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At the request of the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), IPC staff Selma L. Sawaya traveled to Kabul, Afghanistan, as part of an international team of advisors. The team’s mission was to assess the capability of the Afghanistan Central Statistical Office (CSO) and to conduct a census of population and housing in all areas of the country in 2005.
Under the auspices of the Office of Insular Affairs (OIA), U.S. Department of the Interior, IPC staff Marc Rubin traveled to American Samoa to conduct a workshop on national income accounts. Rubin’s goals for this mission included: producing a final set of NIPA (National Income and Product Account) estimates and documenting their strengths and limitations.
IPC staff David Megill, traveled to Bhutan to assist the Statistics Unit in analyzing the precision of the results from the 2002 Renewable Natural Resources (RNR) Survey, developing the sample design and estimation procedures for the 2003 RNR Survey, reviewing the new draft questionnaire for the survey, and conducting training in basic statistical analysis using the SPSS software. The RNR survey is based on the RNR Census 2000 to collect crop, livestock and other RNR data from the rural households in Bhutan, based on a list frame compiled from the geog registration of households.
At the request of the U.S. Embassy in Chad and the l’Institute National de la Statistique, des Etudes Economiques et Démographique (INSEED), IPC staff Rebecca Sauer, Thomas Ondra, and Simone Holladay traveled to N’Djamena to review planning for the 2005 Census of Chad, to determine the types of assistance the U.S. Census Bureau can provide, and discuss the coordination of potential census support activities with donors.
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
At the request of the Central Statistical Division (CSD) of the Department of Commerce of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and the U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of Insular Affairs (OIA), IPC staff Armando R. Levinson traveled to Saipan to review the sample design of the CNMI Community Survey (CS) and the Household Income and Expenditures Survey (HIES) and provide recommendations for the upcoming 2003 rounds of the two surveys. Both surveys are sponsored by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of Insular Affairs.
At the request of the Institute of International Education Development Training 2 Project (EDT2/IIE) and the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS), IPC staff presented two workshops in Cairo to staff from CAPMAS and the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation. Salim Kublawi and Diana Lopez-Meisel, conducted the Designing and Implementing Fieldwork workshop; and on a separate trip Larry Hartke and Simone Holladay conducted the Effective Data Dissemination workshop. USAID/Cairo funded these workshops through the Data Access and Transmission Activity (DATA) Project.
IPC staff Bruce Durding assisted the Central Statistical Authority (CSA) in improving the data processing system for the National Agricultural Sample Census Enumeration (NASCE). The CSA placed particular emphasis on preparing the data tabulation and computing variances. The CSA staff worked to complete the processing of all the data from one Ethiopian region. Durding attended meetings to discuss current and future CSA agriculture statistical projects and assistance needs for the upcoming population census.
At the request of USAID/Accra and the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), IPC staff Timothy Fowler traveled to Accra in February to assist the GSS in developing a series of analytical reports based on the results of the 2000 Ghana Population and Housing Census (GPHC). There were 18 teams working on the analytical reports; 9 teams preparing analysis of district data by region, 8 teams preparing chapters on policy implications of various topics, and 1 team preparing a socio-demographic trend analysis at the national and regional levels.
In September, IPC staff, Selma Sawaya, traveled to Accra to assist the GSS in resolving inconsistencies in the socioeconomic data from the 2000 Census of Population and Housing.
At the request of the Bank of Guatemala, IPC staff Geoffrey Greenwell traveled to Guatemala City to assist in designing and implementing the programs for the edits to be used on the Primera Encuesta Económica (PEEC), or the First Economic Survey. The Bank of Guatemala and the Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE) are currently leading an effort to develop the availability of reliable and quality economic statistics in a joint program named Programa Nacional para el Mejoramiento de Estadísticas Economicas (PRONAME). The objective of this program is to capture the private sector’s contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) and likewise provide the necessary data to re-base the GDP. The current baseline has not been comprehensively modified since 1956.
