Liberia: Enumerators to Use Digital Data Collection for Study on Drug Abuse in Liberia
The Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP), Liberia Institute of Geo-Information Services (LISGIS) as well as the Governance Commission (GC) have embarked on three major research proposals in Liberia.
At the request from the MFDP, the GC and LIGIS, UNDP-Liberia is partnering with these line ministries and agencies to support the three research studies on the impact of Drugs and Substance Abuse, Insurance Penetration and Economic Growth, as well as Energy Access and Transitions for green inclusive growth studies in Liberia.
This exercise is being organized by MFDP, GC, LISGIS and other line ministries and agencies with support from the UNDP.
The Study on the impact of Drugs and Substance Abuse and its impact on productivity is intended to review the systematic factors and influences associated with drug addiction. The event was held under the theme: “Improving Data Access for Sustainable Development.”
These studies highlight the most preventive solutions in order to cure the drug spread in Liberia.
According to the organizers of the program, results from the research study will be used to proffer policy recommendations.
Stanley Kamara UNDP Economic Specialist/National Economist, disclosed that the study on insurance Market Penetration and its impact on Economic Growth in Liberia primarily seeks to identify problems associated with the underdevelopment of the insurance industry in Liberia, and the correlation between insurance penetration and economic growth.
Kamara, who was the lead facilitator, also mentioned that results from these studies are aimed at improving the sector and supporting social insurance policies, among other things.
The training of field staffers and supervisors is aimed at familiarizing each participant with the scope of the assessments, and to provide an understanding of how field data will be collected and submitted. “This training is a trial test for the questionnaire which will ensure that it is responsive to the overall objective of the assessment.”
The weeklong training exercise which was divided into two cohorts began from April 11 -19. It brought together approximately100 participants from government line ministries and agencies in Ganta. The gathering was also aimed at having hands-on experience/training in the use of the digital tool (use of the smartphones) to collect and transmit data.
And the third study on the Impact of Energy Access and Transition on Economic Development in Liberia is to help further understand the prevailing constraints in energy transmission and advance appropriate recommendations to policymakers.
The training workshop was meant for field staff to carry out the conduct of digital on data collections on the impact of drugs and substance abuse, insurance penetration and energy access and transition for grain growth. The training was divided into segments; training of 33 field enumerators for Cohort-1 began from the 11th to the 14th of April 2023, additional 32 field enumerators for cohort-2 kick-off from the 15th to April 17, while Assessment Working Group of 27 Supervisors started from the 17 to the 19. The training also focuses on three thematic areas and gives field enumerators the overall skills and knowledge on how data are to be collected in the field.
The proposals according to him were selected by the UNDP in March 2022, at a week-long retreat held by the MFDP Department of Economic Management in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County.
This was followed by a meeting with the Deputy Minister of Economic Management and the UNDP team led by its Deputy for Programme and attended by its National Economist.
These studies will provide insightful findings that will support the broader conduct of the drivers of development study which has been agreed upon with the government of Liberia, as part of the requirement for a successor PAPD development exercise.
Meanwhile, work towards the conduct of these studies has progressed considerably, but at varying stages, with one on drugs and substance abuse, now having an inception report and a complete set of questionnaires designed in word format, supported by a National Consultant who was recruited in 2022.
For the other two surveys, he added that draft questionnaires were also developed, and a small group of field staff were trained in developing and administering survey questionnaires utilizing an app called “Kobo toolbox” survey instrument.
The trained staff are expected to replicate the knowledge and skills to an additional number of field workers that will form part of the survey. The instruments developed during the training were pretested in ten populated communities in the City of Gompa and the exercise is to be extended to other communities in Nimba, Bong, and other essential counties in Liberia.
However, the objectives of the digital assessments for the three studies are to support the availability of evidence based policy and programing, support the process of improving statistics about drugs and substances abuse, the penetration of insurance and its contribution to economy, and how energy access and transition in response to demand for same enables the reservation of economic activities or constrains it and what needs to be done to ensure a greater contribution is made to the growth of the economy through energy access and energy transition programs and policy options in the country and create a network of national stakeholders advocating for and contributing to improving measurement of the economy based on data. Ultimately, the result will bring to light insights on how drugs and substance abuse, insurance penetration and energy affect productivity.