WASHINGTON DC, 21 October, 2010 - Latin America’s fight against poverty has become more effective and targeted thanks to increasing innovation in statistics –a tool emerging as the most trusted ally of development in the region, said the World Bank. In awarding the 2010 Regional Innovation in Statistics prize to three Latin American countries, the Bank recognized this week the role of modern data in designing poverty-reducing social policies and increasing opportunities for all in Latin America. Chosen from 16 finalists, Peru, Brazil and Mexico won prizes for implementing statistical systems that have made critical contributions to measuring Latin Americans’ income and access to basic services, thus allowing for a better understanding of public policies. In total, 10 projects from 9 countries, including Central America and the Caribbean, were given awards. “Statistical innovation allows us to tailor social policies because we are no longer working in the dark and we know the poor better, we know their names,” said World Bank Poverty Reduction Program Director Marcelo Giugale. Giugale added that thanks to this “silent statistical revolution”, 15 Latin American countries are currently implementing targeted social policies, “between the state and the individual”, as opposed to general, across-the-board initiatives. Peru grabbed the first spot in the competition with its 2010 National Household Survey (ENAHO, in Spanish) which shed light on Peruvians’ living conditions and, for the first time, made its database publicly available. On awarding ENAHO the top prize, the jury praised its structure and versatility, which measured several dimensions of poverty and allowed remote data processing through Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs).  “I believe that the most important part of this process is the fact that the public was able to witness it, its transparency, and we are now seeing the results of that,” said Nancy Hidalgo, director of ENAHO. Peru has made great strides in poverty reduction and in providing access to basic public services. The Andean country managed to reduce extreme poverty (less than US$2.5 per day) from 24.2 percent in 2005 to 15.4 percent in 2009, according to the recently published report“Did Latin America Learn to Shield Its Poor from Economic Shocks ?”
Brazil was awarded second place thanks to its Central Bank Market Expectations System which has contributed to its high rate of GDP growth and to a significant reduction of poverty levels since 2003, experts say. The tool gathers crucial information about the economic expectations of market agents, enhancing the government’s ability to meet inflation targets and implement monetary policy, which can be credited with Brazil’s fast recovery. Brazil leads the region’s growth and recovery from the global crisis, with a projected 8 percent expansion for 2010. “Capturing macroeconomic processes and generating statistics to perform quasi professional estimates of the market is key to economic decision making,” noted Renato Jansson Rosek, Brazil’s Central Bank Market Expectations System Coordinator. Meanwhile, initiatives from Mexico and Brazil tied for third place in the competition. A ground-breaking national survey on use of time in Mexico measured paid and unpaid employment “showing household work in its full dimension”, among other achievements, according to experts. “It shows the differentiated contribution that men and women make to the economy, which then supports and enhances public policies aimed at promoting and developing quality of life,” said National Survey on Time Usage Coordinator , Prudencia Javier while adding that the survey has created awareness of the value of domestic work, and paid and unpaid employment in Mexico.  Among the tool’s many innovations, the jury praised its online data validation ability that allows correcting erroneous information while the interview is taking place. According to the 2010 Human Opportunity Index , Mexico has made great progress in the provision of basic services to its population, scoring 90 points out of 100 --10 points short of reaching access universality.
Brazil was awarded third prize also thanks to a survey: Municipal Basic Data Survey Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics which has managed to improve Brazilians quality of life, said survey director Vânia Maria Pacheco. Statistical innovation defines the state’s functions and public investment more clearly, experts say. Now people know what to expect from the various public services that the state provides, including security, health/nutrition and education. While in the past certain standards and goals were not defined clearly, these days it is known for example that a child should be able to read 60 words per minute in order to finish second grade. We also know that a child needs to be 24 centimeters tall in his first year –or his nutrition is inadequate- and that a rate of homicide greater than 3 per 100,000 inhabitants indicates that security needs to improve. “Thanks to modern statistics, we now have standards that allow us to measure what is achieved with each dollar invested,” Giugale said. Statistical innovation is promoting the region’s leadership in the global fight against poverty, while bringing it closer to achieving the millennium goal of eradicating poverty by 2015. ‘ Did Latin America Learn to Shield Its Poor from Economic Shocks ?’ found that poverty increased only slightly during this economic crisis, thanks to the social protection programs implemented over the last few years. In total, the recession pushed 2.1 million people back into moderate poverty (less than US$4 per day), in contrast to an initial estimate of some 10 million people.  Many of these achievements can be attributed to sound statistics used to design social programs, said Poverty Reduction manager Louise Cord.
“Without good statistics and without a reliable and transparent statistical process, would be impossible to design a results-based poverty-fighting strategy, nor to efficiently measure the progress we have made toward achieving the millennium goals,” Cord concluded. Organized by the World Bank, with support from the governments of Spain and England, the Innovation in Statistics regional award 2010 drew 177 participants from 26 countries in the three categories evaluated: censuses, surveys and administrative records. In total, 16 finalists were invited the 18, 19 and 20th of October to join the World Bank Celebrations of the World Statistics Day in Washington, participate in a workshop of the Accelerated Data Program (ADP) and join the ceremony to present the Statistics Awards. | 
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