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On Thursday, February 22, 2024, Andrew Bob Johnny, the Statistician-General and CEO of Statistic Sierra Leone (Stats SL), held a meeting with Paul McDermott, the Country Representative of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), at his office in Freetown.
The highly interactive meeting was meant to figure out ways the USAID will continue to provide its unflinching support towards the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) and Population and Housing Census processes in Sierra Leone.
Present at the meeting were the Development Assistant Specialist USAID, Aiah Sosokoneh, the Deputy Statistician General, Lansana Kpewolo Kanneh, Directors of Stats SL, and a representative from the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development (MoPED).
Speaking to the USAID Country Representative and his delegation, the CEO of Stats SL Andrew Bob Johnny disclosed that after several consultative meetings with the government and other relevant stakeholders, a resolution was made that the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) will not hold this year and in its place will be the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS-7).
Planning for the successful execution of the MICS7 survey, the Population and Housing Census, the Sierra Leone Integrated Household Household Survey (SLIHS), and the Agricultural survey were the impeding reasons highlighted by the CEO.
Mr. Johnny ended up indicating the possibility of carrying out the DHS next year (2025).
The USAID Country Representative, Paul McDermott, discussed plans that are essential towards providing continued support for the DHS survey and Population and Housing Census. He commended Stats SL, the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, and the Ministry of Health and Sanitation for always being on the same page in the areas of DHS and the Census Processes.
The short but important meeting ended on a good footing, where both parties involved promised to continue their long-standing working relationship.
The high-powered meeting was not only a platform meant for discussing support for the DHS and Census but was a platform for interaction and idea sharing.
