Summary of Recommendations and Conclusions of the Technical Working Group Meeting to Review the Proposed Indicators for the Measurement of the Caribbean Special Millennium Development Goals and Targets
ATTACHMENT TO
SCCS/2008/33/12
SUMMARY
OF
RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS
OF THE
TECHNICAL WORKING GROUP MEETING TO REVIEW THE
PROPOSED INDICATORS FOR THE MEASUREMENT OF THE CARIBBEAN SPECIAL MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS AND TARGETS
Bridgetown, Barbados
28-30 January, 2008
GOALS/TARGETS / CDB/UNIFEM PROPOSED INDICATORS / RECOMMENDATION / JUSTIFICATION/ REMARKS /Goal 1
Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger / Indicators 1 - 9
Target 1
Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who fall below the poverty line. / 1
Proportion of households living below the poverty line, by sex of Head of Household / Revised
Two indicators are proposed -
(i) Proportion of population living below the poverty line, by sex;
(ii) Proportion of house-holds living below the poverty line, by sex of Head of Household. / $1 (PPP) a day limit is thought not to be relevant to the Region.
More value can be gained by looking at this indicator by household and by population since the number of persons in a household varies. Implications for individual income/expenditure versus Household income/ expenditure.
CARICOM/UNIFEM introduced “population” and added “ by sex”
2
Poverty gap ratio, by sex / Agreed / This indicator is in the CDB list. CARICOM/UNIFEM has added “ by sex”
3
Share of poorest quintile in national consumption, by sex / Agreed / This indicator is in the CDB list. CARICOM/UNIFEM has added “by sex”.
Goal 1
Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger (cont’d) / 4
Proportion of employed living in households that are below the poverty line, by sex (of head of household); / Revised
Proportion of employed living in households with a household per capita income which is below the poverty line, by sex of head of household. / Even though the term head of household is subject to debate within the region, looking at data on the head of household will provide flags to situations requiring further probing. (applies to all indicators by sec of head of household)
Target 3 – (NEW Target) Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of persons without access to basic services / 7
Proportion of the population with access to electricity by sex of head of household; / Revised
Proportion of households with access to electricity by sex of head of household. / Policy that would effect change would need to consider households.
8
Proportion of house-holds using pit latrines by sex of head of household; / Agreed
Target 4 - (NEW Target) Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of persons living in inadequate housing. / 9
Proportion of Population living in inadequate housing by sex of head of household; / Exclude pending further research / Further research required.
Need to define the term ‘inadequate housing’; possibly by formulation of A standard housing quality index within the region as suggested by The Bahamas. Further research required to formulate this indicator.
A Housing Quality Index can be derived in order to measure adequate housing, once Caribbean countries can agree on a list of variables. Subsequently, housing conditions across regions and quintiles can be compared. (Consultancy required.)
Goal 2 - Achieve Universal Primary Education / Indicators 10 - 20 / Revised Goal
Goal 2 Achieve Universal Primary and Secondary Education / It is stated that Universal Primary Education has been achieved in the Region (but still requires monitoring) hence the focus should be on the achievement of Universal Secondary Education.
Target 5 - Ensure that by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary and secondary schooling up to Grade 12 / Revised target
Target 5 - Ensure that by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary and secondary schooling up to Form 5 / Should read “Form 5.”
10
Net Enrolment ratio in primary education, by sex / Agreed
11
School attendance among primary school children, by sex. (NEW). / Revised
School attendance among primary and secondary school children by sex and grade/form.
. / Measures attendance/ absenteeism
Definition required for school attendance.
Suggestion: Present (in all classes in a given day) 100%, 75% to 99%, 50 to 74%, 30–49%, Less than 30% per year/term.
12
Proportion of pupils starting grade 1 who reach grade 5, by sex / Agreed
Goal 2 Achieve Universal Primary Education
(cont’d) / 13
Net enrolment ratio in secondary education by sex (NEW) / Agreed / Need to monitor enrolment in secondary school.
14
Proportion of pupils who reach Grade 12 (5th Form) in secondary school by sex; / Revised
Proportion of students starting form 1 who reach form 5 in secondary schools by sex / Measuring dropouts in secondary schools by sex
15.
