people of Malawi. The information generated will not only help to measure progress against the Millennium Development Goals and the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy, but will also provide a detailed understanding of the characteristics of the population at local and national levels.
This information can only help to improve planning and management of development activities and ensure that the current situation of the people informs all efforts in this regard. The Irish Government therefore welcomes this opportunity to provide support and to coordinate our support with other donors, the UN system and the Government of Malawi. I wish the National Statistical Office and UNFPA every success in the completion of the census and look forward to the dissemination of the results”.
The Irish Government announced the establishment of an Embassy in Malawi in 2007. Irish Aid, the official development cooperation programme of the Irish Government, has committed over Mkw 2.2 billion (10 million Euros) in support of development programmes in Malawi this year, in the areas of governance, food and nutrition security and vulnerability.
Since the completion of the last census in 1998, the population has been transformed in terms of distribution, composition and size. HIV and AIDS has also changed the population landscape and a true picture of those affected, especially accounting for child headed homes and orphans will greatly support the government response to their unique needs and improve their humanitarian response during crisis.
“There are development milestones that have been made recently such as the Road Map to reduce maternal mortality and the recently passed bill on Domestic Violence. Now we can accurately measure the progress and impact of development investment, for example, gender distribution and their economic characteristics. We want to know how many girls we need to cater for to ensure they complete school,” reiterated Fundira.
NSO Commissioner, Charles Machinjiri said that given the colossal financial and logistical requirements to conduct a successful census, NSO’s capacity was strengthened through advanced training for its staff and is currently supported by a technical advisor facilitated by UNFPA. In addition, NSO will benefit from the technical assistance of the USA Census Bureau.
He said, “We are confident that we will conduct the census on time. We have made tremendous progress to date including the huge cartographic or mapping of the country completed last year. In addition, logistical arrangements are going well, with the procurement of bicycles, motorbikes and vehicles for enumerators who have begun their training. Information and advocacy materials have also been produced and are being distributed.”
To expedite the rigorous process of compiling and processing data, NSO has procured modern scanning technology, which will ensure timely release of preliminary results in September 2008.
The Population and Housing Census is also supported by the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) and Germany (GTZ).
For more information, please call:
Pilirani Semu-Banda + 265 (0) 1 771 444; +265 5 424 765 semu-banda@unfpa.org
Brian O’Brien + 265 (0) 1 776 408/9 brian.o’brien@dfa.ie
United Nations Population Fund