Katell Le Goulven, the Chief of Policy Planning at UNICEF Headquarters explains why data is central to UNICEF's work for children , as illustrated by the stories in this blog.
- Accounting for the growing number of children orphaned by Ebola in the middle of Guinea’s dense rain-forest helps bring them the care and support they desperately need.
- The field of early childhood development is being redesigned thanks to recent evidence from neuroscience demonstrating how nature and nurture are inextricably linked during the early development of the human brain.
- New data shows that child mortality rates are falling faster than ever in part due to affordable, evidence-based interventions against the main infectious diseases. I could go on…
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| In Rukoro neighbourhood, Musanze, Rwanda, cell phones powered RapidSMS are being used to register and monitor expecting mothers. If there are any questions, complications or updates, health workers simply send a text to their local clinic and receive a response within minutes. © UNICEF/RWAA2011-00482/Noorani |
Investments in data
on children were bolstered a couple of decades ago by the World
Summit for Children where world leaders
committed to “establish appropriate mechanisms for the regular and timely
collection, analysis and publication of data required to monitor relevant
social indicators relating to the well-being of children”. And, later on, by
the Millennium Development Goals.
Advancements since
then have been significant. In 1990, 29 low- and middle-income countries had
trend data on child malnutrition. Today 107 do, largely thanks to data collected
via increasingly sophisticated household surveys.
More recently, the
digital age ushered forth an era when the amount of data is rising
exponentially; new data analytics allow us to answer different types of
questions than was previously possible; and new technologies helps us do some
of what we do, faster and cheaper.
Mobile data helped report 18 million births in Nigeria in 2011-12,
and bring down the time to trace and reunify disaster-affected families in
Uganda from weeks to hours. SMS surveys have helped reduce malaria medicine
stock-outs by 80% in Uganda and young people are engaging in shaping decision
making on HIV/AIDS in Zambia.
The recently coined “data revolution” refers to the
potential of this ever-expanding and evolving data ecosystem to improve human
well-being. These opportunities, however, will not automatically translate into
something positive for all. To be sure, the data revolution also raises
fundamental rights issues related, for instance, to having an identity and
being accounted for, privacy, legitimate use, ownership, participation, and
equity and non-discrimination.
These, in turn,
question the suitability of our current data policies and governance
structures.
People’s well-being
should be at the heart of how these policies evolve. And particular attention
should be given to children and youth because many risks affect them more
specifically. Across the world, children and youth are growing up in a digital
world, and data about them will be tracked for much of their lives. While data
may help save the lives of many, others may not be aware that their interaction
with technology is creating profiles that could impact their future.
A few days ago, I
participated in a meeting of experts asked to prepare a
report on the data revolution for the UN
Secretary-General. During two days, specialists from the statistics, big data,
open data, academia and the UN worlds brainstormed on the definition of the
“data revolution” and its role to fill in persisting data gaps, to enhance
accountability, to track progress towards sustainable development and to
empower people.
While participants
brought different perspectives to the table, all acknowledged the role of data
as a key driver of sustainable development. Consultations held on the second
day put the spotlight on the role of data for fostering openness and inclusion
and unpacked the opportunities and challenges associated with big data.
These consultations
continue online. You can join the conversation and help design a data
revolution that works for the benefits of today’s children and of future
generations. Submit your ideas here.
Katell Le Goulven
is the Chief of Policy Planning at UNICEF Headquarters in New York.
This blog first appeared on the UNICEF Connect blog, here.
