SPC and Pacific partners to develop disability statistics in three-year project

A man makes notes on a flipchart using a marker pen.

Improving the inclusion of people with disabilities in official data and decision-making is at the heart of a partnership of Pacific organisations, with a multi-year project funded by Australia launched this International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

The Pacific Community (SPC), Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, Pacific Disability Forum, UNICEF and the national statistics offices of Fiji, Kiribati and Samoa are leading the development of disability statistics across the region with a programme of initiatives through to 2026 supported by the Government of Australia.

Launched this International Day of Persons with Disabilities—one of ‘16 Days’ observed by SPC in November and December—the 2024 theme ‘Amplifying the leadership of persons with disabilities for an inclusive and sustainable future’ emphasises the participation of people in decision-making that affects their lives.

Embodying this principle of ‘nothing about me without me’, SPC and the Pacific Disability Forum will provide regional coordination of the work plan that has collaboration alongside people with disabilities, and organisations providing disability representation and support, at its core.

The project aims to address the significant gaps in disability data and promote evidence-based policymaking—enhancing the inclusion and well-being of persons with disabilities in Pacific countries and territories.

It is led by the Pacific Group on Disability Statistics established five years ago, inspired by—and under the umbrella of—the Washington Group on Disability Statistics.

The major objective of the Pacific and Washington Groups is to support statistics on disability that are comparable across borders. Standard sets of questions have been drafted and tested to suit censuses and survey data collection on everyday life and function, rather than medical conditions. This means that they can be easily translated and used to contrast populations despite sometimes-vast cultural, linguistic and economic differences.

Five goals

Founding Pacific Group member Ms Taiaopo Faumuina from Samoa Bureau of Statistics has played a key part in progress made to date, most recently at last week’s steering committee meeting in Suva, Fiji.

“Including the Washington Group question set in all censuses and national surveys across the region by 2030 is one of five goals of the Pacific Group on Disability Statistics,” she explains.

“It’s also a regional collective action in the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent,” she says, referring to the region’s cornerstone strategic document.

“Asking internationally and culturally comparable questions on disability is an essential tool towards better data, better decision-making and, ultimately, social inclusion for people with disability.”

Other planks of the project are coordination and support for the Pacific disability statistics programme governed by the Pacific Group; capacity-building to strengthen the national statistics offices of the Pacific in disability statistics; engagement with people with disabilities, their representing organisations as well as data users​; analysis of data, the production of monographs and other knowledge products​; and guidance and tools to enable data collection, analysis and use.

A Pacific partnership

Fundamental to achieving these goals is broader participation, explains Ms Evelyn Wareham, Manager of Statistics Leadership, Governance and Use with SPC’s Statistics for Development Division. It provides ‘A to Z’ statistics leadership, from advice on collections through to their use, governance and dissemination.

“We’d like to invite all Pacific Island countries and territories to nominate members to participate in the Pacific Group on Disability Statistics,” Ms Wareham said.

“We’re looking to grow our group so that countries and territories can collectively lead action to produce the body of disability statistics needed to enable the well-being of women, men and children in alignment with the 2050 Strategy.”

Alongside SPC, the Pacific Disability Forum is a constituency of 71 organisations who support the pursuit of human rights for persons with disability, represented in the Group by Ms Laisa Vereti—another founding member and advocate for the communities she serves.

“The principle of ‘nothing about us without us’ is crucial in disability statistics because it ensures that people with disabilities are not just data subjects, but active participants in shaping the data that represents their lives,” she said.

“When we involve disabled individuals in the creation and interpretation of statistics, we not only ensure more accurate, meaningful and representative data, but also empower disabled communities to advocate for the policies and services they need.”

Also central to the project are the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, comprising 18 countries and territories and harmonising regional positions on policy issues, and UNICEF, an agency of the United Nations working in more than 190 countries and territories on children’s rights.

With a particular focus on regional development, Australian Aid is providing project financing of AUD 2.6 million (USD 2m; EUR 1.6m) to build on the progress made by the Pacific Group to date.

From foundations to future

The Washington Group questions have already been included in almost all recent Pacific Island censuses and household surveys such as UNICEF’s Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys programme, known as MICS, household income and expenditure surveys, and labour force surveys—diverse sources of statistically sound, internationally comparable data, helping track progress towards the sustainable development goals (SDGs).

National disability monographs have already been developed for several countries: Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Samoa and Tonga. And a regional disability dashboard is available on the Pacific Data Hub with improvements to come. A social, economic and environmental good for the Pacific, by the Pacific, the platform serves as a gateway to open data across a range of thematic areas.

“I acknowledge the work of the Pacific Group on Disability Statistics for getting us to this point,” says SPC’s Ms Wareham. “Collectively, they are the leaders who developed the vision, goals and funding proposal to boost capacity for disability statistics in the Pacific.

“People with disabilities constitute one of the most marginalised and vulnerable population groups in the region and are most at risk of being left behind. Reliable, up-to-date and disaggregate data are needed to inform policy, and we’re now able to advance further thanks to Australia’s support.”

Learn more

A web page for the project is now available at: sdd.spc.int/disability-statistics

Read the dynamic story with photography

For more information on this story, contact Mr Ben Campion, Communications Adviser, Statistics for Development Division, Pacific Community (SPC), [email protected].