The Namibian Statistics Agency (NSA) has finally completed its 2023 Population and Housing Census fieldwork.

The agency began the process on September 18, 2023, and concluded it with the post-enumeration survey, including the reconciliation field visit on February 14, 2023.

During this period, the NSA dedicated its field staff to collecting vital census data across all 14 regions.

The census journey comprised the pre-enumeration, the enumeration phase, and the post-enumeration.

There is a serious need to shorten time lags between the years of producing data.

This was highlighted in the second series of mortality and causes of death reports launched by the Namibia Statistics Agency today.

A lack of data is said to fuel policy blindness and affect national programmes.

Deputy Statistician-General at the Namibia Statistics Agency, Ottilie Mwazi, pointed out challenges of delay encountered during the production of the mortality and causes of death reports.

The recent report only captured data from 2018–2021.

A researcher with the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR), Frederico Links claims, there is no transparency in the biometric data collection, MTC is currently carrying out.

In an interview with nbc News Links says, when registering their sim cards subscribers are taken through a process that includes capturing a picture and fingerprints.

This has raised many eyebrows as the law currently only allows for basic information such as identification copy and residential address. 

The Ministry of Health and Social Services is collecting data on how to improve response to HIV/AIDS as part of the new strategic framework for 2023, aimed at intensifying the fight against the pandemic.

HIV/AIDS poses a serious development challenge in Namibia, as it negatively impacts all sectors of the economy.

The National Strategic Plan on HIV/AIDS's overall goal is to reduce new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths by 75% and move the country towards ending the disease as a public threat by 2030.