A new tool to ensure much needed data in Saudi Arabia and globally
*This Resident Coordinator performed functions in Saudi Arabia from 2018 to 2022.
Robust and up-to-date data is essential to be able to track a country’s progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). And it is clear that this is one area where no one UN entity can lead alone: it requires sharing, harmonizing and making sense of information that is extremely diverse and differently governed.
Nathalie Fustier, the Resident Coordinator in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, has played a key role in leading the UN’s work to address this challenge. To help shape the conversation on SDGs in the country, supported by the Economist and the Data Officer in the Resident Coordinator office – an SDG Data Prioritization Tool was created, with the Ministry of Economy and Planning and leverages the resources of the UN system, drawing from the UN Statistics Division and the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), and support from the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA).
The Tool catalyzed the Government's interest in tackling data availability which helps their national prioritization, more accurately showcasing the recent transformation of Saudi Arabia through the SDGs. The Resident Coordinator’s office has also worked with the Government and UN partners, with critical support by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) to develop a National SDG Data Webinar Series in 2022 focusing on three aspects of data availability:
- Unreported Data (Data that is not yet publicly available);
- Outdated Data (Data that is not being updated frequently); and
- Inconsistent Values with International Reports (Data that is being reported in national repositories, but is not being reported in global data repositories, and Data that is inaccurately reported in global repositories).
The Webinar Series, launched by the Minister of Economy and Planning and the Resident Coordinator, was attended by six Government Ministers and brought together more than 80 UN and Government entities. This helped to accelerate progress on SDG data in the country and will inform the preparation of the Kingdom’s 2023 voluntary national review (VNR) on progress towards the achievement of the SDGs, reported to the annual UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development.
Other countries are now learning from this. They are using this Tool as a baseline initiative ahead of a country's Voluntary National Review (VNR). It is also a testament to the gravitas and convening power of the Resident Coordinator. It is also a testament to the value of dedicated capacities in the Resident Coordinator’s office to leverage partnerships and opportunities on key priorities, and fill gaps with UN expertise at global, regional and country levels, under the UN Resident Coordinator’s leadership.
