Monitoring in the CEE/CIS and Baltics: the MONEE project

The countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States have experienced momentous change since 1989 - change that has had a direct impact on the lives of ordinary people and their children. The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the collapse of communism catapulted these countries into a new era of political, economic and social reform. Concerned that children may be overlooked in the upheaval, UNICEF created a monitoring project at the UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre in 1992 to gather and analyse relevant data on the changes that were taking place in social conditions and in the public policies affecting them. The project, now known as the MONEE Project (Monitoring in Central and Eastern Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Baltics), uses the most authoritative data available to highlight the human impact of the transition, advocating for measures to protect children from economic and social fallout and ensure that they share in the benefits of economic growth. While the project has a special focus on children, is also aims to documents changes in living standards among all groups.

The project has grown in scale since 1992, when it focused solely on Central and Eastern Europe, and now covers all 27 countries in transition. The work is carried out by a small research team at the UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, working with external consultants and with the central statistical offices and research centres of each country in the region. At present, the Project receives financial support from the Government of Italy, the World Bank and the UNICEF Regional Office for Central and Eastern Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Baltics.

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