The National Institute of Population Studies (NIPS) will launch 'Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey' (PDHS) 2006-07. Population Welfare Minister Shahbaz Hussain will inaugurate the launching ceremony on Wednesday, sources told Business Recorder on Tuesday.
The 'survey' will provide the policy makers information to improve planning of population and health interventions. The survey teams will collect data on fertility levels and preferences, family planning use, childhood mortality levels, and awareness regarding HIV/AIDS and other indicators relevant to the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) and Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper.
The 'survey' will give a national estimate for the maternal mortality ratio for Pakistanis and information on direct and indirect causes of maternal death.
Sources said that the survey would also analyse the factors that impact maternal mortality and treatment of maternal/child health besides enhancing the capacity of government organisations to implement surveys and analyse and disseminate findings of the survey .
The NIPS is responsible for planning, organising and overseeing the survey operations including hosting meetings to discuss the survey with representatives from technical institutions and international bodies, recruiting fieldworkers, supervisors and data processing staff, sources said. The project is funded by USAID while UNFPA and Unicef are also providing logistic support to monitor survey implementation, they said.
The Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS) is a partner agency in the survey and bears the main responsibility for selecting sample areas and household listing operation.
The survey would cover all four provinces of the country including FATA. Total 100,000 households will be selected in approximately 1000 sample points, stratified by province. Administrators, who work in the health and population fields and government officials relating to socio-economic planning and researchers in the social and human sciences have been invited to attend the ceremony.