BENEDICT TEMBO, Abidjan
AN international advocacy organisation says lack of data on poverty is a crisis for sustainable development.
“The lack of data to map poverty and track investments renders many development efforts inefficient, incomplete, and often fails the most vulnerable,” One Campaign executive director Sipho Moyo said.
She said in order for the third international financing for development conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in July, to truly deliver, the approach must be different.
“Accountability must be built into the framework from the outset. All development partners must commit to be time-bound, measurable financing, including year-on-year time-tables for the delivery of all commitments set out in Addis Ababa,” Dr Moyo said.
She said all partners should commit to the transparent and timely reporting of all financial flows into, within and out of developing countries in as close real time as possible.
Dr Moyo said governments should open themselves up to an annual review mechanism of the Addis commitments.
She said there should be follow-up international conferences to review and further advance the implementation of the Addis Ababa Accord which should be held in 2020 and 2025 to monitor progress.
Launching the One Campaign’s 2015 data report dubbed : “Putting the Poorest which was launched last Friday on the margins of the African Development Bank Group annual meeting, Dr Moyo urged governments to commit to financing a data revolution.
“Governments should also commit to financing a data revolution through domestic investments,” she said.
Dr Moyo called for financing mechanisms that build capacity for national statistical offices on the hardest-to-reach populations in order to ensure that everyone is counted, particularly girls and women.