WILL WE HIT THE 2030 DEADLINE?


Espey is buoyed by the ‘huge data innovation’ going on in the private sector. “There’s a lot we can gain from that, if nothing else than by using it as interim data so we at least have good proxies of what’s going on while we try to improve national systems,” she says. “I’m optimistic that by the time we get to 2030 [the ‘deadline’ for the SDGs] we should have at least good proxies for the majority of the SDG indicators. Hopefully, we’ll have data for every indicator, but that remains to be seen. I think the whole mission of the SDGs is pushing us in a very positive direction – we wouldn’t otherwise be collaborating so much and with such purpose.” Perucci is cautiously optimistic


too. “It depends what you mean by measuring the SDGs properly,” she says. “If you mean having all 232 indicators with data for all countries, I’m not optimistic at all. But it’s a balancing act. We don’t want to lose the value of having these indicators because they give us a sense of what needs to be measured. These targets are all important and relevant and agreed by all countries. We definitely don’t want to throw that away. We are walking a fine line, trying to


bring countries with us; aiming for a sufficient core set of data to understand what is happening without losing sight of the areas we need to work on.” “I remember when they were


putting together the SDG targets,” Perucci adds. “I had wished I could adjust the wording a little bit here and there so that it would be easier to monitor from a statistician's perspective. It would be too easy to dismiss the more difficult areas because we don’t have the data. But those are the exact areas we need to invest in more for better informed policies.”


Sánchez-Páramo says that when the World Bank adopted its institutional goals based on eradicating extreme poverty and promoting inclusive growth in 2014/15, a stocktaking exercise showed that 76 mostly low-income countries did not have anything like sufficient data for these measures. “We worked with these countries to improve their statistical capabilities. It’s just four years later and the number of countries without data has fallen to 63. That’s a pretty rapid rate of change, so I feel hopeful.” The draft decisions of the UNSC 50th Session stressed, among many


The United Statistical Commission’s 50th Session took place in New York City, March 5 – 8, 2019. For more information see unstats.un.org


other important points, the need for the urgent strengthening of existing statistical mechanisms, the setting up of an innovative funding mechanism to support national data systems, better coordination of a more efficient UN statistical system, and a stronger voice for official statistics within the UN.


Low-income countries with insufficient data in 2014/15


76


Low-income countries with insufficient data in 2018/19


63


WHERE NEXT? The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2018


reviews progress in the third year of implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. See https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2018


In addition, the SDG Index and Dashboards Report sdgindex.org is the first worldwide study to assess where each country stands with regard to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Governments and civil society can utilize the SDG Index and Dashboards Report to identify priorities for action, understand key implementation challenges, track progress, ensure accountability, and identify gaps that must be closed in order to achieve the SDGs by 2030. The report is co- produced every year (since 2016) by the Bertelsmann Stiftung and the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN). It is a complement to the official SDG indicators and voluntary country-led review processes. The report is not an official monitoring tool. It uses publicly available data published by official data providers (World Bank, WHO, ILO and others) and other organizations including research centers and non-governmental organizations.


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