Multi-Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) will be conducted in our country

On May-July 2023, the Multi-Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) will be undertaken in the Republic of Azerbaijan to collect internationally comparable statistical data for assessing the social well-being of mothers and children, human development, and measuring the progress towards the targets underpinning Sustainable Development Goals.

As a part of the preparations, training for the staff who will conduct MICS fieldwork commenced on April 3. Rauf Salimov, Deputy Chairman of the State Statistical Committee and William Abi Abdallah, Deputy Representative of UNICEF Azerbaijan, delivered speeches at the training's opening ceremony, informing attendees about the purpose and importance of holding MICS in our country, as well as the work done under its framework. The trainees will be instructed by experts from the State Statistical Committee and UNICEF on how to interview sampled household members, measure children's height and weight, test water quality and salt iodization and conduct a computer-based (CAPI) survey, among other skills.

It was also highlighted that the MICS was first launched in the mid-1990s and that such surveys have been conducted in 118 countries to date; that it serves as an important source of information on child protection, health and nutrition, and education; and that it has become an essential tool for monitoring the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) outlined in "Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development".

Representatives from both the State Statistical Committee and UNICEF addressed various issues during the event. The Main Fieldwork Training will continue until May 2, during which trainees will be trained on conducting the survey and administering questionnaires until April 20. The questionnaires will then be tested, and pilot interviews will be conducted in the following days.