1. United Nations Statistics Division DESA, New York martinho@un.org
Workshop on MDG Monitoring Geneva, Switzerland, 8-11 November Reconciling international and national sources for effective global monitoring
Maria Martinho
United Nations Statistics Division
DESA, New York

2. Workshop on MDG Monitoring, Geneva, 8-11 November 2010
Reconciling international and national sources for effective global monitoring
Outline
Global monitoring and the work by the Inter-agency and Expert Group on MDGs indicators (IAEG)
Compilation of international sources
Improving international sources and resolving data gaps and discrepancies
Next steps
Workshop on MDG Monitoring, Geneva, 8-11 November 2010

3. Workshop on MDG Monitoring, Geneva, 8-11 November 2010
Reconciling international and national sources for effective global monitoring
Outline
Global monitoring and the work by the Inter-agency and Expert Group on MDGs indicators (IAEG)
Compilation of international sources
Improving international sources and resolving data gaps and discrepancies
Next steps
Workshop on MDG Monitoring, Geneva, 8-11 November 2010

4. Workshop on MDG Monitoring, Geneva, 8-11 November 2010
IAEG on MDG Indicators
The Inter-Agency and Expert Group (IAEG) on MDG Indicators
Holds 2 meetings per year
Coordinated by the UN Statistics Division/DESA
Composed of representatives from:
Over 25 specialized agencies
UN Regional commissions
National Statistical Offices
Thematic sub-groups of the IAEG
Gender
Employment
Health
Poverty and hunger
Environment
Slums
Workshop on MDG Monitoring, Geneva, 8-11 November 2010

5. IAEG and MDG monitoring
IAEG is responsible for:
Compiling data and undertaking analysis to monitor progress towards the MDGs at the global and regional levels
Reporting on status of annual progress through printed reports, progress charts, databases, etc.
Reviewing and preparing guidelines on methodologies and technical issues related to the indicators
Helping define priorities and strategies to support countries in data collection, analysis and reporting on MDGs
Workshop on MDG Monitoring, Geneva, 8-11 November 2010

6. Workshop on MDG Monitoring, Geneva, 8-11 November 2010
Reconciling international and national sources for effective global monitoring
Outline
Global monitoring and the work by the Inter-agency and Expert Group on MDGs indicators (IAEG)
Compilation of international sources
Improving international sources and resolving data gaps and discrepancies
Next steps
Workshop on MDG Monitoring, Geneva, 8-11 November 2010

7. Revised MDG monitoring framework: proposals by the IAEG
To ensure comparability across countries and regions, data used for the global monitoring are compiled by international agencies within their area of expertise
For each indicator, one or more agencies were designated to be the official data providers and to take the lead in developing appropriate methodologies for data collection and analysis.
Data are typically drawn from official statistics provided by governments to the international agencies responsible for the indicator, through periodic data collection from ministries and NSOs (ex. ILO)….
or collected through surveys sponsored and carried out by international agencies (ex. MICS, DHS)
Workshop on MDG Monitoring, Geneva, 8-11 November 2010

8. Data provided by the international agencies
Workshop on MDG Monitoring, Geneva, 8-11 November 2010

9. Data compilation: from national sources to the MDG database
International agency country office
Agency Headquarters eg. UNICEF
MDG Indicators database
60 MDG indicators + background/additional indicators
192 Member States
mdgs.un.org
Agency Headquarters eg. UNESCO
Line Ministry in the country
National Statistical Office in the country
Agency Headquarters
eg. ILO
Workshop on MDG Monitoring, Geneva, 8-11 November 2010

10. Data availability in international sources
Indicator
Countries with at least 1 data point
Countries with at least 2 data points
Number %
Population below $1 (PPP) per day
118 53 96 43
Children under 5 moderately or severely underweight
138 62
116 52
Total net enrolment ratio in primary education
185 83
173 78
Literacy rates
147 66
130 58
Share of women in wage employment in non-agricultural sector
213
163 73
Children under five mortality rate per 1,000 live births
192 86
HIV prevalence among population years old
142 64
140 63
Condom use at last high-risk sex, women 28 30 13
Tuberculosis death rate per 100,000 population
210 94
Proportion of the population using improved sanitation
191
Slum population
105 60 37
Source: MDG Indicators Database, at mdgs.un.org, Oct 2010
Workshop on MDG Monitoring, Geneva, 8-11 November 2010

