What contribution can statistics make to achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on poverty reduction?
Statistics are a tool and not an end in themselves. Their importance resides in the fact that they enable an accurate image of reality to be painted on the basis of empirical data. They thus help politicians set an appropriate course. The MDGs quantify many of the targets that need to be met. They identify 48 indicators. That degree of precision makes the MDGs so attractive for statistics. For anyone who takes the MDGs seriously, statistics are a must. The UN summit in September showed that the goals and their attainment will not be verified by international appraisals but by the developing countries themselves. That has transferred a certain amount of ownership to those countries. What does that mean in practice? Where book-keeping is accurate and transparent, funds are easier to track. It is the only way to check whether money earmarked for schools is actually used for the intended purposes in the districts and municipalities. That is why good statistical data are essential for good
