The Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) is a household survey programme developed by UNICEF to assist countries in filling data gaps for monitoring human development in general and the situation of children and women in particular. MICS is capable of producing statistically sound, internationally comparable estimates of social indicators. The current round of MICS is focused on providing a monitoring tool for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the World Fit for Children (WFFC), as well as for other major international commitments, such as the United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on HIV/AIDS and the Abuja targets for malaria. Survey Objectives The 2005 Tajikistan Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey has as its primary objectives: To provide up-to-date information for assessing the situation of children and women in Tajikistan To furnish data needed for monitoring progress toward goals established in the Millennium Declaration, the goals of A World Fit For Children (WFFC), and other internationally agreed upon goals, as a basis for future action; To contribute to the improvement of data and monitoring systems in Tajikistan and to strengthen technical expertise in the design, implementation, and analysis of such systems. Survey Content MICS questionnaires are designed in a modular fashion that can be easily customized to the needs of a country. They consist of a household questionnaire, a questionnaire for women aged 15-49 and a questionnaire for children under the age of five (to be administered to the mother or caretaker). Other than a set of core modules, countries can select which modules they want to include in each questionnaire. Survey Implementation The surveys was carried out by The State Committee on Statistics of the Republic of Tajikistan, with the support and assistance of UNICEF and other partners. Technical assistance and training for the surveys is provided through a series of regional workshops, covering questionnaire content, sampling and survey implementation; data processing; data quality and data analysis; report writing and dissemination. Survey results Results from the surveys, including national reports, standard sets of tabulations and micro level datasets will all be made widely available after completion of the surveys. Results from the surveys will also be made available in DevInfo format. DevInfo v5.0 is a powerful database system which has been adapted from UNICEF's ChildInfo technology to specifically monitor progress towards the Millennium Development Goals. MICS Results will also be available through UNICEF's web site dedicated to monitoring the situation of children and women at www.childinfo.org. Results of the prior round of MICS can already be found at this site.

Abstract

The Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) is a household survey programme developed by UNICEF to assist countries in filling data gaps for monitoring human development in general and the situation of children and women in particular. MICS is capable of producing statistically sound, internationally comparable estimates of social indicators. The current round of MICS is focused on providing a monitoring tool for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the World Fit for Children (WFFC), as well as for other major international commitments, such as the United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on HIV/AIDS and the Abuja targets for malaria.

Survey Objectives The 2005 Tajikistan Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey has as its primary objectives: - To provide up-to-date information for assessing the situation of children and women in Tajikistan - To furnish data needed for monitoring progress toward goals established in the Millennium Declaration, the goals of A World Fit For Children (WFFC), and other internationally agreed upon goals, as a basis for future action; - To contribute to the improvement of data and monitoring systems in Tajikistan and to strengthen technical expertise in the design, implementation, and analysis of such systems.

Survey Content MICS questionnaires are designed in a modular fashion that can be easily customized to the needs of a country. They consist of a household questionnaire, a questionnaire for women aged 15-49 and a questionnaire for children under the age of five (to be administered to the mother or caretaker). Other than a set of core modules, countries can select which modules they want to include in each questionnaire.

Survey Implementation The surveys was carried out by The State Committee on Statistics of the Republic of Tajikistan, with the support and assistance of UNICEF and other partners. Technical assistance and training for the surveys is provided through a series of regional workshops, covering questionnaire content, sampling and survey implementation; data processing; data quality and data analysis; report writing and dissemination.

Survey results Results from the surveys, including national reports, standard sets of tabulations and micro level datasets will all be made widely available after completion of the surveys. Results from the surveys will also be made available in DevInfo format. DevInfo v5.0 is a powerful database system which has been adapted from UNICEF's ChildInfo technology to specifically monitor progress towards the Millennium Development Goals. MICS Results will also be available through UNICEF's web site dedicated to monitoring the situation of children and women at www.childinfo.org. Results of the prior round of MICS can already be found at this site.

Geographic coverage

The survey is nationally representative and covers the whole of Tajikistan.

Analysis unit

Households (defined as a group of persons who usually live and eat together)

De jure household members (defined as memers of the household who usually live in the household, which may include people who did not sleep in the household the previous night, but does not include visitors who slept in the household the previous night but do not usually live in the household)

Women aged 15-49

Children aged 0-4

Universe

The survey covered all de jure household members (usual residents), all women aged 15-49 years resident in the household, and all children aged 0-4 years (under age 5) resident in the household.

