The first recorded cases of COVID 19 in São Tomé and Príncipe (STP) emerged on April 6, 2020. Since then, the Government has implemented strict measures to contain the spread of the virus. In addition, the closure of air space has drastically reduced air transport activities, making it difficult to carry out one of the most important activities in the country, which is Hotel and Catering (Tourism) as well as non-food trade activities.

The COVID-19 pandemic and its economic and social impacts on families have created an urgent need for up-to-date data to help monitor and mitigate the impacts of the crisis and protect the well-being of the least favored in STP society. To monitor how the COVID-19 pandemic affects STP’s economy and population and to substantiate response policies with data, the National Statistical Institute (INE), with technical support from the World Bank, has designed and conducted a telephone Household Monitoring Survey (HMS). With support from the United Nations, the survey was expanded to include a questionnaire aimed at informal businesses.

Abstract

The first recorded cases of COVID 19 in São Tomé and Príncipe (STP) emerged on April 6, 2020. Since then, the Government has implemented strict measures to contain the spread of the virus. In addition, the closure of air space has drastically reduced air transport activities, making it difficult to carry out one of the most important activities in the country, which is Hotel and Catering (Tourism) as well as non-food trade activities.

The COVID-19 pandemic and its economic and social impacts on families have created an urgent need for up-to-date data to help monitor and mitigate the impacts of the crisis and protect the well-being of the least favored in STP society. To monitor how the COVID-19 pandemic affects STP’s economy and population and to substantiate response policies with data, the National Statistical Institute (INE), with technical support from the World Bank, has designed and conducted a telephone Household Monitoring Survey (HMS). With support from the United Nations, the survey was expanded to include a questionnaire aimed at informal businesses.

Geographic coverage

This survey included all districts: Lembá, Lobata, Água Grande, Me Zochi, Cantagalo, Cauê, and the Príncipe Autonomous Region (RAP).

Analysis unit

Household

Universe

Each round of the STP COVID-19 HMS has ONE RESPONDENT per household. The respondent was the household head or a knowledgeable adult household member. The respondent must be a member of the household.

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

The STP COVID-19 HMS sample consists of a subsample of the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) carried out by INE in collaboration with UNICEF in 2019. Households with access to a telephone are represented in the HMS, covering urban and rural areas in all STP regions. The HMS called all households with a valid telephone number listed in MICS, completing 1,025 interviews (413 in rural areas and 612 in urban areas).

Among the 3,426 households interviewed in the MICS 2019, 1,400 (40.8%) provided at least one phone number. From these, 1,081 were successfully contacted by INE interviewers and 1,025 accepted and answered all the questions made in the first round of the HMS.

To mitigate bias in a sample that contains only households with a working telephone, a procedure for adjusting the sample weights was carried out using the Propensity Score Weighting (PSW) methodology. Following this procedure, the HMS results were brought closer to the national representativeness of surveys carried out in person, such as MICS 2019.

Mode of data collection

Computer Assisted Personal Interview [capi]

Research instrument

The questionnaire is structured and available for download in Portuguese, under the Documentation tab.

Cleaning operations

Data Cleaning The data cleaning process was done in two main stages. The first stage was to ensure proper quality control during the fieldwork. This was achieved in part by incorporating validation and consistency checks into the Survey Solutions application used for the data collection and designed to highlight many of the errors that occurred during the fieldwork. The second stage of cleaning involved a comprehensive review of the final raw data following the first stage cleaning. Every variable was examined individually for (1) consistency with other sections and variables, (2) out of range responses, and (3) formatting. Some minor errors remain in the data where the diagnosis and/or solution were unclear to the data cleaning team.

Response rate

Sample size was 1,400 households, of which 1,025 completed the forms in full.