MDGs - Beyond the statistics

One of my key jobs at the moment is coordinating the writing of the 2010 MDG Country Report for South Africa. This is no mean task, and has been an eye opener for me in many ways.

The key thing is that the MDGs go way beyond pure statistics. Yes, the statistics are admittedly the basis of the report, but one also has to consider what goes on behind the numbers. How are development issues targeted? What role can the private sector and civil society (via non-governmental organisations, community based organisations, faith based organisations etc) play in achieving these goals? What role does the media play (advocacy and highlighting key issues)? and, finally, how does government respond (creation of MDG friendly policies, for example)? These aspects should also be captured in a country report.

We must, of course, define what is meant by a Country Report. A Country Report is owned by everyone in the nation producing it. This implies that all the stakeholders mentioned above play a key role in the production of this report, and all their voices should be heard. Civil society, in particular, often is the voice of the voiceless.

Related to the Country Report status, a key question that needs to be ask also is where the focal point should be. This created some interesting discussions at the International Statistical Institute Conference in Durban in August 2009. The Sudanese delegate suggested that it's home is the Presidency (or prime minister's office depending on the political landscape in the country). I chatted with him afterwards, and in South Africa's case, the Presidency is maybe not the ideal home given it has a clear political agenda. In South Africa, the focal point for the MDGs is the National Statistics Office (NSO), Statistics South Africa. This is due to the NSO's perceived neutrality, or at least relative neutrality compared to line ministries and certainly compared to the Presidency. South Africa's previous Country Report in 2005 was criticised as being political in nature, and one of the key goals of the 2010 Country Report is to do everything possible to avoid this criticism being pinned on the report again. The update reports of 2007 and 2008 had no consultations with external stakeholders.

I am by training a statistician, and hence clearly a number's man. The MDGs are making me more sensitive to the impact of statistics in the nation at large. It's a hard lesson to learn, but the fruits of it will impress on my career no end.