Saint Lucia is nearing the completion of one of its most comprehensive national social surveys, with officials describing the latest Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS 7) as a critical tool for shaping future public policy and measuring progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.
The survey, conducted by the Central Statistical Office (CSO) with technical support from UNICEF, is now in its final validation phase before the publication of its findings.
MICS 7 captures a wide range of social and economic indicators covering women, men, children and young people, providing policymakers with evidence to guide decisions in areas including health, education, technology, mental health and gender equality.
Speaking with the media this week was Data Systems Engineer at the Central Statistical Office, Patrick Dujon who explained that the survey fills important information gaps that cannot always be addressed through routine administrative data.
“In terms of the CSO, it provides us a vast range of data, data that sometimes are not collected by some of our external partners or ministries on Saint Lucia,” Dujon said. “Being the central repository for all data, being able to conduct such a survey and housing such data is critical for us.”
He stressed that reliable data is essential for effective policymaking.
“Everything is driven through data, which is like the world’s new oil,” he said.
“So in terms of effecting good policy, the MICS is one of the services I see that provides a multifaceted approach to various data points that are not necessarily connected for our administrative data.”
Dujon also highlighted the survey’s broad demographic coverage, noting that it assesses both women and men across different age groups.
“Being a male myself, the first thing I notice is that men were actually assessed during that data on the same level that the women were assessed,” he said.
“The data looks at the socioeconomic data for women, specifically 15 to 49, children under five, children between five to 17, and then it looks at men 15 to 49 and boys five to 17.”
The survey also examines issues such as unmet needs among women and men, as well as attitudes towards and access to mental health services for young people aged 15 to 24.
Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer with UNICEF’s Eastern Caribbean Area Office, Tashana Providence-Ford, said the current stage of the process focuses on validating the information gathered before the final report is prepared.
“So now we are at the data interpretation and report compilation aspect of MICS 7 and this is where the data will be validated,” Providence-Ford explained. “So the data that was collected on the ground, our various stakeholders within the various ministries here throughout Saint Lucia are here to question that data.”
She said the validation exercise is designed to ensure the accuracy and credibility of the survey’s findings before they are released.
“Once we have their approval we will now have the final report that will be written as some snapshots of the information that was collected on the ground from the persons within Saint Lucia,” she said.
Officials say the completed MICS 7 report will provide one of the country’s most comprehensive collections of social and economic data, supporting evidence-based policymaking and helping Saint Lucia track national development priorities in the years ahead.