As countries prepare to revamp the way the world reviews progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a high-level UN committee pointed to data gaps, analysis of global megatrends and Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) as the critical areas for improvement.

UN DESA convenes the Executive Committee on Economic and Social Affairs Plus (ECESA Plus), comprising 54 international organizations from the UN system and beyond, to ensure greater coherence and connection between the various workstreams within the United Nations.

Meeting at the closing of the annual High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), the ECESA Plus members discussed ways of improving this global platform for the review of SDG progress and the urgent actions to accelerate action for the 2030 Agenda.

The Committee members pointed to the lack of quality, disaggregated data as the principal stumbling block, both for achieving the SDGs and for reporting on progress. They also discussed specific project, where collaboration by all ECESA Plus members could improve the statistical capacity globally.

The Committee Members also commended this year’s HLPF for including global megatrends – especially on population growth, ageing and migration – into this year’s discussions. They highlighted the need for better understanding of those megatrends to adjust country actions for the SDGs.

As the world prepares for a week of five critical meetings in September, including the UN Climate Action Summit and the SDG Summit, the ECESA Plus members vowed to cooperate closely on preparing these events that could provide the much-needed impetus to global action on climate change and sustainable development.