World Bank Commends Partners for Support to Household Income and Expenditure Survey – Commits US$5m for Statistical Capacity Building

The Liberian Government and stakeholders have launched the 2016 Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES). The launch took place on Monday, April 9, 2018 in Monrovia. The Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) was supported by development partners, including the World Bank.

Delivering remarks during the launch, World Bank Liberia Operations Officer, Ms. Esther Rojas-Garcia, stressed the importance of the Household Income and Expenditure Survey as a solid basis for determining policies that can be used to inform the Pro-Poor Agenda of the Liberian Government. “The data from the survey indicates poverty indices in understanding the dynamics of poverty, as well as factors influencing poverty across the country,” she asserted. Ms. Garcia who represented World Bank Liberia Country Manager Larisa Leshchenko, also said that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the Consumer Price Index (CPI) can possibly be re-based as key indicators for the first time since the end of civil war in Liberia.

She emphasized the World Bank’s continued support to the Government of Liberia with a commitment of US$5 million for a project that will focus on building the country’s national statistical capacity so that Liberia can continue conducting these surveys every four years. These surveys will enable the Government to capture data on national accounts, prices, poverty and key sustainable development goals, Ms. Garcia noted.

Meanwhile, the World Bank Operations Officer has acknowledged the support of Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), African Development Bank (AfDB) and European Union (EU) towards the HIES.

She furthered that not until recent, weighted averages from neighboring countries have been used for calculating the GDP and other calculations. “And from now on, the Government will be in the position to use its own data to make these important calculations in both formal and informal sectors,” Ms. Garcia asserted. As a milestone achievement, the Household Income and Expenditure Survey will enable the Government to make informed policy decisions to support the Pro-Poor Agenda which was realized through Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo-Information Services (LISGIS).