funding crisis in the 2000 round of population censuses richard leete, chief a.i. population and...
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Funding Crisis in the 2000 Round of Population
Censuses
Richard Leete, Chief a.i.Population and Development Branch
Technical Support Division
November 2001
United NationsPopulation Fund
International Expert Group Meeting on Censuses
Aims of Presentation
Case for adequate and timely national and international support for censuses
Outline of constraints experienced in 2000 census round
Ways to avoid a funding crisis in next census round
International Expert Group Meeting on Censuses
Foundation for Good
Governance
Censuses a unique data source for
* Wide range of policy and planning purposes, including delineation of administrative boundaries and regional resource allocation
* Population-based indicators for tracking progress towards Millennium Development Goals
International Expert Group Meeting on Censuses
Value of Censuses
Strengths and distinctiveness
* Complete stocktaking; continuity of national, local area and subgroup data; base for population projections
Without a recent census planning will be based on unreliable data with possible serious policy and resource allocation distortions
International Expert Group Meeting on Censuses
2000 Census Round Funding crisis - rising costs, shrinking public sector budgets, cut-backs in
ODA
* Several countries postponed census increasing interval since previous census beyond 10 years
* Some secured funding at late stage forcing compromises in census decision-making
* Others have funding gaps that have slowed post-enumeration activities, including dissemination of results
* Complex crises also affected census-taking
International Expert Group Meeting on Censuses
Census Intervals Exceeding 10 Years
sub-Saharan Africa
Interval 11-12 years – actual or expected
* Burkina Faso, Ghana, Malawi, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda and Uganda
Interval 13+ years – actual or expected
* Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Tanzania
Symposium on Population and Housing Censuses
National and International Support
Sometimes unrealistic amounts allocated – donors’ expected to provide balance. But donors’ meetings not always successful - fatigue in funding yet another census
Financial and technical assistance key factor in success of past censuses.
* UNFPA’s policy to limit support to countries taking first or second census and to mobilise donor support
* UNFPA, in partnerships esp. with UNSD, leadership role in supporting censuses
* Continuing need for technical assistance esp. in poorest countries
Symposium on Population and Housing Censuses
Rising Costs of Censuses
Why is most costly data collection activity getting even more expensive?
* High population growth, increasing by at least one third over 10 year period – more enumerators and higher honorarium
* Imported labour and time-saving census data processing technology comes with high price tag
* Even in industrialised countries per-capita census costs rising despite low population growth, sophisticated technology and use of other modern census methods – high advertising costs
Symposium on Population and Housing Censuses
Main Census Costs
Census Maps provide basis for enumerator assignments: multiple use of maps across departments can spread costs
Population Enumeration of each individual. Costs depend on enumeration method, source of enumerators and number of questions. Sampling can reduce costs
Data Processing electronic scanning increases speed and reliability. But skills to handle it in short supply. Use of PCs for data entry can upgrade post-census capacity of NSOs
International Expert Group Meeting on Censuses
Cost Saving Strategies
Sharing experiences between countries. Sharing activities with neighbouring countries: common census year, core questionnaire, sharing manuals, training, processing and dissemination
* Supported by UNFPA in Pacific, Central Asia, and Southern Africa. Success requires political commitment and donor support
From a supply and demand perspective, census data a public good – but could exploit potential of private sector and foundation support
A Way Forward i
Need for Census Advocacy
* Assist countries advocate need for conducting censuses and securing funding within countries and donor community
* Line ministries need to support efforts of NSOs in making the case to finance ministries for supporting censuses
* International agencies who use census data should support UNFPA to convince donors to provide support for censuses
International Expert Group Meeting on Censuses
A Way Forward ii
Need for Census Assessment
* Assess funding issues in current round from developing countries and donors perspective
* Research census costs to determine measures to reduce them
* Demonstrate how to maximise timely dissemination and use of census results
UNFPA-led PARIS 21 Census Task Force as a modality for moving this agenda forward
International Expert Group Meeting on Censuses