20 October 2020 — On World Statistics Day, the Thailand National Statistical Office (NSO) and UNICEF released results from the sixth Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS6), the largest national survey on the situation of children and women in Thailand. The event was graced by the presence of Ms. Ajarin Pattanapanchai, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Digital Economy and Society; Ms. Wanpen Poonwong, Director-General of NSO; Ms. Karin Hulshof, Regional Director, UNICEF East Asia and the Pacific; and Mr. Thomas Davin, Representative, UNICEF Thailand. The MICS is conducted by Thailand NSO every three to four years with the support of UNICEF. The current MICS6 survey collected data on more than 150 indicators related to the health, development and protection of children and women from a representative sample of 40,660 households across Thailand from May to November 2019.
The survey results show progress in many key areas, including a significant drop in adolescent birth rates and violent discipline at home. Progress is also observed in immunization coverage, iodized salt consumption and attendance in early childhood education. However, the survey highlights a serious concern in child nutrition with increasing rates of young children suffering from stunting, wasting and overweight, which could pose a long-term negative impact on their brain development, health and well-being. The survey also underlines inequality in education, as well as the concerns on learning quality for children at grade 2/3, based on the first-ever results on foundational learning skills.
The data come at critical time when there is a serious concern over the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the well-being and development of children. The results will be shared widely to the policymakers, academia and media, for monitoring the situation of children and women and the progress against key national priorities as well as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Datasets, survey findings and statistical snapshots can be found here.