Stats-SL Capacitates Field Staff for 2025 SLMICS
By Stats SL Communications and PR Division
The production of reliable statistical data is essential for national development and informed decision-making. Demonstrating its commitment to this goal, Statistics Sierra Leone (Stats SL) has commenced a six-day training program on structure mapping and household listing as part of the preparations for the seventh round of the Sierra Leone Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (SLMICS 2025).
The training is designed to equip field staff with the skills and knowledge required for structure mapping and household listing using Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI).
Structure mapping involves marking all structures (houses) within selected enumeration areas (EAs) or clusters with the “SLMICS 2025” inscription. Meanwhile, household listing records details of family units within each structure, using CAPI technology. This process will determine the secondary sample units to be targeted during the actual data collection phase.
The SLMICS is an initiative launched by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in the 1990s to generate internationally comparable data on a wide range of indicators concerning the situation of women and children. The data gathered through the survey will inform evidence-based policymaking, program development, and the monitoring of progress toward national and global goals.
Speaking on behalf of UNICEF, Erika Tsuruyama, Research and Evaluation Specialist, emphasized the significance of the survey in generating high-quality, comparable data on the status of women and children in Sierra Leone. She encouraged participants to leverage both technical and collaborative skills to ensure accurate data collection during the mapping and listing process.
Lansana Kpewolo Kanneh, Deputy Statistician General of Stats SL, highlighted the importance and complexity of the exercise, noting that its success is crucial to achieving credible outcomes for SLMICS 2025. He urged trainees to fully commit to the mapping and listing process, formally declaring the training session open.
Also in attendance at the opening session were Mohamed Koblo Kamara, Director of the Demographic, Health, and Social Statistics Division (DHSSD); Miriam B. Jalloh, SLMICS National Coordinator; Samuel Ansumana, Director of the Communication and Public Relations Division (CPRD); Eleanor Keeble, SLMICS consultant; and other technical and support staff from Stats SL.
