Continued strengthening of stakeholders on National Social Protection database
Series of trainings conducted to support the National Centralized database on Social Protection
ISLAMABAD (ILO News): The Ministry of Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives responsible for reporting progress on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in collaboration with the ILO convened a series of meetings to strengthen the capacity of social protection agencies and report on the status of coverage of social protection.
For effective horizontal and vertical coordination, the Ministry has developed a mechanism with relevant stakeholders for data collection and reporting on SDGs indicators by developing a dedicated SDGs dashboard to monitor the progress both at national and provincial levels. This data is populated from different sources, and the process of developing linkages with other databases of ministries has been initiated.
To this end, a number of orientation sessions were organized in the last quarter of 2020, and several agencies commenced data entry every quarter. However, for Pakistan to report on its SDGs commitments and, more specifically SDG 1.3.1 (Proportion of population covered by social protection floors/systems), specific capacity enhancements are required. To facilitate this, trainings were held for officials from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh wherein 45 officials from 22 social protection agencies focused on familiarizing users with the database, navigating through its features and hands-on data entry. Planning Departments demonstrated a strong commitment in both provinces in coordinating and organizing these sessions
The database allows end-users to update and add schemes and provide details on multiple dimensions of their implementation, such as segregation by gender, age, geographic division.
It is envisioned that a national report on SDG 1.3.1 will be launched in June 2021 by the Ministry with the support of the ILO.
These capacity strengthening efforts are financially and technically supported under the Project, ‘Achieving SDGs and Ending Poverty through Universal Social Protection’, supported under the UN Peace and Development Trust Fund by the Government of China and jointly implemented by UNDESA and the ILO.
The SDG 1.3.1 database is based on a simplified and harmonized reporting format designed keeping in mind the lifecycle approach and the nine branches of social security recommended by the ILO Convention on Social Security (Minimum Standards), C102. This database will be accessible to all social protection agencies to input data on coverage and other dimensions.
For effective horizontal and vertical coordination, the Ministry has developed a mechanism with relevant stakeholders for data collection and reporting on SDGs indicators by developing a dedicated SDGs dashboard to monitor the progress both at national and provincial levels. This data is populated from different sources, and the process of developing linkages with other databases of ministries has been initiated.
To this end, a number of orientation sessions were organized in the last quarter of 2020, and several agencies commenced data entry every quarter. However, for Pakistan to report on its SDGs commitments and, more specifically SDG 1.3.1 (Proportion of population covered by social protection floors/systems), specific capacity enhancements are required. To facilitate this, trainings were held for officials from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh wherein 45 officials from 22 social protection agencies focused on familiarizing users with the database, navigating through its features and hands-on data entry. Planning Departments demonstrated a strong commitment in both provinces in coordinating and organizing these sessions
The database allows end-users to update and add schemes and provide details on multiple dimensions of their implementation, such as segregation by gender, age, geographic division.
It is envisioned that a national report on SDG 1.3.1 will be launched in June 2021 by the Ministry with the support of the ILO.
These capacity strengthening efforts are financially and technically supported under the Project, ‘Achieving SDGs and Ending Poverty through Universal Social Protection’, supported under the UN Peace and Development Trust Fund by the Government of China and jointly implemented by UNDESA and the ILO.
Social Protection Data in Pakistan
Social Protection is one of the key priorities of the Government of Pakistan. This includes SDG indicator 1.3.1. pertaining to social protection. In Pakistan, government departments and institutions at the federal and provincial level provide different levels of social protection coverage. However, the data on social protection is scattered and needs consolidation for precise reporting. With the support of the ILO, the Ministry developed a national database anchored within the SDG dashboard to consolidate the social protection data.The SDG 1.3.1 database is based on a simplified and harmonized reporting format designed keeping in mind the lifecycle approach and the nine branches of social security recommended by the ILO Convention on Social Security (Minimum Standards), C102. This database will be accessible to all social protection agencies to input data on coverage and other dimensions.