The North East Zone Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) is a household survey programme conducted in 2011 by the Puntland State of Somalia Ministry Planning and International Cooperation with technical and financial support from UNICEF. MICS was conducted as part of the fourth global round of MICS surveys (MICS4). It provides up-to-date information on the situation of children and women and measures key indicators that allow countries to monitor progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and other internationally agreed upon commitments. The Northeast Zone Multiple Indicator Survey is a representative sample survey of 4,954 households, out of which 4,785 were successfully interviewed including 5,492 women age 15 – 49 years and 4,714 mothers and caretakers of children less than five years old. The primary purpose of MICS is to provide policy makers and planners with reliable and detailed information needed to monitor the situation of women and children. Information on nutrition, child health, water and sanitation, reproductive health, child development, literacy and education, child protection, HIV/AIDS and orphan hood and access to mass media and use of information/communication technology is included.

Abstract

The North East Zone Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) is a household survey programme conducted in 2011 by the Puntland State of Somalia Ministry Planning and International Cooperation with technical and financial support from UNICEF.

MICS was conducted as part of the fourth global round of MICS surveys (MICS4). It provides up-to-date information on the situation of children and women and measures key indicators that allow countries to monitor progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and other internationally agreed upon commitments.

The Northeast Zone Multiple Indicator Survey is a representative sample survey of 4,954 households, out of which 4,785 were successfully interviewed including 5,492 women age 15 – 49 years and 4,714 mothers and caretakers of children less than five years old. The primary purpose of MICS is to provide policy makers and planners with reliable and detailed information needed to monitor the situation of women and children. Information on nutrition, child health, water and sanitation, reproductive health, child development, literacy and education, child protection, HIV/AIDS and orphan hood and access to mass media and use of information/communication technology is included.

Geographic coverage

Northeast Zone

Analysis unit

• individuals
• households

Universe

The survey covered all de jure household members (usual residents), all women aged between 15-49 years, all children under 5 living in the household.

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

The primary objective of the sample design for the Northeast Zone Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey was to produce statistically reliable estimates of most indicators for the whole Northeast Zone, for urban and rural areas, and for the three regions (Bari, Nugal and Mudug) of the Zone. There were two main sampling strata: urban and rural areas.

A multi-stage, stratified cluster sampling approach was used for the selection of the survey sample.

The target sample size for the Northeast Zone MICS was calculated as 5,179 households. For the calculation of the sample size, the key indicator used was the polio immunization coverage for children aged 12 – 23 months.

The sampling frame was the list of settlements obtained from the 2005/2006 UNDP settlement census and which was updated in preparation for the Somalia population estimation survey. For each settlement, this list contained an estimated number of households and the classification by urban and rural.

Stratification consisted of separating urban and rural settlements within each region. Settlements were then used as primary sampling units and were selected with probability proportional to size, the size being the estimated number of households. Very large settlements were selected with certainty as selfrepresenting units (that is with probability equal to 1).

In rural areas and small towns, settlements with more than 200 households were divided into segments of which one was randomly selected. All households in the selected segment were listed to create a frame for the selection of 18 households at the second stage using systematic sampling.

For very large settlements, the list of villages and sections that comprised each settlement served as frame for the second stage selection (secondary sampling units). Each selected village and section was segmented if it contained more 200 households. One of the newly created segments was then randomly selected and all of the households it contained were listed. In the final stage, 18 households were selected from the household listing. In villages and sections containing 200 households or less, a complete household listing was carried out and 18 households were directly selected from the list of households.

The sampling procedures are more fully described in "Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2011 - Final Report" pp.123-124.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

The questionnaires for the Generic MICS were structured questionnaires based on the MICS4 model questionnaire with some modifications and additions. Household questionnaires were administered in each household, which collected various information on household members including sex, age and relationship. The household questionnaire includes Household Listing Form, Education, Non Formal Education, Water and Sanitation, Household Characteristics, Insecticide Treated Nets, Indoor Residual Spraying, Child Labour, Child Discipline and Handwashing.

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 primary caretaker of the child.

The women's questionnaire includes Women's Background, Access to Mass Media and Use of Information/Communication Technology, Child Mortality with Birth History, Desire for Last Birth, Maternal and Newborn Health, Post-natal Health Checks, Illness Symptoms, Contraception, Unmet Need, Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting, Attitudes Towards Domestic Violence, Marriage/Union, and HIV/AIDS.

The children's questionnaire includes Child's age, Early childhood development, Breastfeeding, Care of illness, Malaria and Immunization.

The questionnaires are based on the MICS4 model questionnaire. From the MICS4 model English version, the questionnaires were translated into Somali and were pre-tested in Gabilely, Hargeisa during February 2011. Based on the results of the pre-test, modifications were made to the wording and translation of the questionnaires. In addition to the administration of questionnaires, fieldwork teams observed the place for hand washing.

The following modules were removed from the three sets of questionnaires each for the given reason. In the household questionnaire; - Salt iodisation module was removed because there is more recent data from the Micronutrient Survey of 2009.

In the questionnaire for women 15- 49 years; - Sexual behaviour module was not included as it was considered culturally sensitive in Somalia. Furthermore, it was not included in the 2006 MICS

In the questionnaire for children under five years; - Birth registration was omitted based on observations in MICS3 that there are very few births registered in Somaliland as most women gave birth at home. - The anthropometry module was excluded as there was more recent data in the micronutrient survey of 2009.

The following additions were made to the modules for specific questionnaires; In the questionnaire for children under five years - In the immunisation module treatment of diarrhoea using ORS distributed in the most recent Child Health Days i.e. December 2010 was added - In the same module the type of card in which child immunisation was recorded included additional type of cards from the 2009 and 2010 child health days.

In the household questionnaire - The Non Formal Education module was added. It was considered necessary to provide information for the continued intervention and support for Non Formal Education by the government and partners.

Cleaning operations

Data were entered using the CSPro software. The data were entered on 12 computers and carried out by 12 data entry operators and one data entry supervisor and one data manager. In order to ensure quality control, all questionnaires were double entered and internal consistency checks were performed. Procedures and standard programs developed under the global MICS4 programme and adapted to the Northeast Zone questionnaire were used throughout. Data entry began in Garowe at Puntland State University (PSU) two weeks into data collection in April 2011 but was stopped in June 2011 due to technical and logistical challenges – the university uses a generator which kept on break down and affecting data entry and some clerks were caught trying to shorten the time taken in entering data by skipping sections of the questionnaire. Following consultations between UNICEF country office, the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation in the Northeast Zone, it was decided to ship all the questionnaires to Nairobi and have data re-entered by a new set of data entry clerks. This second round of data entry started in September 2011 and was completed in January 2012. Data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software program, Version 18, and the model syntax and tabulation plans developed by UNICEF were used for this purpose.

Response rate

Of the 4,954 households selected for the sample, excluding the households in the 13 clusters that were not surveyed, 4,904 were found to be occupied. Of these, 4,785 were successfully interviewed for a household response rate of 97.6 percent. In the interviewed households, 5,839 women (age 15-49 years) were identified. Of these, 5,492 were successfully interviewed, yielding a response rate of 94.1 percent within interviewed households. There were 4,827 children under age five listed in the household questionnaire. Questionnaires were completed for 4,714 of these children, which corresponds to a response rate of 97.7 percent within interviewed households. Overall response rates of 91.8 and 95.3 are calculated for the women’s and under-5’s interviews respectively.

Sampling error estimates

Sampling errors are a measure of the variability between the estimates from all possible samples. The extent of variability is not known exactly, but can be estimated statistically from the survey data.

The following sampling error measures are presented in this appendix for each