Despite considerable advancements in achieving the Millennium Developments Goals (MDGs), reliable statistics for monitoring development remain inadequate in many countries.
“Data quality, compliance with methodological standards and non-availability of disaggregated data are among the major challenges to MDG monitoring,†the 2014 United Nation MDG report said.
The report said reliable and robust data are critical for devising appropriate policies and interventions for the achievement of MDGs and for holding governments and the international community accountable.
It added that important data on development -- such as the number of births and deaths, the number and quality of jobs, and data on agricultural productivity -- are still missing in many developing countries.
“Most sub-Saharan African and many other developing countries still lack complete civil registration systems, which can be the basis for the reporting on births and deaths.â€Â
It is estimated that nearly 230 million children worldwide under the age of five have never been registered -- approximately one of every three children under five. Children unregistered at birth or lacking identifying documents are often excluded from access to education, health care and social security.
The availability, frequency, and quality of poverty-monitoring data have remained low, especially for developing countries and territories in fragile situations.
It said as the 2015 deadline for the MDGs approaches, the international community has started to work on a new development framework.
“The Report of the High Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda called for a ‘Data Revolution’, which reflects the growing demand for better, faster, more accessible, and more disaggregated data for bringing poverty down and achieving sustainable development.
“The new data demand requires country ownership and government commitment to increasing resources for the statistical system and building statistical capacity, with the support of the international community.
“It also asked to bring new information technologies and existing data infrastructure together to produce improved development data. In harnessing the potential of technological advances, there must be continual reinforcement of the existing data infrastructuresuch as the registration of births and deaths, health and education information systems, and survey systems.
In addition, it said promoting open access to and effective use of data is essential. The monitoring experience of the MDGs has shown that data will play a central role in advancing the new development agenda. So there needs to be sustainable data to support sustainable development.
By Benson Afful | B&FT Online | Ghana
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