UNICEF and Government Launches New Social Sectors Data

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) together with the Government of Zimbabwe  today  released  new  social  development  data  which revealed a worsening situation for women and children in Zimbabwe on 24 November 2009. The Multiple Indicator and Monitoring Survey (MIMS), which was conducted in May 2009 reported a deterioration in access to many key social services for women  and  children, particularly for the poorest populations and in rural areas.

The  data  showed  a  20%  increase in under five mortality since 1990, the baseline  year for the Millennium Development Goals, with children in rural areas  and  those in the poorest one fifth of the population being the most vulnerable.   Major  causes  of  death  of  children  under 5 are HIV/AIDS, newborn disorders, pneumonia and diarrhoea.

The  survey  also showed startling data that 1 in 2 pregnant women in rural areas  were  now delivering  at  home  and  that  39%  nationally were not accessing  the  requisite medical facilities for delivery, while 40 % where not  attended  to  at  birth by a skilled attendant posing huge dangers for both  mothers  and  newborns. These findings confirm the result of previous research  indicating  that  user  fees  and  other  financial  barriers are limiting women’s access to life-saving obstetric services.

In addition data from the national survey which had a sample size of 12 500 households  in Zimbabwe,  revealed  stark disparities between the rich and poor  with  the lowest quintile being the hardest hit in terms of access to critical services in health and education. Current data  also  revealed limited support to the country’s orphaned and vulnerable   children,   with 79%  not  receiving  any  form  of  external assistance.  Further,  around  two-thirds of all children in the country do not possess birth certificates.

The  survey is designed to obtain strategic information relevant for policy makers  as  they make  decisions on development priorities and budgets. In addition  the  survey  provides  data on  Zimbabwe’s progress in attaining Iinternational priorities like the Millennium Development Goals, (MDGs).

The  MIMS builds on the traditional Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey which is carried  out by UNICEF in over 60 countries to monitor the situation of children,  women and other vulnerable groups as a measure of the countries’ progress toward national goals and global commitments.

UNICEF  provided technical support towards the government led survey, which gave  an indication  of  Zimbabwe’s  socio-economic  status in relation to health, education,  water  and sanitation,  access  to other basic social services and provide an update on child and maternal mortality levels.

Multiple Indicator Monitoring Survey 2009

A child holds a Child Health Card at a clinic in Zimbabwe

The Zimbabwe Central Statistical Office (CSO), with financial and technical assistance from the United Nation's Children's Fund (UNICEF) and Analytical Multi Donor Trust Fund (A-MDTF) led by the World Bank, is currently conducting the Multiple Indicator Monitoring Survey (MIMS) 2009.

Zimbabwe Multiple Indicator Monitoring Survey (MIMS) 2009 is a customized version of the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) which was originally developed by UNICEF to measure progress towards an internationally agreed set of goals that emerged from the 1990 World Summit for Children. MIMS uses MICS instruments as a basis, but a number of non-MICS indicators such as migration, income/expenditure and provision of water and electricity will be added in order to capture rapidly growing problems in Zimbabwe. The data collection instruments, however, will remain mostly the same as MICS instruments to ensure the comparability with ZDHS 2005/6 data.

A nurse attends to a pregnant woman at a Zimbabwean hospital

The MIMS will collect a broad array of information on human development and child welfare including those from the MDGs. MIMS comes at a time when the international communities' eyes are all on Zimbabwe. Although Zimbabwe has a wealth of demographic, socio-economic and environmental data from different sources, there has been a growing concern for the availability of most up-to-date social indicators on the ground since the last ZDHS2005/6. There has been renewed interest on Zimbabwe nationally and internationally, and there is urgent need for information for immediate/short terms interventions following the collapse of basic social services. Implementation of MIMS presents an opportunity to development partners to formulate evidence-based interventions.

The main objectives of the survey are:

• To collect socio-economic data through the household survey that will bring out a broad array of information on health, human capital and well-being of the population that can be used as a baseline for development interventions;
• To build a capacity of national partners in data collection, compilation, processing, analysis and reporting;
• To provide decision makers with evidence on children’s and women’s rights and other vulnerable groups in Zimbabwe.

The preliminary report will become available in August 2009 and the results will be widely distributed among development partners.

 

MIMS Related Documents

The table below contains a number of documents related to the 2009 Multiple Indicator Monitoring Survey.

Multiple Indicator Monitoring Survey 2009 Documents
Document Title	Download
Multiple Indicator Monitoring Survey (MIMS) 2009, Preliminary Report
Presentation: Update on the MIMS to MDTF, July 2009
Zimbabwe MIMS Bulletin No. 1, May 2009
Presentation: Progress Review on the MIMS, July 2009
MIMS Implementation Schedule
MIMS Survey Plan
MIMS Sample Design and Weighting Procedures
MIMS Indicator List
MIMS Interviewer's Manual
MIMS Household Questionnaire
MIMS Under 5 Questionnaire
MIMS Woman's Questionnaire
MIMS Promotional Pamphlet