Introduction

In September 2000, member states of the United Nations (UN) gathered at the Millennium Summit to affirm commitments towards reducing poverty and the worst forms of human deprivation. The Summit adopted the UN Millennium Declaration which embodies specific targets and milestones in eliminating extreme poverty worldwide.

To help track progress in the attainment of the 8 goals and 18 targets of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) over the period 1990 to 2015, experts from the United Nations Secretariat and International Monetary Fund (IMF), Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and the World Bank identified and selected a set of time-bound and measurable indicators. Data series on the 48 MDG indicators are compiled to provide the basis for the preparation of progress reports by member states of the United Nations (UN) on the implementation of the UN Millennium Declaration. 

The Philippines, as one of the signatories in the UN Millennium Declaration, has come up with the first (May 2003) and second (June 2005) Philippines Progress Reports on the Millennium Development Goals, which not only define where the country is relative to the MDGs, but also outline the challenges that have to be overcome in order to attain these goals. The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) prepared the reports, through the collaborative efforts of the Multi-Sectoral Committee on International Human Development Commitments (MC-IHDC) and the Social Development Committee (SDC).

In further support on MDGs and institutionalizing the monitoring process on MDG indicators, the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) issued Resolution #10 series of 2004 designating the NSCB as repository of MDG indicators. As such, NSCB compiled the available statistics from various sources needed in monitoring the country’s progress towards the attainment of the MDGs. Likewise, the NSCB, in partnership with data sources and other stakeholders, several fora were conducted, such as (1) MDG Indicators Consultative Meeting in June 2004, which provided the basis for the formulation of an MDGs country action plan and MDGs Statistical Development Program (SDP), 2005-2010; (2) MDG Indicators: Establishing the MDG Data System & Network in October 2004 which presented the infrastructure and mechanisms for the compilation and reporting of statistics on the MDG Indicators at the national and subnational/local levels and; (3) MDG Indicators: Users-Producers’ Forum in January 2006 which talked about the advocacy on the use/significance of MDGs and StatDev indicators in monitoring country’s progress in attaining goals and targets of MDGs and MTPDP and served as a kick off activity of the statistical capacity building for upgrading statistical capacities of the MDGs data sources and stakeholders to generate, validate and update MDG indicators and elicit the cooperation of the data sources on the said activity.

 NSCB Resolution # 10 series of 2004 also lays down the mechanisms for the continuous improvement of the MDG indicators to include the localization of the MDGs. Meeting the requirements of the MDGs will entail collaborative efforts of major stakeholders – the national and local government units as well as the private sectors through related interventions geared toward mainstreaming the MDGs in the local development agenda. Furthermore, NSCB recognized and enjoined support to the Community-Based Monitoring System, through NSCB Resolution # 6 series of 2005, as a tool for strengthening the statistical system at the local level that will generate statistics for monitoring and evaluation of local development plans, including the progress of the local governments in attaining the Millennium Development Goals.