The Rights of Women and Youth in Turkmenistan's Future

Government partners gathered at a roundtable to discuss the methodology of SDGs data collection and analysis in the area of reproductive health, gender equality, youth development and data. The meeting was co-led by UNFPA and the State Statistics Committee (SSC) of Turkmenistan.  

Ms. Gozel Mosheva, Representative of the State Statistics Committee, gave an overview of Turkmenistan’s active part in the global consultations on adopting the SDGs and the ongoing work in adapting the SDG targets and indicators to match the national context. Ms. Mosheva noted that the Government of Turkmenistan, with support from the United Nations agencies, has adopted all 17 goals, its 169 global targets, as well as 39 additional national targets. SSC representative further elaborated on responsibility of the relevant ministries in integrating and monitoring the SDG targets and indicators in the area of reproductive health, gender equality, youth and data. The consultations continue on the targets that will require intersectoral engagement. 

The concept of Big Data was presented by Mr. Dovran Yamatov, UNFPA National Programme Associate on Population and Development and Gender Equality. Mr. Yamatov stimulated a discussion on challenges and possibilities of using the Big Data in monitoring the Sustainable Development Goals in Turkmenistan. 

Big Data is large volume of digital information that reveal the behavior of people taken from multiple sources, including online news and social media, trends in online search, mobile phone usage or even transaction records. Following the principles of data privacy and personal data protection, the Big Data analytics can positively contribute to sustainable development and monitoring the Global Goals.

For instance, according to the United Nations Global Pulse, UN Secretary-General’s innovative initiative on Big Data, mapping the movement of mobile phone users can help predict the spread of infectious diseases, contributing to SDG 3 on good health and well-being. Analysis of financial transactions can reveal the spending patterns and different impacts of economic shocks on men and women, contributing to the SDG 5 and targets on gender equality. Better use of data for sustainable development can be achieved through partnerships to enable the combining of statistics, mobile and internet data that can provide a better and real-time understanding of today’s hyper-connected world.

“UNFPA, as one of the world’s largest supporters of population data collection, believes that data can inform and increase the effectiveness of investments in health and rights of the women and young people,” said Mr. Yamatov. “The importance of today’s round-table is the discussion among the national stakeholders on the ways forward and actions toward monitoring the progress of SDGs in Turkmenistan in the area of data for development, gender equality, reproductive health of women and young people. We at UNFPA stand ready to continue our partnership with the Government in equipping with the monitoring tools and methodologies to help integrate the global goals and targets into the national plans and strategies.”