STAND UP AND BE COUNTED: CHAD'S 2009 POPULATION

UNCLAS NDJAMENA 000190

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AF/C AND EB
ALSO FOR USAID/DCHA/DG
ACCRA FOR USAID/WA, H. PATRICK

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID KDEM PHUM PREF PGOV CD
SUBJECT: STAND UP AND BE COUNTED: CHAD'S 2009 POPULATION
CENSUS BEGINS; USG CONTRIBUTES $1.3 MILLION


1. Summary: Chad's second post-independence population
census kicked off May 19 with registration of the President.
The census is a necessary precondition for national elections
in 2010 and 2011, and will facilitate donor planning for
development assistance. The USG has contributed $1.5 million
which will be disbursed through the United Nations Population
Fund (UNFPA). Post wishes to thank the regional USAID office
in Accra for the procurement assistance it provided for the
grant award. End summary.


2. Chad's second population census in almost 50 years of
post-independence history got under way May 20 as President
Idriss Deby Itno was registered at the presidential palace by
the Director General of the census bureau. Prime Minister
Youssouf Saleh Abbas was registered shortly afterwards at his
office in the presence of Chad's Minister of Economy and
Planning, who has overall responsibility for census
organization. Chad's last census, which received high marks
for its technical soundness, took place in 1993 when there
was a population of 6.3 million.


3. A previous effort in 2003 to carry out the next census
within ten years could not be organized due largely to a lack
of funding. Since then, Chad's overall economic situation
has improved with the availability of oil revenues, while the
donor community has come to realize the magnitude of the
handicap it must face attempting to plan development projects
without reliable demographic data. The European Union, Swiss
Cooperation, UN agencies (UNFPA, UNICEF, UNDP) and the U.S.
have all committed resources to the 2009 census whose
estimated budget stands at $25.4 million. The GOC has
committed to covering 50 per cent of the census budget.


4. Despite the relatively modest size of its bilateral
assistance program in Chad, Post recognized the importance of
credible census figures for development planning as well as
to serve as a baseline for the upcoming round of elections.
It therefore made a commitment of $150,000 in September 2007
shortly after the GOC issued an appeal. Chad's Minister of
Economy and Planning fondly recalls how the U.S. was the
first of Chad's friends to respond to this call for help. A
more substantial contribution to the census effort was made
by the U.S. with the recent May 15 signature of a USAID grant
agreement to UNFPA in the amount of $1,275,000. Post wishes
to commend the USAID regional office in Accra, Ghana for its
expedient handling of this procurement action which allowed
the grant to be awarded May 19, just in time for the May 20
commencement of census operations. A modest but meaningful
signing ceremony of the grant agreement was organized by
Chad's Economic and Planning Minister May 19 which also
involved the UNFPA Resident Representative and the
Ambassador. The event received good coverage by the
broadcast media.


5. To be accurate, several preliminary census operations
have already been undertaken and completed these past few
months by the census bureau, including large-scale
procurement of vehicles and office equipment, mapping
(administrative boundaries, village locations),testing of
sample questionnaires and training of census agents. The
actual counting of Chad's population will occur between May
20 and June 4. Data compilation and analysis will follow.
With the end of the rainy season in September/October, an
electoral census will then be conducted, possibly with the
use of biometrics. Municipal and legislative elections are
expected to occur in early 2010, followed by presidential
elections in 2011. Completion of the population census is
therefore a key component to the upcoming election cycle.
Several of the major opposition parties which boycotted
previous elections had insisted that the population census
and the electoral census be included as necessary
preconditions for their participation in the August 13, 2007
Agreement brokered by the European Union with the GOC.
Through this recent grant award of $1,275,000 to the census,
Post has contributed to a very practical but necessary
operation that will promote political competition while
providing the baseline data to guide our development efforts.

NIGRO