MESSAGE FROM THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
OF THE CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY (CARICOM)
CARLA N. BARNETT PhD CBE
ON THE OCCASION OF
THE THIRTEENTH OBSERVANCE OF
CARIBBEAN STATISTICS DAY
15 OCTOBER 2021
It is my pleasure to extend greetings on the thirteenth observance of Caribbean
Statistics Day (CSD) on 15 October 2021.
The theme for this year is “Leave No One Behind – Everyone Counts” which is the
same theme used for the Launch of the 2020 Round of Population and Housing Census.
There is no doubt that statistical data are fundamental to decision-making, whether
driving business decisions or formulating government policy. Data’s role in confronting
the challenge of COVID-19 is one example. Statistics perform a critical function in
tracking the trends in infections and in underpinning the clinical trials for vaccines, as
well as monitoring both the economic and social indicators, as they are influenced by
the effects of the pandemic.
Countries need to produce timely statistics to help drive the recovery from the pandemic
in both the health and economic sectors. To achieve this goal, statistical agencies must
be adequately resourced to provide the data inputs to ensure evidence-based decision
making.
The all-important education sector is benefitting from a collaboration between
CARICOM Statisticians, and the Information and Communication Technology for
Development (ICT4D) Programme of the CARICOM Secretariat. Caribbean Specific
Information and Communication Technology Indicators are being developed, such as
the physical resources that individuals and families possess, including smartphones and
desktop/laptop computers, the use made of digital technologies and the number of
educational programmes for schools/youths delivered through ICT.
Interventions such as these will aid the recovery process, and demonstrate the
importance of supporting the CARICOM Regional Strategy for the Development of
Statistics (RSDS) that was endorsed by Heads of Government in 2018. This requires
cooperation among governments, the private sector and international development
partners.
Implementation of the RSDS will also assist in gauging our success at achieving the
United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which comprises 17 goals,
169 targets and 231 indicators. The national statistical offices and ministries,
departments and other agencies of government must produce these indicators to enable
monitoring of the achievements of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Indeed,
231 indicators is a colossal demand, particularly for statistical agencies in developing
countries.
Critical support has been received from a number of partners, including the European
Union, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Government of Italy, for
implementation of various critical aspects of the RSDS. I commend all partners who are
providing support towards the strengthening of statistics in CARICOM.
As it relates to the Population and Housing Census, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused
CARICOM Member States to experience challenges in executing the Census that should
have started in the Region in 2020. No country was able to conduct its Census
enumeration in 2020, and some of those countries that had planned to undertake this
activity this year have postponed or are considering postponing this exercise to 2022.
The Census provides significant information for evidence-based decision-making and I,
therefore, hope that households and individuals in CARICOM do respond to the Census,
so that its results can achieve the objective of providing accurate data for our decision
makers.
I take this opportunity to commend the statisticians in CARICOM, including those at the
Secretariat and in Member States, for their tremendous efforts in producing and
disseminating high quality statistics. I also encourage the necessary investment in
statistics so that it can inform the management of the economic, social and
environmental affairs, and contribute to the successful transformation of CARICOM
Member States.