National Risk and Vulnerability Survey 2011-2012
Afghanistan, 2011 - 2012
Identification
AFG_2011_NRVA_v01_M
National Risk and Vulnerability Survey 2011-2012
Living Conditions Survey
| Name | Country code |
|---|---|
| Afghanistan | AFG |
Integrated Survey (non-LSMS) [hh/is]
The 2011-2012 National Risk and Vulnerability Survey (NRVS) is the fourth study conducted by Central Statistics Organization (CSO). The previous rounds were conducted in 2003, 2005 and 2007-08.
The 2011-12 National Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (NRVA) is a survey, which provides national and international stakeholders with information that is required for monitoring development progress and formulate development policies and programmes. The survey was conducted by the Central Statistics Organization (CSO) of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and provides results that are representative at national and provincial level. It covered 20,828 households and 159,224 persons across the country, and is unique in the sense that it also includes the nomadic Kuchi population of Afghanistan.
Sample survey data [ssd]
- Household
- Individual
- Community
- Market
Scope
The survey covered the following topics:
HOUSEHOLD LEVEL
- Household identification
- Household roster
- Housing and amenities
- Livestock
- Agriculture
- Household assets
- Labour
- Household income
- Household expenditure
- Migration
- Education
- Household shocks and coping strategies
- General living conditions
- Maternal and child health
COMMUNITY LEVEL
- Community identification
- Community access and access to facilities
- Community projects
- Community development priorities
- Agricultural calendars
MARKET LEVEL
- Market identification
- Prices (unit price of items)
Coverage
National coverage
Producers and sponsors
| Name | Affiliation |
|---|---|
| Central Statistics Organization (CSO) | Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan |
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| European Union | Funded the study |
Sampling
The sampling design of the NRVA 2011-12 was developed to produce results that are representative at national and provincial level, as well as for Shamsi calendar seasons. In total 35 strata were identified, 34 for the provinces of Afghanistan and one for the nomadic Kuchi population. Stratification by season was achieved by equally distributing data collection over 12 months within the provinces. For the Kuchi population, the design only provided sampling in winter and summer when communities tend to temporarily settle. Given the total sample size of 21,000 and uniform sample size per stratum, each province and the Kuchi stratum was assigned with 600 households to be interviewed.
The sampling frame used for the resident population in the NRVA 2011-12 was the pre-census household listing conducted by CSO in 2003-05. Households were selected on the basis of a two-stage cluster design within each stratum. In the first stage Enumeration Areas (EAs) were selected as Primary Sampling Units (PSUs) with probability proportional to EA size (PPS). Subsequently, in the second stage ten households were selected as the Ultimate Sampling Unit (USU). The design thus provided for 60 clusters per province, implying data collection of five clusters (50 households) per province per month and in total 170 clusters (1,700) households per month and 2,040 clusters (20,400 households) in the full year of data collection.
The Kuchi sample was designed on basis of the 2003-04 National Multi-sectoral Assessment of Kuchi (NMAK-2004). For this stratum a community selection was implemented with PPS and a second stage selection with again a constant cluster size of ten households. The 60 clusters (600 households) for this stratum were equally divided between the summer and winter periods within the survey period.
The reality of survey taking in Afghanistan imposed a number of deviations from the sampling design. In the first six fieldwork months areas that were inaccessible due to insecurity were replaced by sampled areas that were scheduled for a later month, in the hope that over time security conditions would improve and the original cluster interviews could still be conducted. In view of sustained levels of insecurity, from the sixth month of data collection onward clusters in inaccessible areas were replaced by clusters drawn from a reserve sampling frame that excluded insecure districts. In addition, delays in fieldwork caused an uneven seasonal coverage.
Sample weights were calculated for up-scaling the surveyed households and population to the total number of households and population in Afghanistan. The calculation was based on the official CSO population estimate by province for January 2012 and average provincial household size derived from the survey. In view of the unequal distribution of the sample across seasons, a post-stratification adjustment was imposed to give equal weight to the seasons.
Survey instrument
The core of NRVA 2011-12 is a household questionnaire consisting of 15 subject sections, 11 administered by male interviewers and answered by the male household representative (usually the head of household), and four asked by female interviewers from female respondents. In addition, the questionnaire included three modules for identification and monitoring purposes.
In addition to household information, data were collected at community level through two community questionnaires, one male and one female Shura questionnaire. Finally, the NRVA survey instrument included a questionnaire to collect data on market prices for food items and a few other commodities.
