ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (ILO News) - In the context of the Agenda 2030 and its SDG framework, countries need to intensify efforts to improve their national social protection monitoring and evaluation systems. “Robust national statistical systems on social protection are a necessary pre-condition to ensure adequate monitoring of progress at the national level”. This was highlighted by Mr Ali Kemal, Chief SDGs, Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, at the e-launch of Pakistan’s database on SDG indicator 1.3.1.

Data from 50 social protection agencies at the provincial and federal levels, covering 80 per cent of social protection programmes and schemes, have been included in the database. More than 200 representatives of social protection agencies have been trained on the use of the database.

Ms Ingrid Christensen, Country Director ILO Pakistan drew attention to the urgency of improving progress monitoring in the development of social protection systems, to follow the progress towards achieving the SDG target 1.3 “Implement nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all, including floors, and by 2030 achieve substantial coverage of the poor and the vulnerable”. The lack of robust statistical systems, including the scarcity of data on coverage gaps to determine groups left behind, as well as financing needs associated with addressing such gaps, puts at risk to the realization of the policy objectives inscribed in the 2030 Agenda, she added. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for social protection.

The launch of the database will give greater visibility to the range of social protection programmes being implemented and the data available in Pakistan. The database will provide in-depth statistics on various dimensions of social protection systems, including key indicators for national policy-makers, researchers on SDG monitoring. The database is an adaptation of the ILO Social Security Inquiry (SSI), guided by the ILO Standards on Social Protection.

The database was developed and launched in collaboration with the Federal SDG Unit (Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives) with the technical support of the project on, ‘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.