A Training of Trainers was given to 81 staff members of the Central Statistical Agency (CSA) as part of the preparations for the Pilot Census taking place from June 18 to 28, 2018.

The six-day training held between 21 and 26 May in Adama Town, was opened by CSA Deputy Director-General, Asalfew Abera, who is charge of the conduct of the upcoming Fourth Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia. Asalfew said two pilot census were conducted in November 2017 and March 2018, which were helpful to test the questionnaire, the quality of the enumeration area maps and how long the interview takes.

According to Asalfew, in this third pilot census, the tablet technology, power banks, the data bases and the data center will be tested to see if they are ready for the census. Refugees have been included in the pilot census this time around as the Census will also be conducted among refugees in the country for the first time. Students residing in university campuses and people living in institutions will also be part of the next pilot census. The whole organization of the census including distribution and management of field equipment will also be tested, Asalfew noted.

Collins Opiyo, Chief Census Technical Adviser of UNFPA at CSA, told the participants of the training to be more attentive during the training for they were the ones to train the enumerators who are critically important in the census as they directly meet with the people to collect data.
It was learnt that 211 enumerators and 60 supervisors will receive training for the pilot enumeration from May 31 to June 11, 2018 in 13 training centers across the country, with the pilot enumeration starring a week after.

It is to be recalled that the 4th Ethiopian Population and Housing Census was postponed twice. The House of Peoples Representatives has decided for the Census to be conducted next Ethiopian fiscal year. CSA hopes to conduct the census next November 2018 although the specific census date has not been decided yet.

The participants of the training were drawn from the different branch offices of CSA. CSA has 25 branches in different regional and zonal towns across the country. In this pilot census 234 Enumeration Areas will be counted. This training is special in that the trainees are being trained using the tablets as Ethiopia is preparing to conduct a fully digital census.

The six-day training was funded by UNFPA. UNFPA is a leading partner of CSA and the Ethiopian government, working closely with them to ensure that the Fourth Population and Housing Census is implemented in accordance with international standards and best practices.