The Millennium Development Goals (MDG) workgroup, guided by the Department of the Interior Affairs and Kingdom Relations (BAK), with the support of the Department of Statistics (STAT), has been collecting data on the eight MDGs for the last couple of months.
The eight MDGs are: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; Achieve universal primary education; Promote gender equality and empower women; Reduce child mortality; Improve maternal health; Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; Ensure environmental sustainability; and Develop a global partnership for development.
This data collection phase is critical, due to the fact that valuable information is needed from the ministries and several institutions in order to report on the MDG indicators.
The data will only be used by government to respond to the indicators of the MDGs so that Sint Maarten is able to provide an update to the 2011 MDG report and fulfill one of the obligations Sint Maarten has towards its people and the international community of nations.
The data will also be used in an online human development database (DevInfo) system for Sint Maarten to facilitate the making of policy plans, needed to bring the country steps forward in its national development.
Country Sint Maarten also needs to report on the state of those MDG-goals to the United Nations (UN) in 2014, based on the Millennium Declaration the Netherlands signed in 2000 which applies to the countries within the Dutch Kingdom.
Data collection has been done mainly within government, but a great part of the data needed is stored at some institutions.
The Prime Minister who is responsible for the MDG process which falls under the Ministry of General Affairs, therefore, requests the full cooperation of those institutions on this data collection process, in providing the required data.
These institutions that come from the health, gender, education, and environment related sectors have already been sent a letter from the Prime Minister with a follow-up coming from Drs. L. Morales (of Department of Interior Affairs and Kingdom Relations) and the Department of Statistics.
Representatives from both departments will be visiting the entities within the coming weeks. The main purpose of the visit will be to facilitate a smooth transition of information by discussing and explaining the process after which the institutions will receive a reasonable period in which to deliver the requested information.
In 2011 the first MDG report for Sint Maarten and Curacao was published. Since that year, Sint Maarten is using this report as a baseline for the formulation of a National Development Plan (NDP).
The process of data collection for the MDG’s has been started in order to sustain the three year program ‘Building a Nation: St. Maarten’s National Development Plan and Institutional Strengthening’.
For more information, regarding the MDG process, interested institutions and others can call Drs. L.R. Morales at 542-0896 or write to na*****************@si************.org