NEW YORK, March 6, 2026 – Antigua and Barbuda is asserting its leadership in implementing the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for Small Island Developing States (ABAS) by spearheading a critical initiative on data infrastructure. The nation’s Director of the National Statistics Bureau, Statchel Edwards, is representing the country at a pivotal United Nations side event during the 57th Session of the UN Statistical Commission.
The high-level meeting, titled ‘Advancing the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for Small Island Developing States through Robust Data Systems,’ was jointly convened by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs’ Division for Sustainable Development Goals (DESA) and the Partnership in Statistics for Development in the 21st Century (PARIS21). The dialogue centers on the fundamental challenge facing the ABAS framework: without capable national statistical systems, measuring progress toward the agenda’s sustainable development goals becomes impossible.
Central to this effort is the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) framework embedded within ABAS, which demands consistent reporting and reliable indicators to assess policy effectiveness. The framework, presented to member states last year, requires substantial upgrades to existing data collection and analysis capabilities across Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
During his mission, Director Edwards held strategic discussions with Antigua and Barbuda’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Walton Webson, focusing on the establishment of the Centre of Excellence headquartered in Antigua. A cornerstone of this center will be a Data Hub, engineered to supply high-quality data necessary for guiding policy decisions and directing investments toward resilient development.
Both officials concurred that the National Bureau of Statistics will be instrumental in ensuring the Data Hub’s success, particularly in its capacity to inform decision-making processes and track advancements under the ABAS initiative. The delegation was joined by First Secretaries Claxton Duberry and Asha Challenger from the Permanent Mission, underscoring the collaborative governmental approach to this data-driven development strategy.