Description
Many international development agendas highlight the importance of quality data for sustainable development. With the advent of the data revolution for sustainable development, stakeholders have underscored the value of timely, usable data in informing decision-making and for monitoring progress and evaluating outcomes, be it in relation to national development planning or as regards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and other international development agendas. Crucially, the COVID-19 pandemic, more than anything else in recent times, has demonstrated the value of timely production and dissemination of data for decision-making. In the Caribbean, at the national and subregional levels, COVID-19 has not only been a public health matter but has also become a socioeconomic issue with many ramifications for how societies operate. As governments tackle the challenges posed by the pandemic and its aftermath, statistics have been one of the essential tools employed by governments to educate citizens about the risks posed by the pandemic and the severe consequences of contracting the COVID-19 disease.