The final phase of the General Census of Population, Housing and Establishments (Qatar Census 2020) will start Tuesday after it was suspended early this year due to the precautionary measures taken by the State to prevent the spread of Coronavirus (Covid-19).
At a press conference held Monday and attended by representatives from the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Public Health, the Planning and Statistics Authority (PSA) announced that the census through the PSA's platform will start Tuesday, from December 1 to January 7, while field census will resume from December 13 to mid-January 2021, after it obtained the approval of the Ministry of Public Health to conduct the census in light of the preventive measures against Covid-19 epidemic.
During the press conference, HE PSA President Dr. Saleh bin Mohammed Al Nabit said that the PSA will provide, from Tuesday, December 1 until January 7, 2021, the electronic form for families and individuals who wish to complete their data on their own without the need for the enumerators to visit their places of residence.
He stated that the field visit will start in mid-December 2020 in cooperation with the Ministry of Public Health and the Ministry of Interior within the framework of strict precautionary measures on which the enumerators have been trained to ensure the safety of everyone in order to collect data from families whose data have not been completed electronically.
He added that the announcement of the resumption of the census comes after coordination with the Ministry of Public Health to ensure the safety of the enumerators and families, as part of the precautionary measures in place in the country to combat the spread of the Coronavirus.
His Excellency stressed the importance of the General Census of Population, Housing and Establishments and said that the census is one of the largest statistical operations in all countries, and it is of great importance due to being the main means of collecting data related to all properties of buildings, housing units, establishments, families and individuals and their different geographical divisions.
HE the President of PSA stated that the authority seeks through the census to provide a comprehensive database in accordance with the latest concepts and international standards to serve planners, researchers and decision-makers in the country and allow the necessary international comparisons to be made.
The census, he said, aims mainly to form a central registry for population, housing and establishments characterized by high quality, comprehensive coverage and continuous updating of that data, expecting the results of this census to be announced in the second quarter of next year.
He announced that the PSA would hold an integrated media campaign accompanying the implementation of this stage of the census, calling on everyone, especially the media, to cooperate in the implementation of this important national project by providing the necessary media support through various media programs, and stressing that this cooperation is a key for the success of the census.
For his part, Head of the Department of Censuses and Statistical Surveys and Director of General Census of Population, Housing and Establishments 2020 at PSA Nasser Al Mahdi said that there are three methods available for citizens and residents to complete the census data, the first is to electronically fill in the census form via the link www.psa.gov.qa/census2020.aspx which will be available on the first of December, calling upon citizens and residents to use the website and easily fill in the required data specified in the census form without the need to meet field enumerators.
He stated that the second way to complete the census data is to provide data through a direct interview with the field enumerators starting from December 13, while the third method is a paper envelope form that will be distributed during the field visit, which citizens and residents can fill it out in and hand it over later to field enumerators on another day during the census period.
The paper form includes a special code (QR), allowing access to the statistical form on the PSA's website, and filling it out electronically, without the need for paper filling, Al Mahdi pointed out.
He stressed that the PSA sought to create these methods with the aim of facilitating the process of providing data, in order to match the circumstances of each family in a way that serves the statistical process and ensures accurate data that are completely confidential in accordance with the Statistics Law.
Al Mahdi also noted that PSA has completed all the preparations for the implementation of the census, which lasted two years, while also conducting an pilot census in a previous period to ensure that all systems for this national project are prepared.
He stressed the importance of the general census data for population, housing and establishments for development plans, adding that the census is the comprehensive statistical process that provides decision-makers with accurate data that contribute to designing plans and policies for various development services and projects that serve everyone who lives in Qatar.
Al Mahdi stressed the full commitment to precautionary and preventive measures against Coronavirus, during the last phase of the census, stressing that field enumerators will receive intensive training on these procedures in coordination with the Ministry of Public Health.
For his part, HE Director of the Public Health Department at the Ministry of Public Health Sheikh Dr. Mohammed bin Hamad Al-Thani said there is a complete coordination between the Ministry and the PSA to implement the census in accordance with strict precautionary measures to prevent the spread of Coronavirus.
His Excellency said that all the precautionary measures for field enumerators, which were adopted by the PSA in coordination with the Ministry of Public Health, are capable of implementing the census project in safe health conditions.
For his part, Director of the Public Relations Department at the Ministry of Interior Brigadier Abdullah Khalifa Al Muftah affirmed that the ministry is a major partner in implementing the census and is keen on making it a success, adding that they will contribute significantly to raising awareness of the importance of the census in various languages. He urged citizens and residents to respond and cooperate with the PSA to make this important national project a success.
The press conference's participants called upon citizens and residents to fully cooperate with the Qatar Census 2020 project by providing accurate date that are important for decision-makers and policy-makers and planners in the country in order to achieve the goals and objectives of Qatar National Vision 2030 and its development strategies.
The PSA had completed all the preparatory stages of the census, including the first phase of field work that was carried out during the period from November 15 to December 17, 2019, with the participation of more than 400 field enumerators and supervisors of expertise selected according to precise criteria, in addition to preparing the electronic system and field enumerators for the last phase of the census, whether that related to completing census data or those related to following precautionary and preventive measures against the Coronavirus.
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