Advancing the dialogue with development partners for external assistance in official statistics
A meeting of the members of the Sectoral Council for External Assistance (SCAE) in the field of official statistics took place on 10 October this year. The discussions focused on the assessment of external assistance needs for the development of the National Statistical System (NSS) in the coming period, as well an overview on the progress of the official statistics sector, especially on the assistance provided by the external partners.
Mr. Oleg Cara the General Director of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Chair of the Council, welcomed and thanked the development partners for their support provided for NBS and for their constant interest regarding the importance of the official statistics. He expressed his conviction that the alignment of the NSS to the European standards can be achieved only through a strong and constant cooperation with the development partners.
Attending the meeting, Mr. Simon Springett, Resident Coordinator of the United Nations Organization (UN) in the Republic of Moldova, Co-Chair of the SCAE, reiterated the importance of statistical data for policy-making and the need to align with international standards and best practices in the field, appreciating the progress made by the NBS in providing to the internal and external users with reliable, globally comparable statistics.
For their part, the representatives of the development partners who were attending the SCAE meeting expressed their commitment in supporting the process of improving official statistics.
The meeting reviewed the main results achieved in recent years in the framework of technical assistance projects in official statistics implemented with the financial support of the European Union, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), German International Cooperation Agency (GIZ), Government of Romania, Government of India, etc.
Priorities and technical assistance necessary for the implementation of the National Statistical System Development Programme (NSSDP) 2023-2026 were also presented. It should be mentioned that the main objectives included in the NSSDP will support the Government's efforts regarding the implementation, monitoring and final assessment of the impact of the National Development Strategy "European Moldova 2030", as well as the implementation of the Global Agenda for Sustainable Development and sectoral policies.
Another topic of discussions was the presentation of the current situation of the 2024 Population and Housing Census (PHC) in which the main achievements accomplished so far were discussed. A significant role in the preparation of the PHC was made by the Population and Housing Pilot Census which was carried out between 28 August to 10 October 2023. In this pilot programme, the NBS received assistance from the development partners under the project "Support to the National Bureau of Statistics in conducting the 2024 Population and Housing Census", funded by the European Union and co-funded by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
On the other hand, were pointed a series of previous actions that have received support from the development partners such as technical assistance in the initial assessment of relevant administrative data sources for census purposes, approval of the legal framework for the development of the census informational system, conducting the internal audit of the compliance and security of the processing of personal data, partial provision of modern equipment in the field of data collection, also including the development of the geo-referenced database on buildings and dwellings with the use of an online application that was adapted to the needs of the NBS with the support of the European Union.
The SCAE members discussed the further needs for technical assistance for the implementation of the NSSDP and the PHC.
Note: The Sector Council for External Assistance in Official Statistics is an advisory body, without the status of a legal entity, created in accordance with Government Decision No 377/2018 on "Regulation of the institutional framework and mechanism for coordination and management of external assistance", based on the principle of partnership between the National Bureau of Statistics, as coordinator of the National Statistical System, external development partners active in the sector, the national authority for coordination of external assistance, other relevant national institutions. The Council aims to make the use of external assistance more efficient by facilitating communication and participation of all stakeholders in the decision-making process on programming and monitoring of external assistance projects and programs in the field of official statistics.
The SCAE Regulation, the nominal composition and more other details can be found on the NBS website under International Cooperation / Sector Council for External Assistance in Official Statistics.
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