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

The principal objective of the sample design was to provide current and reliable estimates on a set of indicators covering the four major areas of the World Fit for Children declaration, including promoting healthy lives; providing quality education; protecting against abuse, exploitation and violence; and combating HIV/AIDS. The population covered by the 2005-2006 MICS is defined as the universe of all women aged 15-49 and all children aged under 5. A sample of households was selected and all women aged 15-49 identified as usual residents of these households were interviewed. In addition, the mother or the caretaker of all children aged under 5 who were usual residents of the household were also interviewed about the child.The 2005 MICS collected data from a nationally representative sample of households, women and children. The primary focus of the 2005 MICS was to prodvide estimates of key population and health, education, child protection and HIV related indicators for the country as a whole, and for urban and rural areas separately. In additon, the sample was designed to provide estimates for each of the 5 regions for key indicators. Tajikistan is devided into 5 regions: Dushanbe (the capital), Direct Rule Districts (DRD), Sogd, Khatlon and Gorno Badakhshan (GBAO). Each of such division, for last census purposes, was further subdivided in convenient areas called “census section”, “instructor's sector” and “enumeration sector”(ESs). Each ES is either totally urban or rural. The list of ESs has census information on population information for each ES, and the ESs list are grouped by administrative unit. The size of the rural ES was 342 persons and the size of the urban ES was 378 persons. There were established 17923 ES in Tajikistan. The available demarcated cartographic material for each ES in localities with more than 5000 population made last census material as the most appropriate sample frame for the MICS2005.

The primary sampling unit (PSU) - or cluster - for the MICS2005 is defined on basis of ES from the 2000 census frame, as having one (or more) ES per PSU. The number of clusters selected in each region was not allocated proportional to the size of the region, but approximately equal number of clusters was allocated to each region due to the need to present estimates for each of the 5 regions. A total of 290 clasters and 6,960 households were selected. The primary sampling unit variable is the cluster (HH1). The sampling stratas can be identified using a combination of the region (HH7) and area (HH6) variables, e.g. stratum = HH7*10 + HH6.

A two-stage, stratified cluster sampling approach was used for the selection of the survey sample. The sampling domains are defined as urban and rural areas of each of the regions of Tajikistan. In the first stage, 290 PSU were selected in each stratum with equal probabilities. Within each cluster a fixed number of 24 households were selected. Updating of the list of households in each cluster was done prior to selection of the households. Since the distribution of clusters between sampling domains was not proportional to the census distribution of population and, consequently neither was the final household distribution, the sample is not self-weighting. For reporting national level results, sample weights are used.

Following standard MICS data collection rules, if a household was actually more than one household when visited, then a) if the selected household contained two households, both were interviewed, or b) if the selected household contained 3 or more households, then only the household of the person named as the head was interviewd.

No replacement of households was permitted in case of non-response or non-contactable households. Adjustments were made to the sampling weights to correct for non-response, according to MICS standard procedures.

The sampling procedures are more fully described in the sampling design document and the sampling appendix of the final report.

Sampling deviation

No major deviations from the original sample design were made. All sample enumeration areas were accessed and successfully interviewed with good response rates.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

The questionnaires for the Tajikistan MICS were structured questionnaires based on the MICS3 Model Questionnaire with some modifications and additions. A household questionnaire was administered in each household, which collected various information on household members including sex, age, relationship, and orphanhood status. The household questionnaire includes Household Listing, Education, Water and Sanitation, Household characteristics, Insecticide treated Net (ITN) , Child Labour, Child Discipline, Maternal Mortality, and Salt Iodization.

In addition to a household questionnaire, questionnaires were administered in each household for women age 15-49 and children under age five. For children, the questionnaire was administered to the mother or caretaker of the child.

The women's questionnaire include Women's Characteristics, Child Mortality, Maternal and Newborn Health, Marriage and Union, Contraception, Attitudes Towards Domestic Violence, HIV knowledge, and Tuberculosis knowledge.

The children's questionnaire includes Children's Characteristics, Birth Registration and Early Learning, Child Development, Vitamin A, , Breastfeeding, Care of Illness, Malaria, Immunization, and Anthropometry.

The questionnaires were developed in Russian from the MICS3 Model Questionnaires, and were translated into Tajik. After an initial review the questionnaires were translated back into English by an independent translator with no prior knowledge of the survey. The back translation from the Russian version was independently reviewed and compared to the English original. Differences in translation were reviewed and resolved in collaboration with the original translators.

The Tajik and Russian questionnaires were both piloted as part of the survey pretest.

All questionnaires and modules are provided as