The Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) has this morning launched the census household listing and mapping activities in Wakiso District.
The exercise was kicked off by the Bureau’s Chief Executive, Dr. Chris Mukiza, at the district headquarters.
Wakiso is one of the last districts where this mapping exercise is taking place, the others being Kampala and Mukono, where it was launched last week.
Before the launch, Mukiza, who is also the National Puluation and Household Census Commissioner, first made a stop at the office of the Wakiso district chairman, Mr. Matia Lwanga Bwanika, to share insights on how mapping and listing activities should be smoothly carried out in the expansive and densely populated district.
During the meeting, Mukiza asked the district chair to take charge of the national census activists in his district to ensure their success.
Mikiza further tasked Bwakika to encourage all the district leaders under him to “prioritize the different pre-census activities as we drive momentum towards the actual.”
The chairman, on his part, pledged his full support and participation in the exercise.
Last week, while launching the same exercise in Kampala, Dr. Mukiza said they made the choice to carry out the household mapping and listing in the most densely populated districts because of the constant emergence of new settlements.
He noted that mapping such places earlier would have created a disservice because so many homesteads and settlements keep coming up.
The mapping exercise involves dividing the population into manageable units called “enumeration areas.”
Each enumeration area, roughly the size of a single LC1 village, consists of 50–80 households.
UBOS officials are utilizing digital mapping tools to create a comprehensive interactive map that will be used during the census enumeration exercise.
This map will pinpoint the location of each household and its designated head, ensuring a more efficient and streamlined data collection process.
A household, for the purpose of the census, is defined as “a group of people living together under the same roof and eating from the same pot.”
UBOS is urging Ugandans to embrace the ongoing preparatory activities and participate actively in the upcoming census.
The census will be conducted in 10 days, starting on May 9, 2024, and ending on May 19, 2024.
Every 10 years, Uganda holds a national census, and the last one was carried out in 2014.
The census figures play a critical role in guiding planning, policy formulation, and program implementation, as well as monitoring development progress in line with national goals and objectives.
