GSS to begin nationwide health survey October 17

Professor Samuel Kobina Annim, the Government Statistician, has advised field officers for this year’s Demographic and Health Survey to exhibit a high sense of professionalism in the discharge of their work. The exercise, slated for Monday, October 17, 2022, across the country, will involve 18,540 households and done by 200 field enumerators. Prof Annim said this at the launch of the 2022 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey in Winneba in the Central Region. The cost of the survey is estimated at 4.2 million dollars.  It is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Global Fund, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Population Fund, the International Labour Organization, the Danish International Development Agency, and the government of Ghana. The field officers are expected to adhere to the United Nations principles of quality statistics. The principles include relevance, impartiality, and equal access, professional standards and ethics, and accountability and transparency. The Professor said the survey was designed to provide data for monitoring the health situation of the population in the country. The primary objective of the survey, he stated, was to provide up-to-date estimates of basic demographic and health indicators. The field enumerators will collect data on malaria, fertility levels, marriage, sexual activity, fertility preferences, awareness and use of family planning methods, breastfeeding practices, nutrition, childhood mortality, and others. He said the field officers were put through rigorous training both in theory and practice to deliver on their responsibilities. The Government Statistician urged the public to cooperate with the officers by providing complete and accurate information to ensure a successful survey. Dr Kerzia Malm, Programme Manager of, National Malaria Control Programme, commended the GSS for the collaboration and the need to include malaria as part of the indicators. She was hopeful that the survey would provide information on malaria for policy decisions and help to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. The participants pledged to conduct a successful exercise.