Data for development : ‘Censuses, surveys critical for planning'

Seminar highlights need for sixth population census, other studies.

KARACHI: The censuses, surveys and vital statistics initiatives provide critical data that help guide planners, policymakers and programme managers to meet people’s needs and improve lives, said Rabbi Royan, a United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) representative.

He was addressing a seminar on “Population Census and Pakistan’s Development” which had the theme of this year’s World Population Day campaign “Everyone Counts” to highlight the importance of data for development.

The theme underscores why reliable, disaggregated data is so crucial for progress and encourages people to participate in the census and other data collection efforts, he said. “Reliable data can make a difference and the key is to collect, analyse and disseminate data in a way that drives good decision making.

The numbers that emerge from data collection can illuminate important trends.”

Meanwhile, Prof Mohammad Nizamuddin, the University of Gujrat vice-chancellor, said as the 18th Amendment lays stress on population and health programmes in Pakistan, there is a strong need to advocate integration of population and health issues into provincial development planning processes, policies and programmes. Other challenges faced by the provinces include the engendering of the population census and the collection of data in emergency and conflict situations, he added.

The results of the sixth population census would serve as a critical reference point for national planning and to ensure efficient and equitable distribution of government resources, said the vice-chancellor.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 14^th, 2010.