Liberia: Gov’t, Partners Impressed with Census Progress, Despite Challenges

Despite the challenges associated with the 2022 National Population and Housing Census, Liberia's international partners supporting the process are said to be closely monitoring the progress of the ongoing enumeration across the country and are optimistic that the Census will be completed, a release has revealed.  

According to the release, after visiting select counties, including Montserrado and Lofa, to interact with the census field staff and observe the progress of the ongoing census enumeration, the partners are  confident and hopeful that at the end of the process, Liberia will have the much-needed  updated data to aid development-planning.

The 2022 National Census has been marked with controversy over the period of time due to alleged administrative lapses (corruption) at the nation’s statistical institution,  a reported financial constraint, and other problems. 

There has been concern by the Legislature and members of the political opposition  for the postponement of the national election because of those reasons. However, as a result of persistence by the government and development partners, the census was allowed to continue despite the challenges.    

The objective of these field visits and meetings  by the Swedish Ambassador and his team, the USAID Mission Director, the World Bank  Country Manager, and the UNFPA Representative and her team, accompanied by LISGIS management, was to monitor the census data collection and reporting process, understand challenges faced and how they are being resolved, and see first-hand how citizens are being engaged on the Census. 

The partners commend the people of Liberia and foreign residents for their cooperation by  allowing the Census enumerators access to their homes and responding patiently to their  questions. They have further called for sustained efforts from everyone involved in the  exercise to complete the remaining enumeration and transmission of the data collected to  ensure that the process results in the availability of good-quality data.  

They were also impressed with the census field staff for their diligence and commitment  to duty, despite the challenges they faced in the field.  

Additionally, they were pleased to see the innovative community mobilization activities to  spread awareness about the Census and encourage people to participate.  

Reflecting on his visit, the Swedish Ambassador Urban Sjöström said: “During our visit to  communities in Greater Monrovia, Congo Town Township, Paynesville Township, and  Todee District in Montserrado County, we met committed census field staff who  demonstrated the competence and commitment to ensure the successful completion of the  Census. Sweden is happy to see the Census moving forward and that some counties have  nearly finished counting their constituents. We need to sustain our efforts to the finish  line.”  

USAID Mission Director Jim Wright: “I am visiting Lofa this week, where I received a  briefing on the census from the County LISGIS Director, who told me that nearly 100% of  households in the county had been counted. He attributed this achievement to strong  support from local officials and an effective media campaign that used community radio to 

educate people about the importance of participating in the census. I am impressed by the  performance of the LISGIS Team here, and I strongly believe that other counties can learn  important lessons from the reasons for Lofa’s success as they conduct their own census.``  

World Bank Liberia Country Manager Khwima Nthara said: “It is pleasing to see that after  initial teething problems, significant progress has been made in the enumeration exercise.  All stakeholders must be commended for the roles they have played in resolving the  challenges. The results of the census will be critical to Liberia’s development planning  and resource mobilization.” 

UNFPA Liberia Country Representative Bidisha Pillai: “UNFPA remains committed to supporting Liberia to deliver a credible census that upholds international principles and standards and produces data for development. The institution of several processes leveraging technology is greatly facilitating the Census this time around. The use of technology makes it possible to continuously assess coverage, and data quality, and correct errors and inconsistencies while enumerators are still on the field. Despite the initial  challenges, good progress has been made, and sustained efforts will result in the much-needed data; essential for development planning.”