Belize Statistical System Secures $3.4 Million Dollar Grant

Today, the Government of Belize signed off on the biggest grant the Statistical Institute of Belize has ever received. The three point four million dollar grant was established through the United Nations Development Programme and the Korea International Cooperation Agency, which are seeking to strengthen Belize’s national infrastructure and institutional capacity for data and statistical management. The “Enabling of Belize’s Statistical System” project, which is part of a larger Record of Discussion Arrangement with the Government of Belize, will be implemented from 2024 to 2027 and is a joint initiative involving six government ministries and five United Nations agencies. Here’s News Five’s Britney Gordon with more information.

 

Britney Gordon, Reporting

The Enabling of Belize’s Statistical System project is a newly established endeavour between the Statistical Institute of Belize, the United Nations Development Programme, and the Korea International Cooperation Agency meant to improve the capacity of Belize’s system to provide relevant, accurate, and timely data to support evidence-based solutions. According to the World Bank, Belize’s statistical capacity score is ranked at fifty-eight point nine. Improving the score is a necessary endeavour in developing countries such as Belize because a lack of data can be a significant obstacle that impedes the ability of the government and partners to develop informed policies and responsive plans. Prime Minister John Briceño spoke about the severity of this issue.

 

Prime Minister John Briceño

“S.I.B. produces very important and critical information for us policymakers because it allows us to make informed decisions as opposed to emotional decisions. It provides us an insight that just the numbers can talk to, can explain Into the various aspect of our country’s economy, the society, the environment. And it enables us as a government to be able to develop effective policies and to allocate our resources  effectively. SIB will strengthen as just as and, as I explained, it’s capacity to collect the data and strengthen their national statistical reporting. Which in turn will help us to be able to track our progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals as set out by the United Nations.”

According to the Prime Minister, the government will be able to better track and respond to information regarding poverty within the country.

 

Prime Minister John Briceño

“One of the more important goals that we’ve had was the issue of poverty in our country. As I’ve always said from when I was the Minister of Environment between 1998 and 2007 that the biggest challenge in the environment is poverty. If we can’t address the issue of poverty, then our environment is going to pay the price. Because people can’t wait a month or a week to eat. They need to eat every day. And they’ll do what it takes. If they have to go and do illegal fishing and cut the lagoon, cut down the trees, they’ll do it.”

 

Ian King, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Belize, stressed the importance of data, saying that it is seen as a development enabler that can empower governments and communities to enhance their national statistical system to be adaptive and resilient.

 

Ian King, Deputy Resident Representative, UNDP Belize

“Collectively, we are all aiming to improve and upgrade Belize’s statistical infrastructure, strengthen the data governance architecture, and strengthen both the SIB. And expand SIBs and the national statistical systems capabilities to respond to increasing demand for data and statistics. Though not expressly defined here, I do believe that one of our expectations  is strengthened interoperability between the various nodes of government that generate and manage data to ensure that there is a more comprehensive,  I say more comprehensive, not that there’s not, but that there’s a more comprehensive approach to that and decision making based on evidence..”

 

The project aims to improve and upgrade Belize’s statistical infrastructure, strengthen the data governance architecture, strengthen both SIB and its data nodes, and expand SIB’s and the National Statistical System’s capabilities to respond to increasing demand for data and statistics. Sohui Cho, Country Director of KOICA , in El Salvador, expressed her excitement for the initiative.

 

Sohui Cho, Country Director, KOICA El Salvador.

“I am delighted to be here today to set the cornerstone of our first bilateral project, the enabling of Belize statistical system. This is the result of joint and continued efforts from the Belizean government, the United Nations, and the Korean government through KOICA to strive for the sustainable development of Belize. As was planned since the beginning, one of the biggest challenges of this project is that it involves a wide variety of stakeholders. The potential that can be unlocked by working for a shared goal is unlimited. At the very same time, we acknowledge the great importance of the coordination efforts that this journey will require, and that is why we are delighted to express our utmost trust to UNDP, Belize, and SIB to lead this project to successful completion”

 

Britney Gordon for News Five.