“The computer glitch has bogged down the work, and many information have to wait, or be reentered. These have taken much time,” Cruz said.
The initial schedule of the final package was supposed to be this month but “maybe we have to wait for another three months”. The LSI is supposed to provide accurate information to the city government and other interested parties, help this fast-growing city cope with rapid urbanization and avoid wastage of scarce resources for adequate social services and infrastructure assistance.
The LSI survey was done house-to-house to get to the basic information from its more than 1.2 million population on subject such as pets maintained and unvaccinated, income household, contraceptive needs and health services needed.
The LSI was supposed to be finished in the middle of last year yet, Cruz said, “but computer problems like equipment and software, and personnel, delayed this project so much that we have to extend its completion to this year”.
“This is the most comprehensive survey so far which is what all local departments and agencies need,” he said. “Through the LSI, we would know who, how many and where are the poorest of the poor are, and who did not avail of the services of the national and city services.”
Cruz said the survey contained questions specific to the concern of each department of the city.
“For instance, there were questions there about ownership of a dog, how many are being kept by a household and if these were vaccinated or not.”
“There are also questions that could help pinpoint accurately which barangays need assistance in family planning,” he said.
“For the CHO, this is very helpful to extend the needed services to areas that really need them especially with the phase-out of assistance on contraceptives from the USAid (US Agency for International Development),” Cruz said.
He said LSI “would help the city allocate its resources to where it should go, and therefore avoid wastage of government resources”.
The LSI is the first survey of its kind in the country and it is more comprehensive than national surveys, he said.
The USAid’s Management Services for Health (MSH) funded the survey. Although the survey was comprehensive, it would take the respondent only three minutes to finish the questionnaire. Barangay health workers (BHWs) were tapped to conduct the survey.
Areas of concern covered agriculture, economic and livelihood, “even smoking, to help authorities with its ordinance on smoking ban.” “We really see a lot of potential on this survey,” he said. “All the departments of the city, all the barangay officals, are waiting for it.” (MindaNews)