BY UBON EKANEM, CALABAR – The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has pledged financial and technical support to Nigeria in the implementation of Multiple Indicators Clusters Survey (MICS) in the country.
The UNICEF’s MICS programme assist countries in conducting phone-based household surveys that collect frequent, representative data on rapidly changing and less commonly covered topics in face-to-face surveys. This is in addition to its advantage of real-time monitoring and reporting.
Speaking while flagging-off the seventh round of MICS in Calabar, the Cross River State capital, UNICEF Field Officer for Enugu Zone in Nigeria, Mrs Maureen Zubic Okolo said given the impact and progress made in the programme implementation, UNICEF would remain a key and reliable partner in offering financial support and technical logistics to achieve the programme’s set objective
Mrs Zubic Okolo said the seventh phase of the programme is beyond providing reliable platform for data collection because its successful implementation would also enable UNICEF to identify vulnerable areas that require focus, as well as existing gaps.
She also said UNICEF is concerned with service delivery planning for every child regardless of geographic location and circumstance.
While commending the partnership and support of the European Union (EU), the World Bank and the Canadian government in commencing the MICS’ seventh round, Mrs Okolo said the programme provides the most comprehensive and reliable survey index on children, and women in the process of monitoring human capital development
In his remarks, the Statistician General of the Federation, Prince Adeyemi Adeniran stated that since inception in 1995, MICS as a government agency, driven by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), has ensured the development of accurate data for household survey within the ambit of global standard as coordinated internationally by UNICEF.
He expressed delight at the programme’s tremendous impact, having grown in scope, ambition and technical sophistication.
As one of the most reliable household survey platforms for monitoring development in the country, Prince Adeniran said MICS’ objectives include providing reliable assess in monitoring the situation of children, women and households in the process of tracking progress within the framework of global and national commitment.
He explained that MICS has ensured the provision of disaggregate data for identifying disparities that promote social disequilibrium, as well as providing reliable and efficient platform to evaluate the impact of interventions and gaps that may exist to create room for future planning.
As a sampling frame, the Nigeria Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) Plus 2023–2025 highlights critical disparities in access to services, education, health, and livelihoods across urban and rural households.
