STAKEHOLDER GROUP ON AGEING
Statement at the PGA Informal Consultations with Stakeholders on
follow-up and review of 2030 Agenda
1 April 2016
My name is Frances Zainoeddin, representing the Stakeholder Group on Ageing. We bring the voice of global and national networks of organizations concerned with issues of ageing to the SDG process. We shall speak on the question of inclusivity and enrichment of the work of the HLPF.
We believe that Leaving No One Behind means including everyone, from cradle to grave. As Bishop Desmond Tutu said, we do not lose our rights as we age.
We would like to see governments viewing civil society as catalysts, implementers and partners, not only as watchdogs. We would like better information flow down to community level, to enable the flow of information back up to the national level.
Currently the Stakeholder Group on Ageing is taking forward the process of follow-up and review in various ways:
1. Surveying our members and affiliates awareness of the SDGs, current level of engagement, knowledge of national reviews, level of collaboration with their government, collaboration with other NGOs, and what help they require for implementation of the SDGS. We will bring these findings to the HLPF consideration of stakeholder involvement.
2. Encouraging our members and affiliates to engage in national dialogues - one example is in Kenya where SGA member HelpAge sits within the leadership of the SDG forum and participates in government dialogues;
3. Prioritizing information sharing about the SDGs – eg in Kenya its SDG Forum has plans to increase level of awareness among communities about SDGs, and our network members are spreading information through communications and programmes;
4. Engaging fully in the discussions on indicators and disaggregated data. The data systems which underpin the indicators are currently not fit for purpose; they must collect, analyse and report data across the life course, by income, gender, age, race, ethnicity, migratory status, disability, geographic location and other characteristics relevant in national contexts, as reflected in target 17.18 of the 2030 Agenda.
Going forward we would want to see:
1. Leadership and political will from the highest levels of government to ensure cross-sectoral implementation of SDGs across all ministries;
2. A national coordinating unit in each country to coordinate and report on implementation with full engagement by civil society;
3. National budgets showing level of investment for implementing targets.
4. Baseline data and information with disaggregated data sources for each Goal and Target, from which to proceed, according to national priorities;
5. Improvements in qualitative data reporting;
6. Strengthened collaboration with UN agencies, development organizations and civil society to generate reliable data and information.
For reporting we think that -
1. Innovative practices are needed to include a range of creative methods that bring out real experiences – through photography, videos, audio accounts, etc.
2. Evidence and data can include real-time data from different sources – including mobile phones, money transfer services and web-based technologies
3. National reports should include a review of the impact of national policies and programmes on all social groups, with meaningful participation of all people, including older people, in their formulation.
We offer these proposals to enrich the work of HLPF in its discussions on global, regional and national reports and trust they be considered useful for inclusion in the resolution on follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda, to be approved at the close of these informal consultations.
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