Skopje, 1 August 2017 – Today, UNICEF and the State Statistical Office signed an agreement to participate in one of the largest international household survey programmes – the sixth round of the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS). This is the third time the country is participating in the survey to collect needed data on the situation of children and women. “The survey’s rigorous and widely used methodology allows countries to collet comprehensive and comparable data,” said Mr Apostol Simovski, Acting Director of the State Statistical Office. “Our participation in another round provides a solid basis for tracking progress and identifying trends – both positive and negative.” Designed to fill data gaps, the sixth round of the MICS has undergone rigorous methodological and validation work to broaden the scope and include new topics that reflect global Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) indicators and new emerging issues. “The new round of MICS presents a unique opportunity to collect robust and disaggregated data to track progress for children in health and nutrition, child protection and education,” said Mr. Benjamin Perks, UNICEF Representative. “With the new enhancements, the survey promises to provide valuable insights in new areas including social transfers, foundational learning skills (children age 7-14), child and adult functioning, migration status, use of clean fuels and technology and victimisation.” The agreement signed by the partners foresees the State Statistical Office implementing the survey using the global methodology and tools, with the technical support and financial assistance of UNICEF and partners. It is expected that the data collection will be carried out during the autumn of 2018 in around 6000 households throughout the country. About MICS The Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) is an international research programme developed by UNICEF, in collaboration with other UN agencies, and is carried out every five years around the world to ensure international comparability, continuity of research and time series data. Since the inception of MICS in the 1990s, over 300 surveys have been carried out in more than 100 countries. As part of the global effort to further develop national capacities to generate and analyse high quality and disaggregated data, UNICEF launched the sixth round of MICS in October 2016 – specifically designed to meet policy-makers’ needs in the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) era. The country participated in the third and the fourth round of MICS, in 2006 and in 2011 respectively. Data from these surveys have contributed to the development of national policies, plans and programmes and to monitoring progress for children and women.
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