Monitoring Sustainable Development Goal Data

Many countries in the Arab region are reporting on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicators. However, insufficient availability and quality of statistical information on SDG indicators hamper the capacity of policymakers to generate evidence-based and effective policy responses and implement the 2030 Agenda.

Dissemination of comparable SDG data is hindered by multiple factors that affect ability to monitor national and regional progress towards the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. These factors include weak adherence to international metadata standards, lack of updated data collection tools, and insufficient coordination within national statistical systems.

Our approach

ESCWA develops tools that assist member States to monitor SDG implementation at the national level and supports Arab countries in the development of national reporting platforms for the SDGs and related indicators. It follows up on capacity-building efforts to increase the availability and quality of disaggregated data and their dissemination at the national, regional and global levels.

ESCWA work on SDG data tackles challenges in the following four areas: institutional environment; dissemination and communication of available data; data quality; and data flow. ESCWA aims to support Arab countries in making a qualitative shift in all four areas through the modernization of their statistical activities, tools and methods.

The process entails two phases: 

• Disseminating available harmonized and comparable quality indicators on national reporting platforms for monitoring SDGs and maintaining timely updates through Statistical Data and Metadata eXchange (SDMX) technology
• Enhancing and modernizing data collection tools to bridge data gaps and strengthen data reporting channels and coordination for accountable and transparent national statistical systems.
   

Our partners

United Nations Statistics Division, UNESCO-IOC, Arab Institute for Training and Research in Statistics (AITRS) Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC).

National Statistics Offices in ESCWA member States and 35 United Nations Custodian Agencies of SDG indicators: UNAIDS, DESA, OECD, UNDP, UNECE, UNEP, IEA, IRENA, IMF, ICAO, OHCHR, IOM, UNFCCC, IUCN, UNCCD, UN-DOALOS, UNFPA, UN-Habitat, WHO, FAO, World Bank, UNICEF, ILO, ITU, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNODC, UN-Women, UNWTO, UNDRR, UNHCR, UNCTAD, UNODA, ITC, PARIS21.

Our activities

ESCWA seeks to improve countries’ statistical capacity and foster regional collaboration on data and statistics by providing easy access to data, metadata and applications to monitor and report on the SDGs. As such, it continuously provides open access to a broad range of capacity-building tools and resources, including platforms and portals, knowledge materials, online learning and training on the SDGs.