Regional and Global Programme on economic and social statistics Chris Ryan Regional Advisor on Statistics Statistics Division ESCAP

1 1 Presentation Content Regional initiatives ESCAP Statistics Division are involved in: –What they key ones are –Where they are at currently –What involvement have ASEAN members had Benefits of involvement to ASEAN members How may these initiatives be addressed in the ACSS Strategic Plan ?

Core set of population and social statistics for Asia-Pacific Background Endorsed in 2010 at the 2 nd session of the Committee on Statistics Established a Technical Advisory Group (TAG) on Population and Social Statistics –Provide a strategic direction –Provide methodological guidelines TAG has developed a core set comprising 11 domains: –Population (11)- Information & Communication (3) –Health (7)- Crime & Justice (7) –Income, Wealth & Exp (5)- Family & Community (8) –Employment (10)- Culture & Leisure (4) –Education & Training (9)- Governance (7) –Housing & Infrastructure (7)

Core set of population and social statistics for Asia- Pacific Core set based on some of the following principles –Serve as a benchmark for capturing basic needs for policy making –Not considered to be an exhaustive list – but considered most essential –By agreeing with the core set: member States not committed to deliver use as a regional guideline to improve national capacity –Core set is not prescriptive – countries can add statistics Project still in its early days –Aim is for member states to be capable of producing the core set by 2020, as per the goal of the Committee TAG and the Secretariat currently working on a “Regional Programme” to ensure countries have the capacity to develop the core set which will be presented to the Committee in December 2014 ASEAN members involved in the TAG include Philippines, Indonesia and Singapore –Philippines involved in a pilot study to investigate gaps in their core set

Regional Strategic Plan for the Improvement of Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) Background In May 2011, ESCAP adopted a resolution (67/11) on the improvement of CRVS in Asia-Pacific In December 2012, the High-level Meeting (HLM) on the Improvement of CRVS in Asia-Pacific reached consensus on the Regional Strategic Plan –Endorsed by the Committee on Statistics (3 rd session) In May 2013, ESCAP adopted resolution (69/15) on implementing the outcome of the HLM –Supported the endorsement of the Regional Strategic Plan –Requested a Ministerial meeting in 2014 –Establish a Regional Steering Group Members include 2 from Philippines, 1 from Malaysia and Lao PDR

Regional Strategic Plan for the Improvement of Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) Vision All people in Asia-Pacific benefit from universal and responsive CRVS systems that facilitate their rights, and support good governance, health and development Recommendations: 1)2015 – 2024 be declared the “CRVS decade” 2)Universal civil registration and high quality vital statistics be included in the post development agenda 3)The 2014 Asian and Pacific intergovernmental ministerial meeting on CRVS build on current momentum – committing to regional action framework 4)Resources need to be allocated to support the improvement of CRVS systems 5)An accountability and monitoring framework be developed

Regional Strategic Plan for the Improvement of Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) Goals Goal 1: Universal civil registration of births and deaths Target EG: By 2024, at least ….% of births in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year are registered Goal 2: All individuals are provided with legal documentation of civil registration of births and deaths as necessary to claim identity, civil status and ensuing rights Target EG: By 2024, at least ….% of all births registered in the territory and jurisdiction are accompanied with the issuance of an official birth certificate that includes, as a minimum, the individual’s name, sex, date and place of birth, and name of parent(s) where known Goal 3: Accurate, complete and timely vital statistics (including on causes of death) are produced based on registration records and disseminated Target EG: By …. (year), annual nationally representative statistics on births – disaggregated by age of mother, sex of child, geographic area and administrative subdivision – are produced from registration records or, alternatively, other valid administrative data sources

Regional Strategic Plan for the Improvement of Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) Ministerial Meeting in November, 2014 Bangkok on November Objectives: –Agreement on priorities for improving CRVS in Asia-Pacific –Commitment to accelerate and focus the efforts of governments and development partners to achieve universal and responsive CRVS systems in all Asian and Pacific countries Expected Outcomes: –A Ministerial Declaration on CRVS –Endorsement of a monitored and time-based Regional Action Framework for to support Ministerial Declaration with action areas and national targets under the three goals –Formalization of the CRVS Partnership of development partners in the Asia- Pacific Region Co-organized by ESCAP, UNICEF, UNDP, UNHCR, UNFPA, WHO, ADB and Plan International

Core set of economic statistics Background ESCAP given mandate to develop a core set of indicators by the Committee on Statistics at its 1 st session (Feb 2009) Technical Advisory Group (TAG) established in August 2009 –Develop a Regional Programme for the development of economic statistics –ASEAN Secretariat and Indonesia involved The Regional Programme and core set were subject to discussion between global, regional, sub-regional and national partners: –An Expert Group Meeting, Sept 2009 –A Workshop to Develop a Regional Programme for improving Economic Statistics, Dec 2009 –TAG holding back-to-back meetings with both

Core set of economic statistics Background (cont) Steering Group for the Regional Programme on Economic Statistics (SGRPES) was endorsed by the Committee on Statistics at it’s second meeting in Dec 2010 Current members of SGRPES include Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam (with ASEAN Secretariat involvement) Capacity screening has been taking place since the establishment of the SGRPES for most Member States in Asia- Pacific –9 of the 10 ASEAN members participated in the screening

10 3. Core set of economic statistics (cont) The core set addresses the following 7 domains: 1.Prices & Costs (7) 2.Demand & Output (10) 3.Income & Wealth (6) 4.Money & Banking (3) 5.Government (2) 6.Labour Market (2) 7.Natural Resources & the Environment (1) For each indicator within a domain, a recommended frequency of reporting has been provided by the SGRPES

11 3. Core set of economic statistics (cont) Important things to note about the work of the RPES: Member States are not obliged to produce the entire Core Set – it shall be used as a reference for capacity development Three implementation phases –Phase 1 ( ): Capacity Screening, Fundraising & Development of Eco Stats action plans –Phase 2 ( ): Accelerated regional and country level implementation –Phase 3 ( ): Consolidating national and regional efforts to achieve the programme effort

12 Benefits to ASEAN members Enables comparisons across a wider community Assists the provision of statistical capacity building Mobilize donor support by identifying opportunities for greater return on investment Creates an environment where countries can share a best practice Develop a range of concrete tools and actions that will assist countries in developing their capacity

13 ESCAP would like to request that ….. the Strategic Plan for the Establishment of the ACSS, makes reference to these Regional Initiatives where applicable Given that The ASEAN community has been heavily involved in the Regional Initiatives outlined in this presentation + A) Core sets for both Economic and Population/Social are guidelines for Member States to follow – not prescriptive B) Targets set by Member States for the CRVS are determined by the Member State + Obvious benefits to ASEAN members by adopting these Regional Initiatives 1 2 3