Page 199 - Special Topic Session (STS) - Volume 2

STS479 Sabit A.H et al.
Voluntary National Reviews (VNR) presented to the UN High Level Political
Forum. In 2018, UAE, Bahrain, KSA and Qatar presented their reviews. Oman and
Kuwait will submit their reviews in 2019.
The Handbook for the Preparation of Voluntary National Reviews (United
Nations, 2019) recommends that countries prepare a work plan for the
preparation of the VNR. Some countries, such as Qatar have built on this and
prepared a Road Map for all the activities associated with producing statistics
and indicators (MDPS, 2017). Other local initiatives in GCC countries include
National SDG Portals and National SDG Committees.

4. Regional Statistical Modernisation Initiatives to enhance availability
of SDG indicators in GCC
Statistical Modernisation Initiatives in the GCC, therefore take place within
the international, regional and local environment, including, but not
exclusively, SDGs and the GCC Statistical strategy. This section of the paper
highlights some of the regional initiatives led or facilitated by GCC-Stat; which
through statistical modernization in the region, aim to enhance the availability
of SDG indicators.
As noted above, the 2015-2020 GCC regional statistical strategy drives the
overall direction of statistical activities, including modernization initiatives
conducted by GCC-Stat. GCC-Stat supports member countries through a range
of capacity development activities. These include tailored training to specific
countries and joint regional workshops. Regional workshops specific to SDGs
have included Population, Social and Environment indicators in March 2017, an
upcoming workshop on Economic SDGs indicators in November 2019, as well
as the regular meetings of the GCC Development Indicators Standing
committee. In addition, GCC-Stat has provided targeted assistance to member
countries in the form of field visits by its experts, as well as associated office
based support by e-mail and telephone calls.
Monitoring and reporting on SDGs is still a major challenge in the region,
due to the shortage of detailed data, including at the required
disaggregations. While some aggregated data is available, many countries still
struggle to provide the required disaggregations. These disaggregations often
require additional data, including from more specialized surveys as well as
from greater use of administrative data.
A number of the other GCC statistical priority projects, such as
Environment Statistics, will increase the range of statistics. For example, the
Environment Statistics projects will enhance the availability of indicators
related to water and sanitation management, life under water, wild life
reserves, etc. Regional and country specific capacity building initiatives for
these projects therefore also contribute to increasing the range and quality of
data for SDGs.

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