GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Oct 14, CMC – Grenada’s Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell says he is hoping that the 50th anniversary of the Standing Committee of Caribbean Statisticians (SCCS) will allow for Caribbean Community (CARICOM) governments to take “deliberate actions” to strengthen national statistical offices and systems.
The 50th anniversary to be observed on Tuesday, coincides with the 16th observance of Caribbean Statistics Day that will be held under theme “Improving Lives through Statistics, Strengthening and Innovating together”.
Mitchell, the current CARICOM chairman, said recognition of the two anniversaries “will ensure the provision of high quality, timely statistics for users including, government policymakers, the private sector, researchers/academia and all citizens, particularly our youth who must be armed with evidence to detect misinformation in this digital era.
“Therefore, we need to find creative and innovative ways of engendering statistics as a math’s-based science in our schools in cultivating the next generation of statisticians, data scientists, and related experts who can drive innovation in statistics and lead our region into the future.”.
Mitchell, who has lead responsibility for Science and Technology in the CARICOM Quasi Cabinet, said it is incumbent on him to stress that statistics “are not just numbers on a page; they tell a story of the people we serve.
“This information is the bedrock of good governance in guiding national and regional policies that seek to improve the lives of our people,” he said.
Mitchell said that in addition to celebrating Caribbean Statistics Day and SCCS’s 50th anniversary, a number of milestones are also being observed this year. T
He said these include the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics and the 10th anniversary of their endorsement by the UN General Assembly.
The region will also be observing the fourth High Level Advocacy Forum on Statistics which is scheduled to be held in Belize in the periphery of the 49th meeting of the SCCS and
the midpoint of the implementation of the CARICOM Regional Strategy for the Development of Statistics (RSDS), which was endorsed by the regional leaders a few years ago.
“Together, these milestones underscore the indispensable role of statistics in the sustainable development of our region and unearth the need for greater commitment to its enhancement,” Mitchell said, adding that “they also highlight the region’s obligation to transparency, accountability, and excellence in data production”.
He said the CARICOM Quality assurance framework and Code of Good Statistics practice are both grounded in the UN Fundamental Principles of Official statistics.
“Meeting these obligations and achieving the ultimate outcome of the CARICOM Regional Strategy for the Development of Statistics requires strengthening partnership in mobilizing resources for statistics development.”
Mitchell said that as the region enters into another decade of its statistical journey, there is need to reflect on the last five in which the SCCS embraced and promoted regional collaboration through strengthening the ability of Caribbean countries to collect, analyze, disseminate and use data.
“The success of the Committee is testament to the commitment and dedication of our statisticians, who often have limited resources to work with but have managed to maintain the production of data in core areas of statistics.
“The invaluable support of our development partners and stakeholders must be recognized and commended in this regard. Much has been achieved and much more can be done if the infrastructure of National Statistical Offices and other data producing agencies are strengthened.”
Prime Minister Mitchell said the recently adopted Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for Small Islands Development States (SIDS) highlights the need to invest in building human and institutional capacity in SIDS to collect quality, accessible, timely and reliable, disaggregated data and to strengthen and modernise national data infrastructure and systems.
He said natural disasters continue to erode the region’s development progress and thus weaken its ability to achieve the targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“ My country, Grenada along with Jamaica and St. Vincent and the Grenadines are among the latest victims of the climate crisis having sustained severe damages from the ravages of Hurricane Beryl. I
“It must be emphasized that statistics is critical in saving lives and restoring livelihoods as well as in reporting on our social, economic and environmental vulnerabilities. Thus, good statistics are needed to strengthen our region’s case in the fight for climate justice.”
Mitchell said that good statistics are also essential in the pursuit of sustainable tourism, renewable energy, the blue and the orange economy, agriculture and food and nutrition security as well as in the context of monitoring free movement and the impact of the changing dynamics of the region’s population.
”Let us recognize, in a greater way, the vital role that statistics continue to play in shaping the future of our region. By strengthening our collaboration and embracing innovation, we can ensure that our statistical systems remain robust, resilient and relevant. Thus, producing better data drives better decisions that ultimately results in better lives for all our citizens,” Mitchell added.
Meanwhile, CARICOM Secretary General, Dr. Carla Barnett said the theme selected for the occasion underscores the critical role that statistics play in enhancing the welfare of CARICOM citizens.
She said it recognises regional efforts to strengthen capacity to enhance statistical systems and to generate accurate, reliable, timely and relevant data for policy development and decision making.
Barnett said harmonised statistics are central in tracking the progress of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), which allows for the free movement of goods, skills, labour and services across th region, as well as the efficacy of the joint efforts to strengthen health, education and other critical regional development outcomes.
”The availability of quality and timely data is critical as we seek to address the compounding social, environmental and economic challenges that confront our region, such as the crime and violence, youth development, non-communicable diseases including hypertension and diabetes, climate change and biodiversity loss, domestic investment, unemployment and inflation.
”As we begin the next chapter in our joint regional statistical effort, let us renew our commitment to improve the collection and application of statistics across CARICOM to widen and deepen the range of data we collect and share publicly, and to promote its use as a public good and benefit to our people,” Barnett added.
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