Proportion of students who matriculate at Grade 12 with passes in at least two subjects English (or official language of country) and Maths by sex / Revised
Proportion of students who complete secondary school at form 5 with passes in at least two subjects English (or official language of country) and in Maths by sex / Change ‘matriculate’ to ‘complete secondary school’
Measure of performance by sex
To include those completing form 5 who sat and passed these subjects in Form 4.
Suggested rewording –
Proportion of students who complete secondary school at Form 5 by number of subjects passed inclusive of English and Mathematics.
Goal 2 - Achieve Universal Primary Education
(cont’d) / Pass rates in CXC subject areas (English and Mathematics) by sex (CARICOM/UNIFEM) / Exclude / Can be measured by Indicator 15 under Goal 2.
16.
Literacy rate of 15-24 year olds by sex / Revised
Literacy rate of persons 15-24 years by sex / Harmonised and more accurate data collection required such as conduct of the Literacy Assessment and Monitoring Programme (LAMP) with UNESCO
Illiteracy rate of 15-24 year olds, by sex (CARICOM/UNIFEM) / Exclude / Indicator 16 reflects illiteracy but conduct of LAMP required indicated in remarks above.
16
Functional literacy rate of 15-24 year olds, by sex (UNIFEM) / Exclude / Not clear as to what is meant by “Functional”. However the LAMP methodology would provide greater clarity and interpretation of literacy from basic reading, writing, and numeracy to high level literacy skills to enable full participation in a learning society.
17.
Number of primary and secondary schools addressing gender stereotyping in the curriculum / Revised
Proposed alternative indicators
17 (i). Proportion of students in secondary schools in 5th form by sex enrolled in science and technical subjects
17(ii). Proportion of teachers trained in the area of gender sensitisation
17 (iii) Average number of times per year that schools employ a gender sensitisation programme.
OR
17(iv) Proportion of schools implementing a gender- sensitisation programme
17(v) Average number of gender sensitisation programmes conducted per school per year / Indicator as proposed by both CDB and CARICOM/UNIFEM lacks clarity and therefore is difficult to measure.
The proposed indicators and goal are more appropriate in Goal 3 to promote gender equality
(Indicators 17 A and 17 B are recommended for immediate collection and the: others to be phased in over time)
New suggested indicators post meeting.
Goal 2 - Achieve Universal Primary Education (cont’d) / 18
Percentage of schools with age appropriate curricula (NEW) / Revised – further research required
Proposed Indicators -
(i) Proportion of children in class by average age of class and by sex;
(ii) Proportion above average age and proportion below average age by sex / Indicator is not clear
Needs further clarification and development of term ‘age-appropriate curricula’.
Proposed indicators look at age and not at “curricula”
“official” age of class suggested replacement instead of average
Proportion of children with ages above/below official age of class
19
Percentage of trained teachers in primary and secondary schools / Revised
Percentage of trained teachers in primary and secondary schools by sex / Include “by sex”.
Quality assessment of education system and gender equality is possible
20
Average number of children in class by grade by school / Revised
Average class size by grade/ form / Include ‘form’ and change ‘number of children in class’ to ‘class size’
Measures overcrowding and shows quality of education
For international reporting indicator should be average class size by form
For national level use a further disaggregation by school is more useful
Target 6 - (NEW Target)
Ensure that, by 2015 pre-school age children have universal access to early childhood education (CARICOM/UNIFEM) / Number of children attending early childhood education institutions, by sex (CARICOM/UNIFEM) / Agreed
Goal 3:
Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women / Indicators 21- 34
21
Ratio of girls to boys in primary, secondary and tertiary enrolment; / Agreed
22
Ratio of literate women to men of 12-24 years; / Agreed
23
Proportion of Students who take Maths and Science examinations at Grade 12, by sex; / Revised
Proportion of Students who take Mathematics and at least one of the Sciences in examinations (CXC or equivalent) at 5th Form by sex. / The term 5th Form is more standard throughout the region than Grade 12
[Comment: Need to specify list of Science subjects for measurement across Member States]
24.