Data collection
| Start | End |
|---|---|
| 2011-04 | 2012-08 |
| Name | Affiliation |
|---|---|
| Central Statistics Organization | Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan |
The NRVA 2011-12 field staff consisted of two mixed interview couples and one field supervisor for each of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. The field operations were supervised by nine Regional Statistical Officers (RSOs), who were selected from the Provincial Statistical Officers (PSOs). In addition, NRVA staff from CSO Headquarters performed monthly monitoring missions for direct feedback to interviewers and supervisors.
The survey instrument consisted of paper questionnaires for households, male and female community Shuras (councils) and commodity prices in the nearest market place. The male interviewers administered the interviews with the male household representative and the female interviewers those with female household representative and other eligible female household members. In addition, a female interviewer conducted the female Shura interviews, whereas the supervisor usually administered the male Shura interviews. The supervisors were also responsible for collecting the market prices.
Each of the field teams had a monthly interview target of 50 household interviews in 5 selected clusters, resulting in a national monthly total of 1,700 household interviews. Data collection started in April 2011. Progress in the first months was slow due to a variety of reasons, including access problems related to insecurity and physical circumstances, replacement of field staff, Ramazan, and the requirement to revise the sampling procedure. Effectively, this meant that in spring and summer 2011 fewer interviews were conducted than planned. The missing interviews were compensated in corresponding period in 2012. For this reason data collection was extended to August 2012. In addition to surveying the resident population during the entire survey period, the nomadic Kuchi population was accessed in winter and summer when they tend to stay put for some time.
Provinces that faced most security challenges were Kapisa, Paktya, Zabul, Logar, Wardak, Sar-e-Pul, Jawzjan, Helmand and Urozgan. In view of recurrent access problems a security strategy was developed. This strategy included mapping of insecure areas, security assessment in the field, consultation of relevant information sources (PSOs, NSP Regional Management Units, CDCs), and discussions and negotiations with relevant actors, such as governors, community leaders and Jahadi commanders. As a last resort insecure areas were replaced by more secure areas. The implementation of this strategy resulted in fewer replacements in the second and third survey quarters. The security situation in Zabul did not allow participation of female interviewers. Out of the 357 sampled districts and provincial centres of Afghanistan, in 342 (96 percent) information was collected, although in 35 (10 percent) fewer interviews were conducted than originally planned.
Data processing
Data processing in CSO Headquarters was done in parallel to the fieldwork and started upon arrival of the first batch of completed questionnaires in May 2011. The first stage consisted of manual checking by three questionnaire editors. Subsequently, the questionnaire batch was submitted for data entry. The data entry staff received two rounds of training before actual data capture started. In the course of the survey, the team was expanded to 30 operators to keep up to eliminate the backlog that arose due to double data entry.
Data capture was done with a specially designed MS Access programme, which was piloted to ensure a smooth performance. The database was equipped with VB coding to perform basic consistency and range checks. The database programme also included several data-cleaning and data-management procedures for process monitoring and daily back-ups by the Database Director.
The principle of double data entry was introduced to avoid high levels of manual data capture errors. For each of the double-entered batches integrity checks were performed at individual, household and batch level. Emerging issues were resolved by a team of seven data editors. A complementary MS Access programme identified discrepancies between the batches of double-entered data, which were subsequently reconciled and again tested for integrity.
Further data editing was first performed on the MS Access database. This database was then transferred to Stata software for the application of programmes to identify data flaws and either perform automatic imputation or manual screen editing. Data processing was completed in September 2012.
Data Access
Use of the dataset must be acknowledged using a citation which would include:
- the Identification of the Primary Investigator
- the title of the survey (including country, acronym and year of implementation)
- the survey reference number
- the source and date of download
Disclaimer and copyrights
The user of the data acknowledges that the original collector of the data, the authorized distributor of the data, and the relevant funding agency bear no responsibility for use of the data or for interpretations or inferences based upon such uses.
Contacts
| Name | Affiliation | URL | |
|---|---|---|---|
| The World Bank Microdata Library | The World Bank | microdata@worldbank.org | http://microdata.worldbank.org |
Metadata production
DD_AFG_2011_NRVA_v01_M_WB
| Name | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Development Economics Data Group | The World Bank | Documentation of the DDI |
2014-09-25
Metadata version
Version 01 (September 2014)