The Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) is gearing up to commence data collection for the community profiling module under the Parish Development Model (PDM) program in the Acholi subregion.
The exercise is scheduled to begin on Monday and will span across all parishes in the subregion, expected to last for at least two weeks.
James Muwonge, the Director of Methodology and Statistical Coordination Services at UBOS, shared that the primary focus of the data collection is to gather comprehensive information on the available services in each parish within the subregion. This includes crucial aspects such as health facilities, infrastructure, schools, water sources, and other essential services. The objective is to provide up-to-date data to support the efficient implementation of the PDM initiative.
Moreover, the data collected will play a vital role in facilitating resource allocation decisions by the local government. It will offer valuable insights into the presence or scarcity of services in different parishes, empowering a more informed and equitable distribution of resources to address community needs effectively.
The decision to conduct the data collection in the Acholi subregion was influenced by the region’s ranking as the second poorest, based on the 2021 survey report on the Poverty index. This exercise aims to delve deeper into the factors contributing to the region’s persistent poverty and provide valuable insights to support targeted interventions.
To ensure the success of the data collection exercise, officials, including Information Technology (IT) experts and district planners, have undergone training in Gulu City for the last two days. These trained officials will then pass on their skills to the Parish chiefs in their respective districts on Friday, ahead of the data collection rollout on Monday next week.
However, Gulu District Chief Administrative Officer Ismail Ochengel highlighted the challenges faced during past UBOS data profiling exercises, citing a lack of financial support from the parish chiefs.
In response to such setbacks, the government has allocated resources this time to cater to the needs of the parish chiefs, including airtime, data bundles, transport, and data collection allowances.This proactive measure aims to address previous hurdles and ensure the active participation of parish chiefs in the data collection process.
The community profiling exercise in Gulu District is set to cover 47 parishes. The government’s PDM program, launched in February last year, aims to uplift 17.5 million Ugandans in 3.5 million households out of poverty by implementing targeted development activities at the parish level.
By gathering vital data through this initiative, the government seeks to make informed decisions and channel resources to improve the livelihoods of communities, contributing to the broader goal of poverty eradication in the Acholi subregion.
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