COVID-19 High Frequency Phone Survey of Households 2020 (Ethiopia)

Abstract

The potential impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ethiopia are expected to be severe on Ethiopian households' welfare. To monitor these impacts on households, the team selected a subsample of households that had been interviewed for the Living Standards Measurement Study (LSMS) in 2019, covering urban and rural areas in all regions of Ethiopia. The 15-minute questionnaire covers a series of topics, such as knowledge of COVID and mitigation measures, access to routine healthcare as public health systems are increasingly under stress, access to educational activities during school closures, employment dynamics, household income and livelihood, income loss and coping strategies, and external assistance.

The survey is implemented using Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing, using a modular approach, which allows for modules to be dropped and/or added in different waves of the survey. Survey data collection started at the end of April 2020 and households are called back every three to four weeks for a total of seven survey rounds to track the impact of the pandemic as it unfolds and inform government action. This provides data to the government and development partners in near real-time, supporting an evidence-based response to the crisis.

The sample of households was drawn from the sample of households interviewed in the 2018/2019 round of the Ethiopia Socioeconomic Survey (ESS). The extensive information collected in the ESS, less than one year prior to the pandemic, provides a rich set of background information on the COVID-19 High Frequency Phone Survey of households which can be leveraged to assess the differential impacts of the pandemic in the country.