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