Global SDG monitoring is not yet taken seriously enough by countries, regional and international organizations, and donors. This is one of the main restraints on progress in achieving the SDGs, in addition to institutional, operational, financial and capacity constraints that hamper countries’ ability to report on SDGs. The framework has four times more indicators than we had in the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) era, with many indicators being completely new or produced outside of the national statistical system.
Despite the many real constraints in SDG reporting, countries themselves have been slow in their commitment to measuring SDG indicators. Never mind that the global indicator framework was established by a country-led process – many countries still view it as an imposition by international organizations. In a misuse of the “country ownership” mantra, countries are systematically replacing global SDG indicators with different national proxy indicators, making it impossible to have a common benchmark to assess global progress. National indicators that focus on specific problems faced by each country are essential, but they should complement rather than replace the global indicators (as foreseen in paragraph 75 of the UNGA resolution that endorsed the 2030 Agenda).
Regional organizations too haven’t done enough. A proliferation of regional “SDG indicator” frameworks by Eurostat, CARICOM, the African Union and the Pacific Community, among others, tend to compete with, rather than complement, the global SDG indicator framework. Recent efforts by the African Union to harmonize the different monitoring frameworks are a step in the right direction, although much more must be done.
Despite the many real constraints in SDG reporting, countries themselves have been slow in their commitment to measuring SDG indicators. Never mind that the global indicator framework was established by a country-led process – many countries still view it as an imposition by international organizations. In a misuse of the “country ownership” mantra, countries are systematically replacing global SDG indicators with different national proxy indicators, making it impossible to have a common benchmark to assess global progress. National indicators that focus on specific problems faced by each country are essential, but they should complement rather than replace the global indicators (as foreseen in paragraph 75 of the UNGA resolution that endorsed the 2030 Agenda).
Regional organizations too haven’t done enough. A proliferation of regional “SDG indicator” frameworks by Eurostat, CARICOM, the African Union and the Pacific Community, among others, tend to compete with, rather than complement, the global SDG indicator framework. Recent efforts by the African Union to harmonize the different monitoring frameworks are a step in the right direction, although much more must be done.
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