28 July 2017: The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has provided technical training on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) monitoring to participants in Tanzania and Zanzibar, including advice on how to coordinate national monitoring systems with the SDG global indicator framework. Also on indicators, the Government of Sri Lanka has published a report on the status of SDG indicators at the national level, noting where its domestic indicators and definitions differ from those in the SDG indicator framework.

UNCTAD delivered the training in Tanzania and Zanzibar through a series of seminars and workshops, which drew a total of 116 participants. The events ran from 29 June to 6 July 2017, led by UNCTAD statisticians and evaluation specialists.

UNCTAD has highlighted the challenge that SDG monitoring poses for countries’ national statistical systems. The training included discussions about how to manage in-country coordination and align national data systems with the tracking of SDG indicators and focused especially on trade-related indicators.

An analysis by the Government of Sri Lanka found that its statistical offices lack the data to report on indicators for SDGs 12, 13, 14, 15 and 17.

On 28 July, the Government of Sri Lanka launched a report and website for reporting on the status of SDG indicators at the national level. The publication, by the Department of Census and Statistics in the Ministry of National Policies and Economic Affairs, identifies 46 SDG indicators for which data is already available, and 29 indicators for which data could be compiled. The SDG global indicator framework contains 230 separate indicators. The Department was unable to report on indicators for SDGs 12 (responsible consumption and production), 13 (climate action), 14 (life below water), 15 (life on land) and 17 (partnerships for the Goals). Where available, the report includes the definitions and indicators that are employed domestically.

The indicators developed by the Inter-Agency Expert Group on the SDGs (IAEG-SDGs) have been classified into three tiers: Tier 1 indicators are conceptually clear, have an established methodology and standards, and at least half the countries in the world can produce the relevant data; Tier 2 indicators have all those features, except that countries do not regularly produce that data; and Tier 3 indicators are those for which methodology and standards are being developed and tested. [UNCTAD Press Release] [Sri Lanka Department of Census and Statistics Website] [Webpage on SDGs in Sri Lanka] [Publication: Status of Sustainable Development Goals Indicators in Sri Lanka: 2017]