The body established for statistical examination, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has disclosed plans to carry out a nationwide survey on Time-Use.
The proposed Time-Use Survey is a statistical tool used to measure the time individuals spend on various activities including paid and unpaid work with a view to inputting it into the Gross Domestic Product, GDP.
The Statistician General of the Federation, Prince Adeyemi Adeniran made this known in Abuja on Thursday during a one-day stakeholders meeting on Time-Use.
He said a similar survey had been done in 1998 in 5 states of Lagos, Osun, Enugu, Kaduna, and Bauchi, noting that no other standalone, Time Use Survey has been conducted, except as a module in ‘Feed the Future (FtF)’ survey in 2019/2020.
Prince Adeniran explained that the new survey which will be nationwide would close the gap on value of unpaid work not taken into cognizance in the previous surveys.
According to the SG, the inability to account for unpaid work (which includes activities like caregiving, household chores, volunteer work, and subsistence farming), which constitutes a significant portion of economic activity in many societies would lead to the underestimation of the overall productivity and potential of the economy..
On the benefits to Nigeria, the SG said it would address the issue of gender gap and help in the monitoring of the Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs and appealed for financial support from development partners for its execution.
A director at the NBS Musa Mohammed said the survey was inspired by the importance of time which he pointed out that its efficient utilization is paramount to personal growth, societal progress, and national development, hence the need for a survey to collate data on how Nigerians spend their time.
He also said the Time Use Survey would beam a unique lens on the patterns, trends, and challenges of time utilization in Nigeria.
For the UN Women Country Representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Ms Beatrice Eyong the survey was particularly important to the organization to right the misconception on unpaid work.
”The Time Use Survey provides an opportunity to gather evidence on how women and men spend their time and this will guide policies that promote gender equality and empowerment, reduce the feminization of poverty, and contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” said Ms Eyong.
In separate goodwill messages, the representative of the National Centre for Women Development, Ijeoma Duru and that of UNICEF, Chukwuebuka Nwadiugwu pledged support for the success of the survey.
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