The Higher Population Council (HPC), with the support of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), recently conducted a two-day training workshop on the estimation of vital indicators for key data producers within the Jordanian statistical system.The workshop, as stated by HPC on Sunday, aimed to equip participants with internationally recognized demographic concepts and direct methodologies for computing vital indicators. It sought to enhance the practical technical skills of participants in estimating indicators associated with demographic and vital processes, such as marriage, fertility, and mortality.At the heart of the workshop was the objective to familiarize participants with demographic data and its sources, including both stock and flow sources. It also emphasized the critical need for coordination among national institutions responsible for calculating these indicators to mitigate discrepancies in their estimations.HPC Secretary-General, Issa Masarweh, underscored the significance of the works
hop, citing the council’s pivotal role as the national authority for population and sustainable development matters. He stressed the council’s dual role as both a beneficiary and a user of administrative and statistical data, particularly the wealth of demographic insights derived from the registration of essential citizen services, such as vital events marriages, divorces, births, and deaths.UNFPA representative in Jordan, Himyar Abdulmoghni, emphasized the paramount importance of civil registration in bestowing legal identity upon individuals and facilitating their access to critical government services, including education and healthcare. He highlighted the adverse consequences of the absence of such identity, which can lead to individuals being marginalized from official sectors and hinder their access to essential services.Abdulmoghni acknowledged Jordan’s progress in its civil registration system while recognizing the room for improvement, particularly in terms of the completeness of registration. He hi
ghlighted the continued support of the UNFPA for Jordan’s civil registration system since 2005 and its ongoing collaboration with the HPC to enhance this aspect.Throughout the workshop, the council conducted instructive sessions that encompassed various facets of demographic and vital indicators, including defining the purposes of demographic and vital indicators, elucidating their sources of information, clarifying their forms and types, addressing potential sources of errors in demographic and vital data, explaining methods for evaluating and correcting demographic data, and detailing the processes for estimating population size in mid-year.The workshop placed a significant emphasis on training participants in the practical application of direct methods for estimating vital indicators, including those relating to marriage, divorce, fertility, mortality, and the measurement of population change. Additionally, it covered the requisite data elements for calculating these indicators and addressed the challenges
associated with their measurement.Crucially, the workshop concluded with a set of actionable recommendations for participating entities, spanning integrating vital indicators of utmost importance into their annual statistical reports, and promoting collaborative efforts among participating entities within the national statistical system to conduct comprehensive studies on vital events.
Source: Jordan News Agency