Ensuring continuity in survey operations while mitigating risk of COVID-19 transmission: New guidance available
Photo: World Bank / Sambrian Mbaabu
The COVID-19 pandemic presented a major challenge for household survey programs, as the health risks posed by the virus and associated restrictions disrupted traditional face-to-face survey operations in many countries. According to a survey on the impact of COVID-19 on national statistical offices conducted by the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) and the World Bank in May 2020, 96% of National Statistical Offices (NSOs) had partially or fully stopped face-to-face data collection.
Almost one year into this global crisis, many countries have seen a gradual reopening of activities, which made the resumption in household survey operations possible, either through partial or full face-to-face interviews by the NSOs. As of October 2020, around 40% of NSOs that had fully or partly halted face-to-face interviews were planning to resume them in full within the next six months.