11. But where are the data from?
Indicator
Countries with at least 1 data point
Countries with at least 2 data points
Number %
Population below $1 (PPP) per day
118 53 96 43
Children under 5 moderately or severely underweight
138 62
116 52
Total net enrolment ratio in primary education
185 83
173 78
Literacy rates
147 66
130 58
Share of women in wage employment in non-agricultural sector
213
163 73
Children under five mortality rate per 1,000 live births
192 86
HIV prevalence among population years old
142 64
140 63
Condom use at last high-risk sex, women 28 30 13
Tuberculosis death rate per 100,000 population
210 94
Proportion of the population using improved sanitation
191
Slum population
105 60 37
Country data
Modelled
Estimated
Source: MDG Indicators Database, at mdgs.un.org
Workshop on MDG Monitoring, Geneva, 8-11 November 2010

12. Different types of data in international data sources
Workshop on MDG Monitoring, Geneva, 8-11 November 2010

13. An example: ILO, Indicator for Goal 3
Indicator 3.2. Share of women in wage employment in the non-agricultural sector
Estimated values vs. Predicted values
Estimations based on auxiliary variables
Total paid employment
Total employment in non-agriculture
Employees
Total employment
Economically Active Population in non-agriculture
Empirical analysis shows that strong correlation exits between the indicator and the auxiliary variables.
Workshop on MDG Monitoring, Geneva, 8-11 November 2010

14. An example: ILO, Indicator for Goal 3
Indicator 3.2. Share of women in wage employment in the non-agricultural sector
Estimated values vs. Predicted values
Predictions based on statistical models
Only used to produce regional and global aggregates
A separate two-level model is developed for each of the 5 regions, considering:
between-countries variation over time
within-country variation over time
Based on the assumption that available data are representative of a country’s deviation from the average trend in its region, across time
Workshop on MDG Monitoring, Geneva, 8-11 November 2010

15. Workshop on MDG Monitoring, Geneva, 8-11 November 2010
Reconciling international and national sources for effective global monitoring
Outline
Global monitoring and the work by the Inter-agency and Expert Group on MDGs indicators (IAEG)
Compilation of international sources
Improving international sources and resolving data gaps and discrepancies
Next steps
Workshop on MDG Monitoring, Geneva, 8-11 November 2010

16. Improving international sources
Recommendations of the friends of the Chair to improve further the compilation of the indicators used in the monitoring of the MDGs
In July 2006, the Economic and Social Council adopted its resolution 2006/6 on strengthening statistical capacity in countries and included a set of recommendations to improve the coverage, transparency and reporting on all indicators
Since then, the Inter-Agency and Expert Group has been working to implement the recommendations of the friends of the Chair and those contained in the ECOSOC resolution
Workshop on MDG Monitoring, Geneva, 8-11 November 2010

17. Workshop on MDG Monitoring, Geneva, 8-11 November 2010
Work of the IAEG
Improve data quality and transparency of methods
Work with countries to identify priorities in national statistical capacity building
Work with countries to identify best practices for coordination within national statistical systems and for reporting mechanisms to the international statistical system
Address key methodological issues, including the use of population figures, in the computation of the indicators
Develop improve training tools on the compilation of the indicators
Workshop on MDG Monitoring, Geneva, 8-11 November 2010

18. Resolving data discrepancies
Improve consistency and transparency in reporting and presenting data and metadata for the international monitoring
Adoption of the common platform for data exchange, the Statistical Data and Metadata Exchange (SDMX)
Continue to improve the content and structure of the metadata and the tools available on the mdgs.un.org website
The IAEG also recommended:
To investigate the reasons for discrepancies between national and international data, and for data gaps
To hold expert group meetings to establish strategies for dealing with data discrepancies and data gaps at the national and international levels.
To provide technical assistance to countries in the use of international definitions.
To improve the process of consultation by international agencies with countries before publishing their data.
Workshop on MDG Monitoring, Geneva, 8-11 November 2010