At the request of USAID/Guatemala and the Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE), Armando R. Levinson traveled to Guatemala City to evaluate the main stages and implementation of the XI Census of Population and the VI Census of Housing (CPH). The census reference night was November 24, 2002 and the enumeration period lasted until December 7, 2002.
At the request of the Inter-American Development Bank and the Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE), IPC staff Armando R. Levinson traveled to Tegucigalpa to conduct two workshops: (1) Data Analysis with SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences), from June 2 to 20, 2003; and (2) How to Write Statistical Reports, from June 23 to 27, 2003. The workshop participants were selected from various areas of the statistical office.
On a separate trip, Armando R. Levinson assisted the INE in conducting the stratification of the three large urban areas (Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula, La Ceiba) and select the master sample for the country’s intercensal survey program. The 2001 Census of Population and Housing (CPH) took place from July 28 to August 1, 2001, in 298 Municipal Seats and from July 28 to August 4, 2001 in all the villages (aldeas) and hamlets (caseríos) of the country.
At the request of USAID/New Delhi and the Office of the Registrar General of India (ORGI) and Census Commissioner, Ministry of Home Affairs, IPC staff David Megill and Diana Lopez-Meisel, traveled to New Delhi, India, to provide the ORGI with technical assistance and training on various statistical operations, and to follow up on various project management issues. Megill was responsible for assisting the ORGI with: (1) the sampling procedures for selecting the household records for the public use data files from the Census Houselist; (2) the analysis of the preliminary results from the Post Enumeration Survey (PES) for the 2000 Census Houselist Operation; (3) a review of sample design issues for the new Sample Registration System; and, (4) conducting the one-week CENVAR Workshop. Lopez-Meisel worked with the ORGI and USAID staff in developing the scope of work for future project activities and following up on administrative aspects of the project. These technical assistance and training activities were funded under the MEASURE Project of USAID.
At the request of the Statistical Institute for Asia and the Pacific (SIAP) with the support of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Government of Japan’s Management and Coordination Agency (MCA), IPC staff Michael T. Stroot and Sherrell M. Goggin , traveled to Chiba, Japan to present a 2-week segment on the Design and Implementation of a Data Processing System for the “Second Group Training Course in Application of Information and Communications Technology to Statistical Processes.” The presentations focused on the development of processing systems for censuses and surveys using the U.S. Census Bureau’s Census and Survey Processing (CSPro) software. Twenty-two participants from 21 countries attended the workshop.
At the invitation of Bahjat Achikbacke, Department of International Cooperation National Institute for Statistics (INSEE) and the Jordan Department of Statistics (DOS), IPC staff Diana Lopez-Meisel attended the forum on “Statistical Capacity Building for the Arab Region” sponsored by Paris 21 and hosted by DOS from September 8 through 10, 2003 at the Sheraton Amman Al Nabil Hotel in Amman, Jordan. Discussions were helpful with many of the directors of statistical organizations, as well as ministers of finance and planning during the forum activities.
On a separate visit IPC staff David Megill traveled to Amman to assist DOS in studying quality issues related to the employment data from the Employment and Unemployment Survey (EUS), the 2002 Household Expenditure and Income Survey, and the establishment-based 2001 Employment Survey. This involved tabulating the sampling error from each survey and studying the sources of nonsampling error. Megill worked with a team of five statisticians from the Statistical Methods Section and other departments at DOS. They worked together in tabulating standard errors for the employment estimates from the different surveys using the CENVAR software, producing comparative tables for the analysis, and reviewing each source of information on employment.
At the request of USAID/Nairobi and the Central Bureau of Statistics of Kenya (CBS), IPC staff Michael J. Levin traveled to Kenya to work with the CBS staff on issues related to developing a public use micro-data sample, development of the Census 1989 data set for trends analysis, and continuation of tabling for the Census 1999.
