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The Gambia Bureau of Statistics in collaboration with UNICEF and the National Nutrition Agency will be conducting the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS), which has a component on micronutrient.
The Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) is a household survey developed by UNICEF in 1995 to assist countries in filling data gaps for monitoring the situation of families and households, especially children and women. It is designed to produce estimates of indicators that are statistically sound and internationally comparable.
Meanwhile, the Gambia has participated in four out of five MICS surveys conducted worldwide. The MICS6 will be the 5th round of the MICS surveys to be conducted in The Gambia. MICS was a major source of data on the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) indicators and will continue to be a major data source during the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda to measure Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) indicators.
The final SDG indicator framework includes 230 global indicators, around 30 percent of which are household-based. MICS6 questionnaires in this round will cover about 40 percent of household-based SDG indicators. The Gambia MICS6 will be conducted countrywide, covering households in both urban and rural areas.
Furthermore, MICS is a key source of data on child protection, early childhood education, and a major source of data on child health and nutrition. In addition to being a data collection tool to generate data for monitoring the progress towards national goals and global commitments aimed at promoting the welfare of children, MICS has provided valuable data for MDG monitoring being a major source of data for the UN Secretary General’s Final Millennium Development Goals Progress Report.
As part of the survey, the micronutrient component will require urine samples to be collected to determine the level of iodine consumed by the population. Also, blood samples will be collected to determine Hb level, anaemia and vitamin A status. The samples will be collected from the population below:
- Pregnant Women (15 -49) years
- Non-Pregnant Women 15-49) years
- Children of school going age (6 -12) years
- Pre School Children under 5