The District Commissioner (DC) for Nkhotakota, Ben Tohno, has urged enumerators to collect high-quality Unified Beneficiary Registry (UBR) data. The UBR is a database of households that is used to identify and target beneficiaries for social protection programs such as the Social Cash Transfer and Climate Smart Public Works Program in Malawi.

During a meeting with enumerators, the DC emphasized the importance of following instructions in the data collection system if they are to collect quality data. He also sternly warned the enumerators against falsifying data by sitting under trees and cooking up UBR data collected from households.

The DC urged the enumerators to collect high-quality data that will help to get rid of inclusion and exclusion errors in targeting beneficiaries in social protection programmes in Malawi. He explained that the UBR is a crucial tool for ensuring that social protection programs reach those who need them the most, in particular the ultra-poor households.

The DC's message was well-received, and they have since promised to collect accurate and reliable data for the UBR.

A total of 130 enumerators are being trained and they are expected to data in Nkhotakota District for the next 45 days.

The UBR enumerator’s orientation is supported by the Social Support for Resilient Livelihoods Project (SSRLP), a project funded by the World Bank, facilitated by the National Local Government Finance Committee and implemented in all the 28 Local Authorities in Malawi.