UNFPA to fund Aceh, Nias census

UNFPA to fund Aceh, Nias census

JAKARTA: In a bid to get accurate post-tsunami demographic data,
the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) on Friday announced
US$2.4 million in funding support for the government of Indonesia
to conduct a census in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, including the
island of Nias.

"There has been a shift in the total population and in the
population structure following the tsunami. Apart from that, the
census will also answer some important questions like the number
of people living in temporary settlements and the number of
villages swept away by the disaster. This data is needed for
development plans in Aceh," said Choiril Maksum, chairman of the
Central Statistics Agency (BPS), in a statement issued after
signing the census cooperation agreement with UNFPA.

The census data is to be disseminated in November, the
statement added.

"The census is expected to cover a wider area in Aceh where
decades of armed conflict have led to difficulties accessing
certain parts of the province, resulting in low area coverage of
around 61 percent in the previous census in 2000," said Richard
Makalew, UNFPA's national program officer for population and
development strategies. -- JP