Elmina — The Ghana National Household Registry (GNHR), a unit under the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, will commence the collection of data on poverty in the Central Region, between October 3 and 10, this year.
The exercise formed part of the Registry's mandate to create a single database for effective and efficient targeting of the extremely poor, vulnerable and excluded people in the country.
The head of the GNHR, Dr Richard Adjetey, who announced these, explained that the exercise would commence in districts with poverty incident of more than 24.6 per cent, saying, "We are using census approach in districts with poverty incident of more than 24.6 per cent."
He was speaking at a workshop for district information officers of the Information Service Department (ISD) of the Ministry of Information, at Elmina, in the region.
Dr Adjetey indicated that, the unit would use two methods, census and demand application approach in the collection of data due to the dynamic nature of the region.
"If a district had a poverty incident of more than 24.6 percent, that district qualifies to be censured. When you have a poverty incident of below 24.6 per cent, then the demand application approach is used," he said.
Dr Adjetey mentioned Awutu Senya West, Awutu Senya East, Mfantseman, Assin North, Assin Fosu, Assin South, Upper Dekyira East, Asikuma Odoben-Brakwa as some of the areas which fall under the census approach.
According to him, the data would be used in social intervention programmes, policy and research policies.
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Dr Adjetey said, the information officers would work with the district liaison officers to carry out public information campaigns in the various communities.
He, therefore, tasked the ISD personnel to discharge their assigned roles efficiently.
Dr Adjetey said that, the Registry had completed data collection in the Northern, Savanna, North East, Upper East and Upper West regions.
He stated that, the census approach was used in the collection of data because the poverty incidents in the five regions was above 24.6 per cent.
Dr Adjetey also underscored the need for the information officers to intensify their community outreach programmes, to ensure that every community with the region was covered.
The acting Chief Information Officer, David Owusu Amoah, underscored the critical role of ISD towards the provision of requisite public education through strategic and value-added education.
He urged participants to actively take part in the training in order to discharge their duties effectively when they go to the field.
