I am analyzing MICS child data ages 0-4 from 4 countries: Central African Republic in 2010, Ghana in 2011, Mali 2009, and Sierra Leone 2017. When I tried to add the variable IMICSSTRATUM to my data extract, I saw that it was not available for my samples. Do I need to download household data as well and merge with the child data in order to get that variable?
The STRATUM variable used in the construction of IMICSSTRATUM is only available for the household unit of analysis in the original MICS dataset. We have not created a stratum variable for other units of analysis. As you suggest, to obtain this variable you will need to download a separate household data extract using the Household Characteristics unit of analysis. Once you have both files, you can follow the instructions in this guide to merge the data together.