Driving Change for Children through Data

UNICEF is supporting the Government of Zambia to reach out to more than 51,000 children and adolescents who dropped out of school during 2021 or are at risk of dropping out due to child marriage and early pregnancy. An innovative digital data collection tool, Kobo Collect, was developed and piloted to track the learners and various interventions put in place under this programme in Senanga and Katete districts of Zambia. 

Kobo Collect is a free, flexible, and intuitive app for collecting data even in difficult contexts where internet connection is unstable. Globally, there is a data revolution, with 315 per cent increase of data created from 2015 to 2020, and COVID-19 pandemic pushed it further by increasing the world’s capacity to store information. Data generates critical evidence for decision-making at all levels and aspects of the society, and Zambia is not an exception. 

It was a late afternoon. I could hear the insects buzzing and chirping around me. We were sitting at an outdoor restaurant in Senanga, a district 687 kilometres from Lusaka, the Capital of Zambia. Only one light was at the top of the roof and in dim light, we opened our laptops and started to work. The two Education officers, Mundia Wamulume and Simakumba Simakumba from the District Education Board sat next to me. We were exhausted from the day as it involved a joint-monitoring visit on Ending Child Marriage programme, going around several schools – including those in remote areas – interviewing multiple people, and on top of this, a very hot day. However, they seemed enthusiastic about the data they had collected digitally. 

I showed them how to analyse the data as we discussed the findings. The more time we spent looking at the data, the more engaged they became, with occasional bursts of ‘It’s very interesting, let us continue! 

Sharing the experience of becoming a pioneer and one of the first trainers for Kobo collect, Simakumba Simakumba, the Planning Officer for Education Board of Senanga district noted: “Numbers always fascinated me. Even when I was a child, I did well in mathematics at school.” Simakumba’s parents recognized his passion and supported him by putting together family funds so he could continue his education and complete a university course in Mathematics and Statistics.

Sitting next to Simakumba, Mundia also reflected on digital data collection process and added, “Kobo Collect really helped us to capture data faster than before.” Mundia Wamulume, is the Assistant Statistical Officer who also championed use of the digital tool, Kobo Collect, and is passionate about using data for the district. Both Simakumba and Mundia worked hard to have quality data collected for the programme. 

In 2018, with thanks to the funding support from the Governments of Belgium, Canada, Netherlands, Norway, United Kingdom, the European Union and  ZONTA International, the Ministry of Education, Government of Zambia together with UNFPA and UNICEF started the Ending Child Marriage (ECM) programme in Senanga and Katete districts of Zambia.  

Located in the Western and Eastern provinces, these were identified as the most vulnerable districts, prone to child marriage and early pregnancies owing to multiple factors, including cultural practices and economic situation of the households in the area. Since 2021, with technical support from UNICEF Zambia, Senanga district has championed the use of the digital tool from its initial stage – being involved in development of the survey tool, orientation of schools and compilation and analyses of the data for effective decision making. 

“Data collection before using this tool was a challenge”, explained Simakumba, sharing how some schools in the remote areas of the district were unable to deliver the paper-based monthly school data, with heavy floods making it impossible for them to cross the roads.

He happily shared that he can now log in easily to his account on Kobo Collect and export the data to an excel format. This saves him a lot of time that he can attribute to efficiently analyse the collected data. He also added that the technology is cost-effective and saves costs that were earlier spent to print the survey forms and delivering them to the schools, and then transportation from the schools to deliver the data to the District Office. 

The Ministry of Education of Zambia following its commitment to go paper-less introduced a digital Education Management Information System in early 2022. During the pandemic, the assessment of the COVID-19 Educational interventions was also conducted electronically as the data collectors visited schools and entered information digitally, using tablets. 

The findings from the digital data collection and analysis, led by the Senanga District Education Office were also shared with Social Welfare and Health sectors, involved in Ending Child Marriage programme, and school head teachers to reflect on their plans and interventions. Data findings showed that the number of pregnancies in the schools targeted for the Ending Child Marriage programme decreased to 50 per cent and for early marriage a reduction of 20 per cent was found, whereas other non-targeted schools did not show any change in the situation. 

“The analysis of the data showed that targeted sensitisation towards parents helped in reducing the dropout of learners or re-admitting them to schools,” explained Mundia. Adding to reflections and learning, Simakumba further emphasises, “The data shows that the guidance and counselling sessions provided by the schools through this programme not only helped girls but also the boys to prevent them from dropping out of school”. 

Based on the successful piloting of the digital tool, a series of capacity building trainings were rolled out in 2022 and 2023 to eight newly targeted districts in Eastern and Western provinces. Participants of the trainings gained practical skills on using a digital tool, and more importantly learnt cleaning, validation, analysis, and utilisation of the data. The number of champions using the digital tool now expanded from just two people to more than 18 people in six districts, targeting more than 51,000 children involved in the Ending Child Marriage programme. And districts are equipped with tools and capacity that will enable them to generate evidence efficiently and effectively. 

**END