Kathmandu, December 8 : The Central Bureau of Statistics has released the survey findings report of the Nepal Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2019 (NMICS 2019). The report is made available through the CBS website www.cbs.gov.npand the UNICEF Nepal website www.unicef.org/nepal/.
“The Survey shows that Nepal has made significant progress in reaching the Sustainable Development Goals indicators, including those on child mortality, child nutrition, access to water and sanitation, and birth registration,” claims a press release issued by the Central Bureau of Statistics.
The latest Nepal MICS provides “statistically sound” and “comparable data” to monitor the situation of children and women in Nepal, including the functional limitations status of children. This is expected to help monitor progress in reaching the goals of international agreements such as the Sustainable Development Goals and to formulate plans and programmesfor those that require immediate attention.
For the first time, the Nepal MICS 2019 included The Washington Group/UNICEF Module on Child Functioning, according to the release. The module collects information on children aged between two and 17 years old and assesses any functional difficulties, including hearing, vision, communication and comprehension, learning, mobility and emotions.
The report reveals that approximately one million children in Nepal have at least one functional limitation. Girls and boys are equally affected, although children living in rural settings and poor families have a slightly higher prevalence of such limitations. The Sudoopashchim Province has the highest rate (12 per cent) of functional limitations among children aged between two and 17, and the Bagmati Province has the lowest (9.3 per cent).
The findings of the Nepal MICS 2019 will be instrumental in formulating sectoral plans and shaping polices to help achieve national and international commitments.
Most of the disaggregated results and the datasets were available to the public before the launch of the final report and are being used by policymakers, planners, researchers, development partners and non-governmental organizations to formulate programmes and strategies, the release concludes.
