Measuring Early Childhood Development in Low- and Middle Income Countries: the MICS Experience

Transcription

1 Measuring Early Childhood Development in Low- and Middle Income Countries: the MICS Experience Claudia Cappa, PhD Data and Analytics Section, UNICEF, NY

2 Objectives Provide overview of UNICEF s work for the collection, compilation and analysis of data on Early Childhood Development

3 UNICEF s support for data collection: the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS)

4 MICS: main characteristics Household surveys designed to collect data on children and women and to provide evidence base for improved policy formulation and programme planning More than 100 indicators (nutrition, child health, ECD, mortality, child protection, education, disability, HIV, etc.) Data available by background characteristics (sex, ethnicity, wealth, education, etc.), and at the national and subnational level With DHS, largest source of comparable data on children and their families in the developing world

5 MICS Round Year/Period Emphasis No. of Surveys MICS World Summit for Children Goals 62 MICS World Summit for Children Goals 65 MICS World Fit For Children Goals, MDGs, Other Global Monitoring Frameworks 52 MICS MICS MDGs, Other Global Monitoring Frameworks Final MDG Assessment, A Promise Renewed, Other Global Monitoring Frameworks, baseline for post 2015 goals/targets

6 Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) Since 1995, more than 100 countries and around 240 surveys * *As of January 2014 Countries with at least one MICS survey, including sub-national surveys

7 MICS modules and selected indicators Children under 5 child mortality birth registration early childhood development diarrhoea, pneumonia, and malaria immunization breastfeeding and dietary intake anthropometry (nutrition indicators) Women aged fertility antenatal care delivery care post-natal health checks contraception/unmet need for family planning female genital mutilation/cutting maternal mortality Men and women aged 15 and above attitudes toward domestic violence marriage sexual behaviour HIV/AIDS knowledge and attitudes access to mass media and use of information and communication technology tobacco and alcohol use life satisfaction literacy and education Household social and demographic characteristics children s living arrangements/orphans education water and sanitation household assets use of insecticide-treated mosquito nets child labour child discipline at home (including violent and nonviolent methods) handwashing salt iodization Additional MICS Forms: child functioning and disability, vaccinations at health facilities Methodological work: water testing, anemia & HIV testing in some countries, PDAs in selected countries, over-sampling of various population groups households with children, location, socio-cultural groups (e.g. Roma)

8 MICS methodology Survey tools Developed by UNICEF after consultations with relevant experts from various UN organizations as well as with interagency monitoring groups. Implementation Surveys carried out by government organizations (with involvement of different ministries), with the support and assistance of UNICEF (HQ, RO and CO) and other partners Capacity building Technical assistance and training provided through regional workshops (questionnaire content, sampling and survey implementation, data processing, data quality and data analysis, and report writing and dissemination)

9 Early Childhood Development in MICS

10 Introduction of ECD questions in MICS First set introduced in the second round of MICS (MICS2, 2000) Attendance to early childhood education Second set introduced in the third round of MICS (MICS3, ) Availability of books and playthings in the home Support for learning Being left at home alone or with inadequate care Third set introduced in the fourth round of MICS (MICS4, ) ECDI

11 Number of countries with data* ECE Adult support for learning Father support for learning Children left in inadequate care Learning materials at Learning materials at home - Books home - Playthings ECDI *As of March Several more countries will release data in the next few months.

12 MICS in UNICEF s Global Databases Data sources for most recent national data points (as of March 2014) 5 4 ECD 100 MICS DHS Other

13 Overview of main findings

14 The proportion of children attending early childhood education programmes varies widely across countries Percentage of children aged months who attend some form of early childhood education programme, in selected countries and areas with available data Weighted average for Least Developed Countries: 12% (6% poorest, 25% richest) Note: Data for the Islamic Republic of Iran, Nepal and Senegal differ from the standard definition. Source: UNICEF global databases, 2014, based on Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS), Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and other nationally representative surveys,

15 Children in the richest households tend to have more books in the home than children in the poorest households 100 Percentage of children under age 5 with three or more children s books, by wealth quintiles in selected countries and areas with available data Richest quintile Poorest quintile Note: Data for Morocco differ from the standard definition. Source: UNICEF global databases, 2014, based on Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS), Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and other nationally representative surveys,

16 In most countries, more than half of children are developmentally on track Percentage of children aged months who are developmentally on track in at least three of the following domains: literacy-numeracy, physical development, social-emotional development and learning, Chad Sierra Leone Mali Central African Republic Dem. Rep. of the Congo Cameroon Togo Nigeria Mauritania Swaziland State of Palestine Gambia Suriname Bhutan Iraq Ghana Democratic People's Republic of Korea Tunisia Honduras Lao People's Dem. Rep. Viet Nam Mongolia Kazakhstan Belize The former Yugoslav Rep. of Macedonia Belarus Serbia Bosnia and Herzegovina Source: UNICEF global databases, 2014, based on Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) and Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS),

17 National averages mask important disparities Percentage of children aged months who are developmentally on track in at least three of the following domains: literacy-numeracy, physical development, social-emotional development and learning, Nigeria Cameroon Democratic Republic of the Congo Sierra Leone Mali Swaziland Chad Congo Poorest 20% Richest 20% Source: UNICEF global databases, 2014, based on Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) and Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS),

18 In four areas of early childhood development, children fare best in terms of physical development and worst in literacy-numeracy Percentage of children aged months who are developmentally on track in four domains, in selected countries and areas with available data Source: UNICEF global databases, 2014, based on DHS and MICS,

19 Thank you!