Ghana Statistical Service to track impact of coronavirus on households and jobs

The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Bank (WB) is conducting a survey to track the socio-economic impact of COVID-19 on households and jobs.

The survey dubbed “Households and Jobs Tracker” begins on Tuesday June 9 to June 20, 2020.

The households and jobs tracker will provide insights on how household lives and jobs are impacted by the pandemic.

The Households and Jobs Tracker is one of the three surveys being conducted by the Ghana Statistical Service and development partners on socio-economic impacts of the coronavirus disease.

Topics that would be covered in the tracker include; income loss, access to services, employment, coping strategies among others.

The other two surveys which are Business Tracker and the Local Economy Tracker are being implemented.

The Business Tracker seeks to identify and measure the impact of the coronavirus disease on small, medium and large establishments operating in Ghana (profit and growth), innovative actions being taken by businesses to mitigate the impact, and actions being undertaken to prepare for the post coronavirus pandemic.

The Local Economy Tracker will gather data on the preparedness and resilience of the local economies to withstand the shock brought about by the pandemic.

In a statement, the Government Statistician, Professor Samuel Kobina Annim, noted that results from the survey would inform policy directions in supporting the extremely poor and vulnerable households and safeguarding progress of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Ghana Statistical Service assured the public that information provided by individuals and households will not be disclosed to anyone or entity in any form.

“The data collection does not require payment of money, and under no circumstance should anyone be required to pay any amount to any person,” the statement said and called for cooperation from the public by giving out accurate information and the media to also give massive reportage to ensure the success of this national exercise.