Share of women in wage employment in the non-agricultural sector; / Agreed
25
Average national income of men and women by sector of employment; / Revised
Average earned income (gross) of men and women by industrial group / Average National Income is the same as Per Capita GDP and it is difficult to disaggregate it by sex.
26
Employed persons by occupational status by sex; / Revised
Composition of the Employed persons by occupational status and sex. / Perhaps it can be more specific – Composition of employed persons in selected occupational
groups by sex
27
Proportion of seats by women in national parliament; / Revised
Proportion of seats held by women in national parliament. / Minor revision
28
Proportion of women holding office in local government; / Agreed
29
Proportion of women in decision-making positions / Agreed / To specify these positions e.g. Judges, Magistrates, Permanent Secretaries, Heads of Departments, Managerial positions in private com- panies, principals/headmistresses etc.
Target 9 - (NEW Target) Reduce, by 2015, all forms of gender-based violence / 30
Incidence of reported physical abuse by sex of the abused. / Agreed
Goal 3 -
Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women (Cont’d) / 31
Existence of integrated national action plans to eliminate gender based violence by 2010; / Exclude / Existence or non-existence of an integrated national action plan does not imply achievement of goal or targets therein.
Development of integrated national action plans to eliminate gender based violence by 2010 (CARICOM/UNIFEM) / Exclude [further indicators to develop arising out of this “target’] / Development of action plans is not an indicator, but a target to be monitored – Further research is required to define some impact/ outcome indicators of this item.
[Indicator was not in CDB list ]
32
Type of crime by age and sex of offender and age and sex of victim / Revised
Proposed indicators -
32. (i) Selected major crimes by age and sex of arrested offender;
32 (ii) Selected major crimes by age and sex of victim. / Types of crime should be limited to selected ‘major crimes’ which should be clearly defined e.g. Murder, Rape, Robbery, etc. rather than have an exhaustive list of crimes that may not give value to goal and targets therein.
Indicator was too complex.
33
Age and sex of persons who report experiencing physical violence in the past year at the hands of an intimate partner; / Revised
Age and sex of persons who report experiencing physical violence in the past 12 months at the hands of an intimate partner; / Change past year to past 12 months.
To avoid misinterpretation of time period/provide greater clarity of reference period.
34
Percentage of sexual assault cases completed through the court process in a 12-month period of the date of charge; / Revised
Split into two indicators:
34(i) Percentage of sexual assault cases completed through the court process in the past 12 months;
34(ii) Average time (in months or years) it takes for a sexual assault case to be completely processed through the courts from the date of charge. / Data on how soon and how many cases of sexual assault are completed
through the courts are better indications of achievement of this goal.
[min or max or median no of months/ time]
Goal 4 - Reduce Child mortality
Target 1 - Reduce by 2/3s between 1990 and 2015 the under-five mortality rate / Indicators 35-39 / Goal 4 - Reduce Child mortality
Target 1 - Reduce by 2/3s between 1990 and 2015 the under-five mortality rate
35
Under 5 mortality rate by sex / Agreed
36
Infant mortality rate by sex / Agreed
Child mortality rate, by sex (CARICOM/UNIFEM) / Agreed
37
Proportion of children 1-5 years of age who have received complete immunisation coverage (BCG, 3 doses DPT and oral polio, MMR) / Agreed / Account for other childhood illnesses
Reflects the performance of Health
system
Proportion of children fully immunised, by sex
(CARICOM/UNIFEM) / Exclude / Indicator can be covered under Indicator 37 which is more clearly formulated
38
Number of children injured through, violence by sex and age. / Exclude. / Indicator is not related to target
It is not an indicator used to measure child mortality, but can be used as a measure for possible causes of mortality and may be better –positioned as a supplementary (optional) indicator
39.
Number of children killed through violence, by sex and age of victim and perpetrator / Revised
Suggested Change (split into two indicators):
39(i) Number of deaths of children through violence by sex and age of victim.
39(ii) Number of deaths of children by sex and age of perpetrator. / Points directly to death of child and types of violent crime committed against children resulting in death
Goal 5 - Improve maternal health
Target 11 - Reduce by ¾ between 1990 and 2015 the maternal mortality ratio.