Census, RSDS central to recent meetings of Regional Statisticians

Statisticians from across CARICOM met over the past week to guide the Region’s course in pursuing a vibrant statistical agenda that would lead to more effective decision-making.

The Forty-Sixth Meeting of the Standing Committee of Caribbean Statisticians (SCCS) was held on 25 and 26 October, while the Thirty-fourth Meeting of the Regional Census Coordinating Committee (RCCC) was convened on 27 October. The Twenty-Eighth Meeting of the Advisory Group on Statistics preceded the two meetings which were held under the theme ‘Leave no one behind…Everyone Counts’.

Population and Housing Census

Central to the discussions at the meetings, was the 2020 Round of Population and Housing Census – which started recently in some Member States – and the implementation of the CARICOM Regional Strategy for the Development of Statistics (RSDS).

Describing the current circumstances as “perilous times with the onslaught of different waves” of the virus, Dr. Philomen Harrison, Director, Regional Statistics, CARICOM Secretariat, pointed to statistics as a source of guidance to governments and citizens alike in making key decisions.

The pandemic, she said, was causing loss of lives and livelihoods; health issues; and impacts on population structures and life expectancies that the Census and demographic analysis will uncover.

“Future health issues for those that have survived this disease would also be a challenge for these persons, and one cannot forget the mental health issues and the strain on our health resources and infrastructure. Amidst this situation, statistics “as a science of learning from data”, continues to provide information for governments and citizens to take decisions whether it be about protocols for travel, quarantine/lockdown, or greater access to vaccines or personal decisions such as visiting shopping malls, banks and other such pursuits…”, she said at the opening of the sessions.

At the Regional Census Coordinating Committee meeting, Member States recommended the conduct of a second region-wide census activity similar to the launch of 3 August 2021, at which CARICOM Statistics Champion, Dr. The Right Hon. Keith Mitchell, Prime Minister of Grenada delivered the key message.

The identification of solutions to common problems and sharing good practices were features of the meeting, given the uncertainty countries face as they attempt to conduct their Census activities during the pandemic. Some of the highlights were: 

• the critical need to apply agile project management methods in undertaking the Census, including in the execution of new approaches to data collection – computer assisted personal/telephone interviewing; 
• how to treat with multi-modal approaches in data collection; 
• incorporating risks and disaster recovery in the planning stages;
• good practices in the conduct of virtual training of interviewers, and
• sharing protocols and guidance notes on data collection during the pandemic

Milestones

Focusing on the strides that have been made in the realm of statistics, Dr. Harrison pointed to the introduction of Environment Statistics and the “innovative” way in which the Region was producing Climate Change Statistics.

Another milestone for the Region was the introduction of Trade in Services Statistics under a past project funded by the Government of Canada.

For the first time at the SCCS, a dedicated paper on Gender Statistics was presented. In the past, Gender Statistics was subsumed under Social Statistics. The Standing Committee called on governments to provide dedicated resources to the development of Gender Statistics which would help in core policy areas such as violence against women and girls and the recognition of unpaid care and domestic work.

The SCCS gave its backing to Agriculture Statistics, noting its development was crucial to food and nutrition security, employment and reducing non-communicable diseases.

The meetings also held discussions on the infusion of Information and Communication Technology in statistical database systems so that users could easily access the data. Data warehousing and organisation; development of a central repository; content development of the e-learning platform and online knowledge base; and upgrading the Census e-portal were among the matters that are being undertaken.

The SCCS also reviewed the CARICOM Model Statistics Bill to take into consideration ICT and matters surrounding the protocols for sharing data within the national statistics system. The meeting agreed on a definition of ‘Big Data’ to ensure its inclusion as a modern data source in the Model Bill.

Dr. Harrison, in her remarks at the opening, expressed thanks to the International Development Partners whose support made the strides in the field possible. Among the agencies she singled out were the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), UN Women, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, the Government of Canada, the Government of Italy, the European Union, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Commonwealth Secretariat, and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

CARICOM Regional Strategy for the Development of Statistics

Regarding the CARICOM RSDS, the SCCS received a report on the preparation for the implementation of activities under the Strategy’s strategic priorities and drivers. The Standing Committee approved work towards harmonising and standardising statistics across CARICOM Member States which will lead to the widening of the range of statistics that is produced. Statisticians also approved the process related to the preparation of the Monitoring and Evaluation Framework of the Strategy.

The Meeting also approved training that is to be undertaken to facilitate conformity of statistics to regional and international standards in areas that include indicators for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as well as training in quality assurance.

Source: CARICOM TODAY