National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), has said it has devised a way to use the huge number of mobile phones owned by Nigerians to get quick information on households.
In his keynote address on the World Statistics Day Celebration, 2020, in Abuja, the Statistician General, Dr Yemi Kale, said that in situations where data is needed quickly and where field workers have restrictions in movement, moble phones have been used to conduct surveys.
This, he said, has also been helpful during the COVID-19 pademic which made it possible to keep working during the lockdown period and the need for social distancing. “We have also enhanced our capacity for Computer Assisted Phone Interview systems, partnering with telecommunication operators to take advantage of the huge number of mobile phones owned by Nigerians to get very quick information on households in situations where data is needed quickly and where our field workers have restrictions in movement. This has particularly been helpful during the pandemic and enabled us to keep working during the lockdown period and the need for social distancing” he said.
According to the Statistician General, NBS has also established a new real-time data monitoring and quality assurance system for the purpose of remote monitoring of the field data collection. “With the use of such technology which is sometimes supported with satellite imagery, we are now able to monitor and track the movement and activity of enumerators on the field real-time” he said.