Swiss back socio-economic database project
The government of Switzerland is continuing its support for improved access to socio-economic data to provide an essential tool for economic planning in Laos.
Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Dr Bounthavy Sisouphanthong and Regional Director for the Swiss Cooperation in the Mekong Region Mr Martin Sommer signed an agreement in Vientiane yesterday for additional support amounting to US$576,000.
The funding will be used to implement the project Lao DECIDE INFO (Socio-Economic Information for Evidence-based Decision-Making in Lao PDR), according to a press statement from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).
The objective of the project is to foster evidence-based decision making by enhancing the accessibility of socio-economic information and knowledge at both national and local levels, said Mr Sommer in the press statement.
This project builds upon the success of a project called “Lao Poverty Mapping and Socio-economic Atlas”, also supported by the Swiss government, which translates statistical data into colourful mapping.
Launched in December 2008, the atlas brings reliable and comprehensive socio-economic information to the broader public in published format, on CD ROM and online on the World Wide Web.
It constitutes an essential tool for national socio-economic development planning as it offers reliable information on the poverty and socio-economic situation of Laos in a very visual manner.
The atlas has been popular among development analysts and planners and is being widely used in Laos and abroad, the statement said.
To realise the value of the spatial and statistical information for evidence-based socio-economic planning, the ministry and the SDC have agreed to pursue their fruitful collaboration to make full use of the atlas.
In this regard, the new Lao DECIDE INFO project will disseminate the content of the atlas at the provincial and district levels.
It will also develop a coherent national spatial socio-economic database, which will become available though an online mapping and querying platform and will develop capacity at the Department of Statistics to manage and handle spatial socio-economic data and respond to information requests from the public.
In his remarks, Dr Bounthavy said statistics are very important for decision makers, planners and for monitoring the UN Millennium Development Goals.
“The information can be used as a basic reference by the government for development, formulating programmes and designing other plans,” he said.
Upgrading the skills of Lao statistics officials is necessary so they can produce useful information, Dr Bounthavy said.
He highly valued the cooperation between the governments of Laos and Switzerland, saying it is a useful tool to strengthen capacity in the statistical field.
By Vientiane Times Reporters
November 11, 2009
