Discussing the measurement of poverty and inequality in the OECS region

Members States were informed of the activities undertaken since the last LSMC meeting which was held in Dominica in April 2017. The main outcomes of the Tenth LSMC included the endorsement of the revised LSMC Terms of Reference, approval of the Enhanced CPA bi- annual project status report and the quarterly financial reports for period ending June and September 2017.

The meeting recognized the impact of hurricanes Irma and Maria on the OECS Member States and the implementation of the Sustainable Household Data collection Programme. Countries informed the meeting of ways in which these hurricanes have delayed the conduct of surveys. In this regard, Mr. Elbert Ellis, the CDB representative, informed the meeting of the bank’s willingness to provide additional financial and technical support to countries. He also informed the meeting that the need for pyscho-social support will also be considered.

Ms. Cherise Adjoha, UNDP representative, in her presentation to the meeting, expressed the need to include additional indicators in the survey questionnaires to adequately cover what is required under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the MPI. The need to be more “child responsive and gender equality responsive” was also brought to the forefront. Additional areas discussed included, the Survey of Living Conditions-Household Budget Survey Questionnaire (SLC- HBS), the workshop on Disability Statistics convened by CARICOM Secretariat in September 2017 and the Draft Research Agenda.

The LSMC is a sub-regional committee established by the OECS Member States to discuss the work for the measurement of poverty and inequality in the OECS region. Its main responsibility is to contribute to the production of up-to-date, harmonised data and data analysis for labour, poverty and inequality measurement across the OECS countries. Participants consisted of the Member States of the OECS region, development partners and staff of the OECS Commission.