Trinidad and Tobago’s Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of the People, Social Development and Family Services, Dr. Natalie Chaitan-Maharaj, says, “Statistics can’t just remain in reports but must translate into action that changes lives.” The Parliamentary Secretary was speaking at ECLAC’s Calculate to Eradicate – Symposium on Statistics for Poverty Reduction in the Caribbean, which took place on the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.

Dr. Chaitan-Maharaj also took the opportunity to note her government’s approach to ensuring that no one is left behind. “There must be evidence-based social policy. Standard means tests can help be more equitable and responsive to current social realities… We are strengthening the national social protection system and working on new evidence-based interventions for the most vulnerable.” The Parliamentary Secretary says her government has the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) firmly in its vision.

“As we move towards 2030, the urgency to act is stronger. Poverty is about dignity and inclusion… Poverty is a human rights issue. This year’s theme reminds us that poverty is more than material lack, but resilience, respect for the individual.”

Speaking about the upcoming publication of ECLAC’s new study, Director of ECLAC Caribbean, Miosotis Rivas Peña, said, 

“As the work details, measurement of poverty in the Caribbean is not comparable across countries. It is also infrequent. New surveys often reset the poverty line, therefore making it difficult to compare with previous years within the same country.” The study is entitled Measurement of Monetary Poverty in the Caribbean – An Assessment of the Comparability of Caribbean Poverty Statistics. Director Rivas Peña continued, “While nearly every country has produced some estimates, these are often infrequent and methodologically inconsistent, making it difficult to track progress or design effective interventions.”

Also speaking at the event was the Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme in Trinidad and Tobago, Ugo Blanco. He believes that the Caribbean can also look toward newer methods to get accurate data in a timely manner.

“It is about political will and requires strong capacity… with new technologies, use of AI, mobile data and collection systems. We need to push for this innovation and move from these models and use new systems.” While he stressed the importance of statistics, he also highlighted the humanity of people on the poverty line. “How can we support these households to move beyond the line? Each piece of data has a face and a family and a life or two, three, four, or five.”

The Calculate to Eradicate Symposium was a partnership between ECLAC Caribbean, the World Bank, the Caribbean Development Bank, KoboToolbox, and the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies (SALISES) of the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine.

Also featured at the symposium was a photographic exhibition by Azriel Bahadoor — Poor Man’s Living Room, a depiction to humanize the homeless. Bahadoor spent five years collecting over 3,500 photographs and stories to produce the book and exhibition Poor Man’s Living Room.