CENSUS TO CAPTURE SNAPSHOT OF COLOMBIAN LIFE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BOGOTA 006928

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV ECON SOCI KHIV CO
SUBJECT: CENSUS TO CAPTURE SNAPSHOT OF COLOMBIAN LIFE

Summary
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1. (U) Colombia's Statistics office began the first national
census in 12 years in May and hopes to conclude by December

1. There are two significant changes in the census this
year. Information will be entered and transmitted over a
hand-held computer directly to the census headquarters in
Bogota, thus eliminating paper and data entry requirements.
The census will also be taken over several months rather than
on one day. Thus far, the census has had difficulties with
computer data entry, resulting in the GOC firing their
technology contractor, and the public has resisted answering
questions about major health issues, including AIDS. The GOC
hopes to have usable information on the Colombian public that
could affect the 2006 elections, economic assistance
programs, and healthcare distribution. End Summary.

Background and Methodology
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2. (U) Colombia is conducting the first national census in
over 12 years to gather information on the population
location and economic status. The census covers all
Colombian citizens over age 10 and is done in a door-to-door
interview process. The National Administrative Department of
Statistics (DANE) is tasked with collecting census
information and ran a pilot program, called "phase 0" from
May 22 until June 7 in six municipalities. They tallied
households in Jerico (Antioquia),Piojo (Atlantico),Viterbo
(Caldas),Buenos Aires (Cauca),Choconta (Cundinamarca),and
Oiba (Santander). The census in major urban areas is
scheduled for September to November 30, and Bogota's count
should begin in late October.


3. (U) According to DANE officials, census methodology varies
from country to country, with Colombia favoring an active
collection model. They were persuaded that the Colombian
public would not respond to a mail-in census process (like
the U.S. system) and therefore had to be restricted to their
house while they were counted by the government. DANE
requested funding from the Colombian Congress because the
census is not a budget line item. Congress declined the
funding in 2003 and 2004. Since the early 1900s, DANE has
only conducted one census on schedule.


4. (U) As a new addition this year, DANE is giving census
officials a small handheld computer (like a Blackberry) to
record and transmit data at the interview site. This will
eliminate the need for transporting paper census copies and
data entry. The average questionnaire includes 29 questions
and interviews average half an hour per person. Roughly 10
percent of the population will be asked the expanded
questionnaire, which has 62 questions. The other significant
change is that the census will be conducted over seven months
rather than in one day, as has been the practice in the past.
DANE argued that the extended question timeline would be
easier, both on individual neighborhoods and on DANE.
Furthermore, the extended process allows DANE to employ
38,000 census takers rather than quadruple that number.

Political Issues
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5. (U) The 2005 census focuses primarily on economic,
education and health information, but also could have
implications for upcoming elections. For example, the census
tabulates the number of eligible voters in each district and
could be used for redistribution of districts or to alter
proportional vote totals in time for the March 2006 elections
or May Presidential elections. Nevertheless, Congress has to
"approve" the findings of each census and declined to approve
four of the last five.


6. (SBU) DANE officials further reported that, contrary to
critics' accusations that the census misses illegal armed
actors, they actually had good participation from the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC),the National
Liberation Army (ELN),and paramilitaries in the past.
Census-takers are local high school students and usually can
conduct the interviews if they guarantee illegal fighters
that no one will be identified individually. DANE reports
that their interviewers have never been kidnapped or attacked
by terrorist groups.

Census Hurdles to Date
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7. (U) Leading daily El Tiempo reported on July 14 that DANE
had decided to replace their contractor before beginning
"phase I" of the census in additional municipalities on
August 3. DANE announced that their contractor had failed to
provide equipment that met the technical requirements, so the
Development Projects Financial Fund (Fonade) would reopen
bids.


8. (U) DANE officials noted that some respondents were
reluctant to answer health questions in the basic
questionnaire. Questions include whether the respondent had
been malnourished, had healthcare coverage for major
illnesses, and had been treated for burns, AIDS, cancer, or
other major illnesses within the last five years. Those
questions are aimed at gauging whether the GOC is adequately
meeting the healthcare needs of the Colombian public, but
several respondents in "phase 0" interviews felt such
questions, especially about AIDS treatments, went beyond the
census' prevue.
WOOD