The steering Committee, which was established to conduct the 5th round of the Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS), held a discussion at the Ministry of Planning and Development.
July 12/ 2014 Addis Ababa, MOPD
The Ministry of Planning and Development held for the second time meeting of the steering committee tasked with organizing the Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS), which will be conducted in its fifth iteration in 2024–2025.
According to a committee meeting held at the Ministry of Planning and Development's office, the Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS), provides high-quality data on key indicators such as family planning, fertility, child and maternal health, nutrition, sanitation, infectious diseases, gender dynamics, domestic violence, healthcare access, and water quality has reached a stage to start its filed work.
The discussion is about the current status of the study preparation, the availability of field materials and human resources and the discussion was held in which the steering and technical committees of the survey were present regarding the current status of the budget allocated for the study.
According to the H.E Dr. Fitsum Assefa, the Minister of Planning and Development, meeting and consulting at the beginning of the field work of the survey has a significant contribution to the success of the study, and also it gives an opportunity to look at the problems and decisions that need to be made together during the event.
The Minister added that the way in which the problems encountered during the preparation of the survey were tried to be solved together with the stakeholders shows the commitment of all the stakeholders to make the study effective. She also pointed out that this discussion is specially prepared to put the necessary technical solutions to the technical problems we faced during the preparation.
On the meeting, the Ethiopian Statistical Service presented the detailed activities carried out since the preparation of the Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS), including the preparation of the questionnaire and the process of verifying its reliability, The level of development, the problems encountered and the way they were solved, as well as the process of its implementation and the use of the budget for the preparation of the survey.
It was announced that the demographic and health survey will start in next August with support from the government, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The Minister of Health Dr. Makdes Daba, the state Minister of Finance Samarita Sawaswe, the Ministry of Women and Children and Eleanor Tanpiengo, Deputy Director of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), along with other representatives of the development organization was present in the discussion.
Eleanor Tanpiengo, Deputy Director of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), said that the main focus of the Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS) is on the health sector, which is the key to society. As a result, they have promised to provide the necessary supplies and support to ensure early resolution of implementation problems.
The deputy director added that we should be transparent in our work. It is known that there were many problems in the preparation process. Since it is expected that there will be problems during the implementation, our organization is willing to help in any situation, so it is expected to work together for the effectiveness of the Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS).
The minister said that the process of preparation of the Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS) shows that it is at a level that can be fixed. And the Survey is important in obtaining information and the level of progress it has shown is encouraging.
The Minister of Planning and Development, H.E Dr. Fitsum Assefa, added that in order to do the study, by overcome the gap that exists in terms of security, it is necessary to work by making data collection methods convenient, and problems that are exist in the future should be resolved by discussing them together.
The Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS) has indeed emerged as a cornerstone in the Ethiopian context, serving as a pivotal tool for understanding and addressing the country's demographic and health challenges.