Manila, Philippines 20 October 2011

1. Main challenges in the Pacific subregion Session 4: The MDGs in the Pacific Island Countries and Territories International Conference on MDGS Manila, Philippines 20 October 2011

2. Content • Introduction • Data availability in the Pacific • Assessment based on the MDG global database • Comparison country data vs. data in global MDG database • Conclusion

3. Introduction • Since 2004, ESCAP/ADB/UNDP have produced six regional reports on MDGs in Asia and the Pacific • The progress assessments are based on data from the global database on official MDG Indicators • Analysis of the trends determine whether countries are on or off track Four categories are used: ●Early achiever On track Off track-Slow Off track-No progress/regressing

4. Global database on official MDG Indicators International agencies Ministries and statistical offices generate official statistics Ministries and statistical offices generate official statistics Adjustments and estimates to ensure comparability Data collected from NSS Global MDG database Data collected through surveys carried out/sponsored by international agencies Data collected through surveys carried out/sponsored by international agencies Data from surveys to fill gaps • Due to time lags and the necessary adjustments or estimation, discrepancies may occur between national and international data series • Such discrepancies could result in differences in the assessment of a country’s progress in reaching certain MDG targets

5. The progress assessment • The progress assessment for a given MDG target is produced on the basis of the trend since 1990 • It requires a minimum of two data points that are at least three years apart (sufficient for estimating trends) • In this analysis country data contained in the MDG database as of 30 September 2011 has been reviewed • The assessment excludes indicators of Goal 8 More information on the progress assessment: http://www.unescap.org/stat/statpub/mdg-progress-classification/TN-01-progress-classification.pdf

6. Subregional picture

7. Situation in the Pacific Only 57.64% met the data requirements to assess the progress

8. Situation in the Pacific Type of data from the latest available point for the assessment • Many data points are estimated or adjusted by international agencies C – Country data; CA – Country adjusted; E – Estimated; M – Modeled; G – Global monitoring data;

9. Situation in the Pacific Number of data points available for the assessment

10. Situation in the Pacific Year from the latest available point for the assessment

11. Situation in the Pacific Changes in data availability in time by indicator • However, data availability have increased substantially between 2004 and 2011 2004 Dataset – downloaded on 23 November 2004; 2011 Dataset – downloaded 30 September 2011 Both from the United Nations MDG Indicators database

12. Situation in the Pacific Changes in data availability in time by country 2004 Dataset – downloaded on 23 November 2004; 2011 Dataset – downloaded 30 September 2011 Both from the United Nations MDG Indicators database

13. Situation in the Pacific • Countries generate their own data which are not always reflected in the global MDG dataset • For example, Tonga Data for Tonga: http://www.spc.int/prism/country/to/stats/MDG/mdgind.htm *First value before 1990

14. Challenges • Improve coordination between countries and international agencies • Reduce/understand the discrepancies between national and international data 14

15. Thank you