The results of the UNICEF’s largest household survey presented in Adjara

Batumi, Georgia. 17 September, 2020. The regional results of the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) for the Adjara region were presented today to the representatives of the local Government and civil society organizations.

Some of the regional findings of the survey are:

• First healthy baby check-up after discharge from the maternity is the highest in Adjara at 72.2 per cent;
• 58.1 per cent of women living in Adjara aged 15-49 had a caesarean section in the past two years, which is the second highest indicator among regions of Georgia, following the Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti region;
• 97.1 per cent of people in Adjara have access to washing facilities with running water and soap and 79.7 per cent of people have access to safe drinking water;
• 13.1 per cent of mothers and caregivers of children under 14 thinks that physical punishment is necessary, which is the highest among all regions:
• Every fourth 3-5 years old child in Adjara (24.7 per cent) does not attend kindergarten;
• 46.4 per cent of children have fewer than three books at home and 38.6 per cent of children do not have any toys; 
• 10.9 per cent of children in Adjara are out of upper secondary education;
• 38.4 per cent of under 5 children in Adjara use electronic devices more than one hour a day which is the highest rate in the country after Tbilisi.

The survey also included a module examining the prevalence of lead in children’s blood revealing that 85 per cent of children aged 2-7-years in Adjara had elevated lead levels in children’s blood, the highest level in the country.

Similar meetings are organized in all the regions of Georgia, where UNICEF will present regionally disaggregated data to the key partners and decision-makers in each region.

Developed and supported by UNICEF, MICS is one of the largest international household surveys worldwide. It is designed to collect estimates of key indicators that are used to assess the situation of households and especially of children and women.

MICS in Georgia included over 180 indicators and involved over 14 000 households, providing regionally representative data which can be disaggregated by age, sex, urban/rural, IDP status, ethnicity, disability and wealth allowing precise targeting of development interventions.

The survey was conducted by the National Statistics Office of Georgia with technical and financial support from UNICEF and the National Center for Disease Control and Public Health. Financial support to the survey was also provided by SIDA, USAID, AFD, SDC, UNFPA, UNDP, WHO, the World Bank, and the Italian Institute of National Health.