By: Dr Carla Barnett
October 15, 2024
Tuesday, 15 October 2024 marks the sixteenth observance of Caribbean Statistics Day. This year is also the 50th Anniversary of the Standing Committee of Caribbean Statisticians.
The vision for the Standing Committee of Caribbean Statisticians was that it would, inter alia, promote the importance of adequate statistical services; widen the scope and coverage of statistical data collection; and improve the quality, comparability and timeliness of statistics produced by each Member State. The ultimate objective was to improve information for decision-making not only at the national level, but also at the regional level. These objectives remain highly relevant.
The theme selected for Caribbean Statistics Day 2024, “Improving Lives through Statistics: Strengthening and Innovating Together” underscores the critical role that statistics play in enhancing the welfare of CARICOM citizens.
It recognises regional efforts to strengthen capacity to enhance our statistical systems and to generate accurate, reliable, timely and relevant data for policy development and decision making. Harmonised statistics are central in tracking the progress of our CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), as well as the efficacy of our joint efforts to strengthen health, education and other critical regional development outcomes.
As we mark the 50th anniversary of the Standing Committee of Caribbean Statisticians, we recognise the dedication of regional statisticians who continue to work assiduously despite resource challenges. The availability of quality and timely data is critical as we seek to address the compounding social, environmental and economic challenges that confront our Region, such as the crime and violence, youth development, non-communicable diseases including hypertension and diabetes, climate change and biodiversity loss, domestic investment, unemployment and inflation.
As we begin the next chapter in our joint regional statistical effort, let us renew our commitment to improve the collection and application of statistics across CARICOM to widen and deepen the range of data we collect and share publicly, and to promote its use as a public good and benefit to our people.
Happy Caribbean Statistics Day 2024!
(The author is the Secretary General of CARICOM)
Email your opinions, letters and commentaries to: letters@caribmagplus.com