UNICEF is currently working to strengthen real-time monitoring in 8 countries to better track how vulnerable populations are coping with crisis. Each country is assessing current information networks in their country; working with local and national governments to imbed the project in national information structures; developing a set of indicators from which a common indicators will be defined for all 8 countries; and conducting initial quick assessment surveys.
These countries were chosen based on several criteria: they have experienced impacts due to the financial crisis, and are potentially vulnerable to other exogenous shocks. They represent a diverse cross sample of countries to allow for a wide range of experiences that could be potentially relevant to other country contexts. In addition, and perhaps most importantly, the pilot countries were chosen based on existing experience and strong interest expressed by the Government and UNICEF Country Office.
The pilot project will assist UNICEF in building a data and knowledge base that can be fed into the Global Pulse initiative. In addition, the Global Pulse initiative will be able to draw on lessons learned from this pilot phase.
