The Solomon Islands National Statistics office within the Ministry of Finance and Treasury convened its second phase of training yesterday at the Red Manson Inn.
This training is the second of its kind after the National Statistics Office conducted its first training of trainers in January.
The NSO/SIDHS pre-test training is the second set of training to be conducted by NSO. The last set will be conducted after the pre-test training, before the actual national SIDHS survey will be carried out in the five main domains.
The pre-test training gathered more than sixty participants from Guadalcanal, Malaita, Western, Honiara, Choiseul, Central, Temotu, Isabel and Renbel Provinces.
In his opening remarks at the official opening of the pre-test training Government statistician Mr Douglas Kimi said, the National Statistics Office (NSO) within the Ministry of Finance & Treasury has been very busy since 2014 in the preparations for the DHS.
As part of the preparation – this pre-test training was part of the training plans to ensure that this important survey is implemented according to the work plan of the project and with the right instruments.
“The Primary Objective of the DHS is to provide benchmark information on population, family planning, maternal and Child health, Child Survival, AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases, the reproductive health and nutrition.
“These indicators are important National Development Strategy NDS indicators that also support specific measures of the millennium development goals MDGs. The importance of these indicators could not be over emphasized and due,” he said.
According to the National Statistics Office (NSO) Demographic Health Survey Director Ms Irene Kalauma, the second training is basically to train the first group of enumerators to familiarise with SIDHS questionnaires and to understand the flow of the questionnaires.
The training started yesterday Monday 9th of February and will end with a pre-test exercise to test questionnaires at three selected areas at the end of February to be confirmed soon.
John Mavor Tuke an enumerator from Western province said, he was very happy to join the SINSO SIDHS project 2014-2015.
“This is my second time to be part of the work that SINSO is doing, I want to work with SINSO with the different surveys that they are conducting because I got to learn new and interesting things and meet new people. I am looking forward to more of such learning experience during the process of SINSO/SIDHS project.”
The main training for all the field enumerators is going to be conducted in March, before field work will commence in April later this year.
The actual field enumeration will begin in April-September, 2015 and SINSO continues to seek public support for this survey.