At the request of USAID/Skopje and the State Statistical Office (SSO) in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, IPC staff Rebecca Sauer and Simone Holladay traveled to Skopje to review the project scope of work and assist the SSO in programming future media and user training sessions. The timing of this mission was at the request of the SSO and also to meet with the High Level Expert Group (HLEG) that has been assembled by EUROSTAT (Statistical Office of the European Community) to conduct the monitoring and assessment of the 2002 Census of Population, Households, and Dwellings being conducted by the SSO.
Under contract to the Office of Insular Affairs (OIA), US Department of the Interior (DOI), IPC staff Marc Rubin was dispatched to the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) to conduct a workshop on national income accounts. Rubin conducted a class in the fundamentals of national income and product accounting (NIPA) as practiced in the United States. Theoretical as well as practical materials were reviewed. The lectures covered: procedures for conducting a NIPA data inventory; algorithms for calculating NIPA variables; scaling factors for handling missing variables; red flags and reality checks, outlier detection software and strategies for developing a full set of NIPAs.
At the request of USAID/Maputo and the Instituto Nacional de Estatística (INE), IPC staff David Megill traveled to Maputo to assist INE in developing the estimation procedures for the 2002-03 Inquérito aos Agregados Familiares (IAF, a national household income and expenditures survey) results from the first two quarters. This technical assistance is being funded by USAID/Maputo under the MEASURE project which supported the 1997 Mozambique Census of Population and Housing (II Recenseamento Geral da População e Habitação, or RGPH).
On a separate trip David Megill assisted the INE in finalizing the weighting procedures for the Inquérito aos Agregados Familiares and tabulating standard errors for the most important survey estimates. Megill also reviewed the sampling considerations for a follow-up annual poverty indicators survey.
At the request of USAID/Perú and the Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE), IPC staff Armando R. Levinson traveled to Lima to conduct a census workshop. However, this activity was postponed so that Levinson and his counterparts could work on a document outlining the different census committees that need to be created to continue the flow of work towards the pilot census target date of September 2003. The actual census workshop will be conducted during the long-term visit. Upon arrival Levinson met with Farid Matuk, INE Director and the three consultants Elsa Bardález, Jessica Vásquez Türkowsky, and Ursula Sánchez Gamarra to discuss the status of census activities. Based on these discussions, Levinson decided to work on the document which outlined the census organization, specifically the creation of all the census committees. Each one of these committees has a specific function and responsibility.
On a separate visit, IPC staff Geoffrey Greenwell traveled to Lima to conduct a CSPro workshop. These included the development of data entry applications for the following surveys: Encuesta Permanente de Empleo (EPE) (Permanent Labor Survey), Encuesta Nacional de Hogares (ENAHO) (Household Survey), Encuesta Sobre Consumo Tradicional de Hoja de Coca (Domestic Coca Leaf Use), and Registro Nacional de Municipalidades (RENAMU) (Municipal Registry)
At the request of USAID/Manila and the National Statistics Office (NSO), IPC staff Thomas McDevitt traveled to Manila to assist the NSO with the preparation of the final report of the 2002 Maternal and Child Health Survey (MCHS) and to plan further analysis of the 2002 Family Planning Survey (FPS) and the MCHS. McDevitt worked with NSO counterparts to strengthen the content and presentation of the final report of the 2002 MCHS and sat in on NSO discussions regarding further analyses of the 2002 MCHS and FPS.
On a separate trip, IPC staff Rebecca Sauer traveled to Manila to conduct a two-week “Project Management” workshop. The workshop presented general management techniques, tools, and skills, and the development of project components as they were covered in the course. During the third week of Sauer’s visit, she worked with the Human Resources Management Division (HRMD) of the General Administration Department (GAD) to assist in the development of their five-year action plan.
