Sustainable development goals are at the heart of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, which outlines internationally agreed targets in areas such as no poverty, zero hunger, good health, affordable and clean energy, and reduced inequalities. As we are just a few months away from entering the second year of the Covid-19 pandemic, it is quite apparent that this is a huge crisis. The pandemic has crushed Botswana’s economic, social and health systems, with tragic effects on the lives and livelihoods of Batswana and on efforts to realise the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
As Botswana wrestles against the ravaging effects of the deadly virus, the pandemic has called attention to the fact that even the most basic health, social and economic data is often absent or extremely scarce. Generally, pandemics from the past have helped to quicken socio-political and economic change, and that still holds true today. With no end in sight to the pandemic, data and information systems are now widely regarded as a tactical asset in building back better and accelerating the implementation of the SDGs.
The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2021 prepared by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs in collaboration with more than 50 international agencies clearly states that timely and high-quality data are more essential than ever.
“The availability of high-quality data is also critical, helping decision makers to understand where investments can have the greatest impact,” reads part of the report.
Botswana is struggling and is listed among countries in the world which are publishing inadequate data disaggregated by sex, thereby putting a strain on efforts to improve and achieve SDGs. Speaking to this publication, a former Statistician indicated that the advancements in data availability has a direct impact on people’s lives.
“The availability of internationally comparable data on the SDGs has drastically improved over the years and the number of indicators included in the global SDG database increased from 115 in 2016 to around 211 in 2021,” says Dimpho Nkala.
She says in the absence of high quality data, Botswana’s most vulnerable populations who need support are likely to remain in the shadows. Although the SDG 2021 report did not explicitly mention Botswana, she says the report highlights issues that have for a long time been problematic in Botswana such as access and availability of publicly available data. “Lack of data severely limits a country’s ability to reach children and their families – to ensure that they have the services, opportunities and choices they deserve to live life to the fullest,” states the report.
An analysis of the indicators in the Global SDG Indicators Database reveals that, for 5 of the 17 Goals, fewer than half of 193 countries have internationally comparable data.
Nkala also says there are vast data gaps which exist in Botswana in most areas of the SDGs in terms of geographic coverage, timeliness and the level of disaggregation required. As an example she points out that country-level data deficits in Botswana are extensive in gender equality (Goal 5), climate change and its impacts (Goal 13) as well as other gender-specific indicators.
“Botswana is struggling with data timeliness for monitoring the SDGs. For example, there is no up-to-date and accurate information for some of the SDGs. Current data for some of the SDGs and their indicators is for 2017 or 2018,” says Nkala.
This is also corroborated by the 2020/21 Open Data Inventory (ODIN) report which states that Botswana and majority of the countries in the region “still struggle to publish gender data and many of the same countries are unable to provide sex-disaggregated data on the COVID-19 pandemic” and other societal issues.
ODIN scores are represented on a range between 0 and 100, with 100 representing the best performance on open data. Botswana’s median overall score for 2020/21 is 47. The overall ODIN score is an indicator of how complete and open national statistical offices (NSOs) data offerings are and whether their data meets international standards of openness. With a score of 47, it means Botswana’s data in this category fulfils some ODIN coverage/openness criteria, “but many important gaps remain”.
In a telephonic interview, another statistician who preferred anonymity highlighted that while the availability of data does not always translate to progress on SDGs, he says overcoming barriers to data scarcity will not happen without increased data financing especially from domestic sources.
“It is vital for Botswana to invest in data and information infrastructure. Without data, it is extremely difficult to track progress on the developmental goals, which require an unparalleled amount of data and statistics at all levels. The Covid-19 pandemic has already shown us that weaknesses in data and information systems undercuts policies meant to support and achieve SDGs,” he says.
Furthermore, scarce data presents a huge challenge to policymakers in the sense that resources and policies intended to assist people during this difficult time will not be useful without the evidence to focus and hone interventions. Studies clearly show that an increase in investments directed toward national data and statistical systems will be vital if Botswana is to build back better from the pandemic and hasten implementation of the SDGs.
In Africa, Ghana Statistical Service has been able to guide decision makers on crisis response and service delivery by collecting a wide range of data and circulating them through a central Covid-19 data hub, supported by a joint project on SDG monitoring with the UN. This has expanded the role of statisticians from being data collectors to having a seat on the development policy decision making table.
“Investing in data and information systems is not money wasted,” says the United Nations (UN), and this also means statistical offices must, as a matter of urgency, embrace new methodologies and leverage the power of collaboration and partnerships.
