International Day for the Eradication of Poverty: How Kobo and partners are collaborating for sustainable data-driven change

The Caribbean Development Bank’s (CDB) Basic Needs Trust Fund (BNTF), the World Bank, the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNECLAC), and Kobo are hosting the second hybrid observance of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty on Thursday, October 17, 2024.

This year’s event begins with a workshop on Improved Capacity for Data Collection and Analysis for Enhanced Project Monitoring and Evaluation, from October 14–18 in Jamaica. Key experts from the World Bank’s Geo-Enabling initiative for Monitoring and Supervision (GEMS) team and Kobo will jointly implement the workshop with over 60 participants from the BNTF, the United Kingdom Caribbean Infrastructure Partnership Fund, UNECLAC, Jamaica Social Investment Fund and Creative Industries Initiative, as well as other CDB project teams, representatives from community development agencies, and other partners.

The training will be followed by the online Symposium on October 17 which will highlight best practices and lessons learned while seeking to inspire and equip participants with practical strategies for implementing sustainable poverty reduction programs. The global theme for Poverty Eradication Day this year is Dignity for All in Practice.

“Based on the success of last year’s event, we decided to repeat the collaboration while also adding the capacity building element.” - Martin Baptiste, CDB’s Social Sector Division Chief

Mr. Baptiste went on to explain that collecting and analyzing data accurately is crucial for informed decision-making across various sectors, including poverty reduction, environmental protection, healthcare, education, and government. He also indicated that interventions such as the annual observance for the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (IDEP) allow for more targeted solutions to gain the development results that CDB is aiming for under their strategic objectives and priorities as well as maximizing Borrowing Member Country’s development goals.

“We are honored to have the opportunity to collaborate with the Caribbean Development Bank and the World Bank in their efforts for poverty eradication. Initiatives like the international observance play a critical role in empowering communities with access to data technology and supporting sustainable and impactful development.” - Tino Kreutzer, KoboToolbox Chief Operating and Innovation Officer

The Symposium will feature presentations by event partners on best practices and lessons learned from implementing projects to reduce poverty. It will also highlight the voices of vulnerable and beneficiary groups with selections from the BNTF, CDB’s premier poverty reduction program, and its Enhanced Country Poverty Assessment program.

“The GEMS initiative is part of the new World Bank Academy and aims to create a public good by creating capacity in digital development monitoring. We are delighted to cooperate with the CDB and [other partners to] jointly leverage field-appropriate technology to enhance project effectiveness, development coordination, and poverty reduction for our client countries.” - Bernhard Metz, Program Manager for the World Bank GEMS initiative

The UNECLAC team will be collaborating on the observance for the first time and will participate in panel discussions and the opening of the event with the other partners.

“The Caribbean subregion is usually characterized as data-poor, not so much because the data do not exist, but because the data available are not sufficiently disseminated. This challenge is more prominent for poverty data. By improving the technical capacity of countries to collect, analyze, and disseminate poverty data, national strategies for poverty reduction will be evidence-informed, thus increasing their likelihood to be more effective in eradicating poverty.” - Diane Quarless, UNECLAC Caribbean Director

UNECLAC was pleased to partner and to contribute to strengthening the capacity of Caribbean countries to collect and analyze data for enhanced project monitoring and evaluation through the workshop and symposium.

Registration information for the event is available here.

About the Caribbean Development Bank

The Caribbean Development Bank is a regional financial institution established in 1970 for the purpose of contributing to the harmonious economic growth and development of its Borrowing Member Countries (BMCs). In addition to the 19 BMCs, CDB’s membership includes four regional, non-borrowing members (Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and Venezuela) and five non-regional, non-borrowing members (Canada, China, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom). CDB’s total assets as of December 31, 2022, stood at US$3.46 billion (bn). These include US$2.06 bn of Ordinary Capital Resources and US$1.40 bn of Special Funds Resources. The Bank is rated Aa1 Stable by Moody’s, AA+ Stable by Standard & Poor’s, and AA+ Stable by Fitch Ratings. Read more at caribank.org.

For media inquiries, please contact indi.lafayette@caribank.org.

About the Geo-Enabling initiative for Monitoring and Supervision (GEMS)

The GEMS initiative aims to systematically enhance project monitoring and evaluation (M&E) and real-time risk management for development interventions. This is achieved by building capacity among government staff and development professionals on the ground to leverage field-appropriate, low-cost, and open source technology like KoboToolbox for digital data collection and analysis. GEMS has enabled over 1,000 projects in more than 100 countries to create customized digital M&E systems and enhance transparency and accountability across the project cycle. At the same time, GEMS provides platforms for remote supervision in real time, adaptive risk management, and coordination across projects, sectors, and partners.

Learn more about GEMS: www.worldbank.org/gems

About UNECLAC

The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean is one of the five regional Commissions of the United Nations. It was founded in 1948 with the purpose of contributing to the region’s economic and social development. Its mission includes the design, monitoring and evaluation of public policies and the provision of advisory services, expertise and training to Governments, as well as support for regional and international cooperation and coordination activities. The mission of the UNECLAC Subregional Headquarters for the Caribbean is to deepen the understanding of the development challenges facing the Caribbean and to contribute to solutions by conducting research and analysis and providing sound policy advice and technical assistance to Caribbean governments, focused on growth with equity and recognition of the subregion’s vulnerability.

About KoboToolbox

KoboToolbox is an open source platform for collecting, managing, and visualizing data. As the most widely used primary data collection tool in the nonprofit sector, it is the tool of choice for over 14,000 social impact organizations worldwide. In virtually every country around the world, KoboToolbox is used by organizations involved in humanitarian action, global development, environmental protection, peacebuilding, and human rights, as well as by public health institutes, research organizations, and education facilities. KoboToolbox has more than 700,000 users globally who use the platform to collect over 20 million surveys a month.

For media inquiries, please contact mae-lin@kobotoolbox.org.