The National Population Commission in Anambra State has organised a one-day capacity-building workshop for members of the census publicity committee on the processes and methodology of the 2023 population and housing census.
Declaring the workshop open, the Honourable Federal Commissioner for National Population Commission in Anambra State, Mr. Chidi Ezeoke urged the participants to assist the Commission in informing citizens about the importance of being counted during the census. He said they have the clear vision, commitment, and capacity to deliver on this historic mandate. Ezeoke assured them that the commission is irrevocably committed to ensuring that everything about the 2023 census is professionally and rightly done.
Speaking on Enumeration Area Demarcation For the 2023 Population And Housing Census, the Anambra state Director of NPC, Dr Joachim Ulasi, said “Census Mapping otherwise known as Enumeration Area Demarcation is the division of the country into manageable units of enumeration area for the Census exercise.
Digital Mapping is the automation of the Enumeration Area Demarcation process, procedure and Deliverables. It is the contemporary method of mapping in the current digital world.
“When maps fail to account for every person, progress can’t be achieved. Too many people still remain invisible to the governments and humanitarian and development organisations that can provide the public with vital resources. Communities that are absent from maps often miss out on much-needed support. And when other map-based data, such as infrastructure and boundaries, are missing or incorrect, development efforts are also impeded”.
The State Deputy Director of NPC Mrs Chinyere Maduagwuna, while speaking on Processes and Methodology for the 2023 Population and Housing Census, affirmed that “the National Population Commission will be deploying Electronic Data Collection Technology for the 2023 Population and Housing Census. By this method, Enumerators will use PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) to collect information from respondents on a de facto basis. This new methodology is based on Geographic Information System (GIS). It captures all buildings as well as their attribute data using a hybrid acquisition software namely, the Census and Survey Processing System (CSPro) and Census PAD on Personal Digital Assistant (PDAs)”.
Other speakers were Anambra State Commissioner for Information Mr Paul Nwosu, who is also the publicity committee chairman, urged members to work collectively to achieve the NPC mission. Also, the Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Mr.Don Onyenji called on citizens to participate actively in the census by making themselves available for counting and the NPC programme analyst, Henry Ananti, spoke on Technological Innovation in the 2023 Population and Housing Census.
The nineteen-man Committee is basically tasked with carrying out public enlightenment and education and soliciting support for the 2023 census.
The workshop ended with a question-and-answer session.
Dominica Nwabufo
