Census preparations underway

Preparations are underway to begin the first ever-comprehensive population census in Afghanistan with the first batch of field workers to be dispatched soon. "This will provide a data base for reconstruction of the country," Laurie Lewis, a consultant with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) told IRIN in the Afghan capital, Kabul on Monday. Upon completion, the census would produce a wide range of information covering each individual in the country, including their age and sex, as well as their social and economic background characteristics, he said. UNFPA is helping the Afghan government to design the massive exercise, after the last such attempt remained incomplete due to deteriorating security inside the country. Although the Central Asian nation's population is widely estimated at 22 million, there has never been a complete and thorough census established. Muhammad Ali Watanyar, head of the Central Statistics Office (CSO) explained that the effort was being undertaken after President Hamid Karzai issued an executive order earlier in the year in accordance with the Bonn agreement, underlining the need for such an exercise. "This will provide the basis for all future planning," he said, adding that the data gathered during the exercise would enable the government to better serve its citizens. Although the CSO has up to 500 staff members, Watanyar estimates that they will need some 20,000 people from other government departments to help in the census. UNFPA is helping the CSO in training staff and has already provided 34 computers to the agency, with other supplies in the pipeline. Indeed, UNFPA is the key UN agency in mobilising funds to support the exercise, estimated at costing between US $15 to US $20 million. While the census will take five years to complete, according to Lewis it will provide some useful interim results that will assist in a number of areas including election planning. He noted, however, that the exercise was completely separate and independent of the election process. Key challenges ahead for the census would be the counting of shifting or displaced population groups such as nomads, internally displaced and refugees while parts of the country remain insecure and roads and communication networks devastated. Nonetheless, Watanyar felt confident such challenges could be overcome. "Although it's an expensive and difficult exercise, we are determined to get it done," he said. Lewis added that special effort would be made to ensure that these populations were properly recorded. But as the census will provide the basis for the distribution of major resources, the exercise will not be without complications. According to Shawn Messick, a data analyst with the Afghanistan Information Management Service (AIMS) there are anomalies even within the government on many issues. "The country had 329 districts in 1984, the last time when the administrative divisions were properly done," he told IRIN. "Now you have 360, 380 or even 400 districts. This needs to be resolved before the census."