The regional training workshop was held virtually from 27 May to 3 June 2022, as part of a project to strengthen capacity to implement inequality assessments of civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) systems, which has been initiated by ESCAP and includes both in-country and regional level capacity strengthening activities. One element of this project relates to training on demographic skills to enable countries to implement the inequality assessments.
The workshop aimed to provide technical guidance and enhance expertise on demographic evaluation of age and sex data collected in national censuses. The workshop offered instructional material via pre-recorded videos, allowing participants to download and work through that material in their own time in the weeks preceding the scheduled workshop, with material being released in three batches weekly from 9 May 2022. The opening of the workshop and explanations was commenced on 27 May 2022, followed by the interactive part of the training starting on 30 May 2022 which was structured around two short plenary sessions, a set of three groups of staggered practical workshops to allow participants to select the time most convenient for them and one on one consultations by appointment. For more information on the pre-recorded videos and the staggered practical sessions and consultations and their timings, please see the concept note.
Background
As part of the proclamation of the Asia and Pacific Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) Decade (2015-2024), governments in the region requested that further regional action be taken to support the improvement of CRVS systems and the production of vital statistics. Goal three of the regional action framework calls for the production and dissemination of accurate, complete and timely vital statistics (including on causes of death). One of the targets under this goal further expands that nationally representative statistics - using registration records or other valid administrative data - should allow for key disaggregation, namely by age, sex, geographic area, administrative subdivisions and other subgroups and characteristics of the vital event.
Demographic statistics, whether produced using population censuses), registration data or other administrative data sources or household surveys may be subject to error which can impact the accuracy of statistics. Therefore, appraisal of demographic data is an essential task for data users, to take into consideration any potential errors or biases that may impact the accuracy of the estimates being produced. Underpinning the three components of population change (fertility, mortality and migration) are age and sex distributions of a population.
ESCAP Statistics Division run a regional training workshop for member states on the demographic evaluation of age and sex data collected in national censuses.