At the request of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), IPC staff Victoria Velkoff and Simone Holladay traveled to Senegal to present the Analysis and Evaluation of Gender Statistics Workshop. This regional workshop is a French language version of the “Gender Statistics” workshop offered in Washington DC. Trainers from the US Census Bureau’s International Programs Center and UNFPA Dakar Country Support Team (CST) facilitated the workshop. The workshop was held from April 14-26, 2003 in Mbour/Saly, Senegal. The seminar brought together 37 department heads, managers, and statisticians from 18 francophone and lusophone countries throughout the region. Participants were employees of National Statistics Offices, and other governmental and non-governmental organizations. The workshop was held at an NGO training site equipped with networked computers and adequate printing facilities.
On a separate visit, IPC staff Armando R. Levinson traveled to Dakar, Senegal, to conduct a 4-week regional workshop on “Statistical Methods and Sampling Techniques.” The workshop was conducted from October 6 to 31, 2003, for a total of 20 participants from eleven French-speaking African countries. During the first week of the workshop, Sidy Gueye, Levinson’s assistant, lectured the participants on various statistical method topics such as measures of central tendency, measures of dispersion, expected values, probability distributions, and the Central Limit Theorem. During the second and third weeks, Levinson covered the following sampling topics: simple random sampling, stratified random sampling and cluster sampling in several stages. The last week of the workshop was reserved for variance estimation.
At the request of USAID/Pretoria and the Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), IPC staff Michael J. Levin traveled to South Africa to work with Stats SA staff on issues related to finalizing edit specifications for the non-coded items in the 2001 Census of Population and Housing (CPH). During his visit, Levin worked with Stats SA staff to continue development of edit specifications for the population items on the questionnaire; minor adjustments were also made to the housing edits. Levin also began development of the UN-style tabulations, in this case, specifically to assist in checking to make certain the edit specifications covered all cases; cross-tabulations illuminate problems not seen in simple frequency runs. Many of the edit specification issues arose because the 2001 data were scanned.
On a separate visit, Levin traveled to South Africa to work with Stats SA staff on issues related to the finalizing of edit specifications for fertility, employment, and the coded items in the 2001 Census of Population and Housing (CPH). During his visit, Levin worked with Stats SA staff to continue development of edit specifications for the remaining population items on the questionnaire and derived variables.
At the request of USAID/Dar es Salaam and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), IPC staff Michael J. Levin traveled to Tanzania to work with the NBS staff on issues related to the initial computer processing of data from the 2002 Tanzania Census of Population and Housing. During his visit, Levin worked with the NBS staff and consultants to produce sample edit programs and to resolve issues relating to the edits.
On a separate visit, IPC staff Selma L. Sawaya traveled to Tanzania to work with the NBS staff on the preparation of data and tabulations for the planned demographic analysis workshop. Tabulations were to be generated using data from both the 2002 and 1988 Censuses of Population and Housing in Tanzania. During her visit, Sawaya worked primarily with the NBS data processing staff to produce tabulations for analysis.
At the request of Statistics Canada and the Central Statistical Office (CSO), IPC staff Larry W. Hartke traveled to Lusaka, Zambia, to assess the CSO’s current data dissemination resources, programs, and practices. Hartke worked closely with his counterpart, Christine Chikolwa, Publications and Marketing Officer of CSO, to examine CSO’s information products, both automated and printed, user services, Web site and on-line data delivery systems, and the capability to meet overall data user needs. The assessment helped to determine the most appropriate dissemination strategies and resource allocations for the CSO to produce a data dissemination program that would best meet the information needs of its data users.
On a separate visit, IPC staff Timothy Fowler, Laura Heaton, and Tammany Mulder traveled to Lusaka, Zambia, to conduct a workshop on HIV/AIDS Population Estimates and Projections. The workshop participants were exclusively from the CSO. The workshop purpose was twofold, first, to prepare estimates and projections of adult HIV prevalence at the national, urban/rural, and provincial levels from 1980 to 2015. Second, these results were to serve as input to prepare population estimates and projections, by age and sex, at the national, urban/rural, and provincial levels.
