Family Survey 2010 (West Bank and Gaza)

Abstract

The Palestinian Family Survey (MICS) was carried out in 2010 by the Palestinians Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), with UNICEF’s and UNPA’s financial and technical support. The Palestinian Family Survey is a national household survey programme developed by PCBS based on international standard demographic health surveys as well as MICS surveys. The Palestinian Family Survey was conducted as part of the fourth global round of MICS surveys (MICS4). The survey provides up to date information on the health, economic, and social situation of women and children; in addition to providing information on characteristics of the family in which each woman and child live as well as the main indicators about the categories of youth and elderly. This offers a study, analysis, and understanding of the actual indicators and their relationship with demographic, social, economic, and environmental variables. The survey also measures the major indicators which allows countries to monitor their progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) besides measuring the level of fulfilling other internationally agreed upon commitments; in addition to enabling policy and decision makers, and intervention programs to evaluate the plans and programs, amend them, and locate the areas of intervention based on the results. The carry out of the survey also aims at updating the databases on women and children as well as building and enhancing the technical staff capabilities of carrying out surveys and analyzing data out of them. The Palestinian Family survey conducted in 2010 was led by a technical team from the Palestinians Central Bureau of Statistics, UNICEF, and UNFPA, and Ministry of Health.

The Palestinian Family Survey was conducted for a representative sample of the State of Palestine. The survey was designed as a multi- stage cluster covering all the State of Palestine including two geographic areas; The West Bank which included 11 governorates: (Jenin, Tubas, Tulkarm, Qalqiliya, Nablus, Ramallah & Al-Bireh, Jerusalem, Jericho & Al-Aghwar, Bethlehem, Hebron) and the Gaza Strip which include governorates (Gaza, Khan Yunis, Rafah, Deir El Balah and North Gaza). Of the 15,355 households selected in the sample, results showed that the number of occupied households were 14,817 of which 13,629 households were successfully interviewed during the survey, giving a response rate of 92 percent. There were 13,982 women in the 15-49 age group of which a total of 11,173 eligible women were successfully interviewed, achieving a response rate of 80 percent. In addition, 8,024 children were identified in the household questionnaire for whom a total of 7,900 mothers or child caretakers were interviewed. The total response rates of individual interviews are calculated as 73 percent of eligible women and 90 percent with children under 5 respectively. The total households interviewed reached (13,629) households, which included 81,510 individuals members who were listed. Of these, 41,379 were males and 40,131 were females, yielding a sex ratio of 103 males per hundred females.