The economies of all Pacific Island Countries and Territories have been seriously impacted by the travel restrictions and lockdowns resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The challenge for all governments is to understand as quickly as possible what is happening to their economies, and consequently to the lives, livelihoods and well-being of their populations, especially those who have lost their jobs, are disadvantaged and vulnerable, and who face a very challenging future. In order to do this, an array of statistical indicators and spatial datasets are required by national statistics offices, finance ministries, planning agencies and development partners.
The Statistics for Development Division of the Pacific Community has setup a COVID-19 resource page to assist in disseminating this material. The page includes:
- Indicators related to economic and social vulnerability;
- A selection of recommended macroeconomic “lead indicators”;
- Recommendations in regards to maintaining civil registration and vital statistics systems;
- Population grids which allow for the localisation of populations across Pacific Island Countries and Territories;
- Information in regards to initiatives which are underway or proposed to monitor the impacts at the household level including the High Frequency Phone Monitoring (HFPM) surveys being proposed by the Statistics for Development Division (SDD) in collaboration with World Bank, UN agencies and other development partners in the region.
