ECLAC Executive Secretary: Accurate, up-to-date and complete data are crucial to measuring development gaps and traps

The Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, today highlighted the importance of data and statistics to advance towards more productive, inclusive and sustainable development, during the National Conference of Data Producing Agents and Users from Brazil, where he represented the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres.

“Only through open and transparent cooperation between public institutions, academia, the private sector and civil society can we achieve significant progress in the production of high-quality statistics,” he stressed during his speech at the opening of the high-level event.

The ECLAC head added that the central theme of the event is a high priority for the UN Secretary-General: building an ecosystem of the entire United Nations system that unleashes the full potential of data to make better decisions and provide stronger support to people and the planet in their development strategies and the most critical moments.

“Their ‘Data Strategy for Action by Everyone, Everywhere’ is our agenda for a true data-driven transformation. Data permeates every aspect of our work, and its power, used responsibly, is fundamental to the global agendas we serve. The expertise and connectivity of the UN family creates unique opportunities to advance ‘global action on data’, with insight, impact and integrity,” he said.

The senior UN official reiterated that the region is mired in three development traps: a low-growth trap, a high inequality and low social mobility trap, and a low institutional and governance capacity trap.

“Accurate, up-to-date and complete data are crucial to measure development gaps and traps and to evaluate the policies implemented to close the gaps and get out of the traps. In other words, statistical capacity is one of the most fundamental technical, operational, political and foresight capacities (TOPP capacities) of institutions,” he said.

Official data and statistics are essential for monitoring progress towards the SDGs, she added, noting that such information enables solutions to be developed, implementation to be monitored and essential adjustments to be made.

“Without solid databases, it is impossible to understand our successes and shortcomings in implementing public policies and achieving the SDGs,” he said.

ECLAC’s Executive Secretary warned that assessing progress on the SDGs is hampered by ongoing problems with the availability and timeliness of data across all 17 Goals and stressed that, despite progress in improving internationally comparable data for monitoring the SDGs, challenges remain.

She said that in 2016, about one-third of the global indicator framework had good data coverage. Today, 68% of indicators have good coverage, and trend data are available for 51% of indicators in more than half of countries. However, data timeliness remains an issue, with about one-third of indicators missing data from the past three years.

“This gap hinders the ability of policymakers to make timely and informed decisions and make necessary adjustments,” he said.

He also stressed that the commitment to data must be assumed at the highest level, and the production of information must occupy a central place in public policy discussions.

“In the words of the Secretary-General, ‘humanity has proven time and again that it is capable of great achievements when we work together.’ This sentiment is especially pertinent in the field of data and statistics,” he said.

José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs highlighted the work carried out by countries within the framework of the Statistical Conference of the Americas of ECLAC. He specified that, in recent years, the region has produced a Generic Law on Official Statistics and a Regional Code of Good Practices in Official Statistics, along with reports on the role of data management for National Statistical Offices, to guide national statistical systems in addressing organizational and coordination challenges.

Finally, he expressed his gratitude to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) for organizing the conference, “which marks a crucial step in the right direction to strengthen the link between the production and use of statistics in our region” and welcomed the historic collaboration between IBGE and ECLAC.