The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has granted VND3 billion for a project to carry out the third Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS III) on children and women in Vietnam.

The project, to be implemented by Vietnam's General Statistics Office, aims to assess progress in implementing the targets set by "The Declaration and Action Plan on a World Suitable for Children," the Millennium Development Goals and the "Action Plan for Vietnamese Children for 2001-2010."

The surveys, which will be carried out in 8,250 households chosen at random in 250 villages throughout 64 provinces and cities in Vietnam, will collect general data for more than 100 indicators on families, children and women of between 15 and 49 years old.

The two-month surveys are scheduled to begin in late July and their preliminary results will be made public by mid 2007.