19. Improve transparency in the MDG Indicators Database
Revised structure of metadata for MDG Indicators in the IAEG MDG Database
CONTACT POINT in international agency
DEFINITION
METHODS OF COMPUTATION
COMMENTS AND LIMITATIONS
SOURCES OF DISCREPANCIES BETWEEN GLOBAL AND NATIONAL FIGURES
PROCESS OF OBTAINING DATA
TREATMENT OF MISSING VALUES
DATA AVAILABILITY
REGIONAL AND GLOBAL ESTIMATES
EXPECTED TIME OF RELEASE
UNSD MDG database now presents more detailed metadata:
details on methodology used to calculate indicators
contacts for users to obtain additional information
Workshop on MDG Monitoring, Geneva, 8-11 November 2010

20. Workshop on MDG Monitoring, Geneva, 8-11 November 2010
Reconciling international and national sources for effective global monitoring
Outline
Global monitoring and the work by the Inter-agency and Expert Group on MDGs indicators (IAEG)
Compilation of international sources
Improving international sources and resolving data gaps and discrepancies
Next steps
Workshop on MDG Monitoring, Geneva, 8-11 November 2010

21. Workshop on MDG Monitoring, Geneva, 8-11 November 2010
Work of the IAEG
The main objectives of the work of the group remain:
Improving the effectiveness of capacity building activities
Ensuring data quality and transparency, and reduce data gaps
Workshop on MDG Monitoring, Geneva, 8-11 November 2010

22. Workshop on MDG Monitoring, Geneva, 8-11 November 2010
Work of the IAEG
Improving the effectiveness of capacity building activities
The group brings together international agencies, regional commissions and representatives of national statistical systems to set priorities and identify ways to improve the delivery of capacity building programmes and promote the scaling-up of resources
Workshop on MDG Monitoring, Geneva, 8-11 November 2010

23. Workshop on MDG Monitoring, Geneva, 8-11 November 2010
Work of the IAEG
Ensuring data quality and transparency
Priority areas:
Implement the recommendations by the friend of the Chair on MDG Indicators and those in the ECOSOC resolution
Implement the recommendations by IAEG member countries in 2006 on coordination and reporting mechanisms (Survey to countries and agencies on coordination and reporting)
Address some key methodological issues, including the use of population figures in the computation of the indicators and regional aggregates
Continuing to improve the content and structure of the metadata and the tools available on the website
SDMX task team to develop the data structure for MDG Indicators
Revision of the handbook for country reporting
Revision of the metadata on international series and upgrading of the database
Workshop on MDG Monitoring, Geneva, 8-11 November 2010

24. Workshop on MDG Monitoring, Geneva, 8-11 November 2010
Work of the IAEG
Reducing data gaps
The group has developed a plan to involve more extensively regional commissions in data checking purposes (discrepancies between national and international data series) and in channelling and following-up on specific queries on data and metadata between national statistical systems and international agencies
The plan also involves identifying underlying causes for data gaps and make specific recommendations for improvement
Workshop on MDG Monitoring, Geneva, 8-11 November 2010

25. Workshop on MDG Monitoring, Geneva, 8-11 November 2010
Next steps
Continue to develop the data structure for SDMX
International agencies
Countries
Develop new methodologies for the assessment of progress
Global and regional level
Country level
Continue the work to assist countries develop their system of coordination and reporting to the international statistical system
Workshops and EGMs on coordination practices
Workshop on MDG Monitoring, Geneva, 8-11 November 2010

26. Workshop on MDG Monitoring, Geneva, 8-11 November 2010
Reconciling international and national sources for effective global monitoring
THANK YOU
Visit mdgs.un.org
Workshop on MDG Monitoring, Geneva, 8-11 November 2010