Representatives from 11 Pacific countries arrived in Nadi, Fiji to join the workshop, including national statistical office (NSO) staff from Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
The workshop featured south-south exchange on data collection approaches and strategies, as well as detailed guidance for survey implementation. New initiatives such as MICS Plus, MICS GIS and MICS Link were presented and discussed, as well as the wide range of MICS tools and templates publicly available on the MICS website.
For those NSOs new to MICS, the workshop was an opportunity to learn about the methodology, tools, protocols, standards and the Global MICS Technical Assistance Framework.
The five countries that completed their MICS surveys in recent years (Kiribati, Tonga, Tuvalu, Samoa and Fiji) shared their challenges, lessons learned and best practices, which allowed other Pacific countries to leverage these experiences to strengthen data collection efforts in the region to fill key data gaps post COVID-19 restrictions.
By sharing experiences, participants were able to strengthen their knowledge and understanding of MICS. The workshop therefore created informed demand in new countries by offering MICS as an option for generating data. This can then be used for monitoring progress towards achievement of national goals and global commitments aimed at promoting the welfare of women and children, including the sustainable development goals (SDGs).
Ultimately, the level of awareness, knowledge and interest about MICS was significantly enhanced, with all but one country committing to carry out MICS between 2023 and 2025.
The agenda, list of participants and Pacific Regional MICS Workshop presentations are available for download at the MICS Workshops page.
Below are some photographs from the workshop: