KARACHI, Feb 23: Poverty estimation in Sindh is again emerging a big controversial issue as the provincial government has questioned the accuracy of a Unicef-sponsored Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) report on poverty , income and expenditure and employment status in the province.

The Unicef report is based on an extensive survey of a sample of about 24,000 households in all the 15 districts and 18 towns of Karachi to seek information about 50 socio-economic indicators.

The Sindh government had refused to accept the Unicef report in November in terms of population and the existing situation and had given about two months for a review and revision.

"Now it is the third month coming to an end since our last meeting in November but there is no word as yet from the local Unicef office," a senior Sindh government official remarked who confided that the Unicef survey report has found Tharparkar the most prosperous district and Nowshero Feroze the poorest of the province.

The incharge of local Unicef office Ms Rana Syed did not respond to Dawn's telephonic inquiry on Tuesday but a junior officer expressed the confidence of finalizing a reviewed and revised report within next few weeks.

Sindh government has constituted a panel of about half a dozen senior officials headed by the Additional Chief Secretary Planning and Development to scrutinize the Unicef report. Only after the report has been examined by the panel of officials it would be passed on to the government for a discussion in the cabinet before making it public.

After taking the assignment, the Unicef started field work of the survey in October 2003 and completed the work in January last year. Draft report on health, social welfare, education, water and sanitation was given by the Unicef in September last year. Officials say that this report has been reviewed and revised and will be discussed again with the full report by the full panel of the officials.

For poverty estimation, the Unicef has engaged Dr Talat Anwar of the State Bank of Pakistan. His draft report on poverty, income and expenditure, employment status was found to be inaccurate by the Sindh government officials who asked a review and revision.

The survey gathered information on ownership of land and livestock assets, food and total expenditure, water cost, health cost, utilities, possession of electronic durables, household income, average income per day per capita, average cost of medicines, incidence of various diseases, diarrhoea, cough, high fever in last two months, contraceptive prevalence, sanitary condition, literacy rate, under-five mortality rate, use of safe drinking water and on many other indicators.

The MICS was described as an internationally tried and tested methodology that has been used by 100 countries as a household survey tool to fill gaps in the data necessary for reporting on the situation of children and women.

The MICS methodology is reported to have developed by the Unicef in 1989 in collaboration with the World Health Organisation, the United Nation Statistics Division, the London School of hygiene nd tropical medicines and the United States Centre for Disea Control and Prevention.

Officials on Sindh government have no objection on the methodology of the survey. But they do not endorse the processing of data and information of the survey which do not match the results of the Social Policy and Development Centre (SPDC).

The findings of the survey are expected to help the provincial and district governments in delivery of social services and in amelioration of poverty. It will help in giving a poverty rating to the districts in the province.