The participants with Director Methodology Section Josephat Tako, MICS Coordinator Wheatley Bear and other SINSO staff after the completion of training.
Training for MICS household listing exercise concludes successfully in Honiara
Forty participants have successfully completed a four-day training on household listing for the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) at the Solomon Islands National Statistics Office (SINSO) in Honiara.
The training equipped participants with the knowledge and practical skills required to locate and navigate Enumeration Areas (EAs), identify and list households, and confidently undertake the household listing exercise in the field.
Speaking on behalf of the Government Statistician, Chief Statistician Social, Anterlyn Tuzakana, acknowledged SINSO’s appreciation to UNICEF for its continued partnership and support to the Government of Solomon Islands and the National Statistics Office in implementing the MICS.
“This partnership is important in strengthening our national capacity to collect high-quality data and generate reliable evidence on the situation of children, women and households in Solomon Islands.
“The household listing exercise will provide the foundation for identifying and selecting households that will eventually participate in the survey.
“Therefore, the accuracy, completeness and consistency of your work in the field are extremely important.
“Quality must come before speed. While we have timelines to meet, it is important that each Enumeration Area is properly identified, its boundaries are correctly understood, and all eligible dwellings and households are accurately listed in accordance with the procedures provided.”
The household listing exercise has commenced Monday 24th August 2026, and will be conducted across all nine provinces and Honiara concluding on the 12th of September 2026.
The exercise is expected to cover approximately 5,000 households over a three-week period.
The household listing is an important foundation for the MICS, as the information collected will be used to identify and select households that will participate in the main survey. Field teams will therefore be expected to carry out their work with accuracy, consistency and professionalism, while also responding to the challenges that may arise when working across remote and hard-to-reach communities.
The field operation will also provide valuable practical experience and strengthen the capacity of participants to contribute to future national surveys and statistical activities. The knowledge, skills and teamwork developed through the exercise will further support the National Statistics Office in strengthening its capacity to produce high-quality statistics for evidence-based policy and national development planning.
In closing the training, Director of Methodology Mr Josephat Tako on behalf of the Government Statistician thanked the participants for their commitment, cooperation and professionalism, and encouraged them to carry the same dedication into the field operation.
He also highlighted the importance of teamwork, resilience and maintaining a positive attitude when working in remote and challenging locations.
Participants were reminded that their work will contribute to strengthening the evidence base for policy planning and national development, and that the experience gained through the MICS will help build capacity for future national statistical activities.
Following the completion of the household listing exercise, a further training will be conducted for the survey enumerators before the main fieldwork commences.
The full MICS survey is expected to conclude in the second week of December 2026.
The MICS is a partnership between the Government of Solomon Islands and UNICEF and is being implemented by the National Statistics Office.
The MICS, which is being conducted in Solomon Islands for the first time, is a globally recognized household survey programme developed by UNICEF in 1995. It has since become one of the world’s largest sources of statistically sound and internationally comparable data on the well-being of children and women, and an important source of data for monitoring the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
For Solomon Islands, participating in MICS for the first time represents a significant milestone in strengthening the country’s capacity to produce high-quality, internationally comparable data.
The survey will also enable Solomon Islands to compare its results with other Pacific Island countries that have already conducted national MICS surveys, as well as with MICS results from countries and territories around the world.
Ends.///
Chief Statistician Anterlyn Tuzakana.
Three participants from Guadalcanal Province having a discussion during the training’s pilot test last Friday