Resident Coordinator’s Remarks at Accelerating SDG 5 Progress: Bridging Data Gaps with a Gender-Responsive Approach Workshop

Khun Anukul Peedkaew, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security,

Khun Suda, Acting Director General of the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security,

Distinguished experts and UN colleagues. 

I am honored to welcome you to this workshop on SDG 5 on gender equality to address critical data gaps and align national indicators with global ones.  

I would like to thank Khun Suda for her leadership on gender equality towards empowering women of all ages.  

As women in important positions of power, you are leading by example. You are a true inspiration for girls and young women to follow in your footsteps in working to transform the country into a more just, inclusive, and equitable nation in line with the SDGs and the country’s development goals. 

SDG 5 is critical to the achievement of all SDGs as it is a foundational element of leaving no one behind.  

Gender equality is both an SDG accelerator and multiplier and progress on it will speed up progress on other goals as well by contributing to transformative economic, social, and environmental changes.  

This means that SDG 5 falls within the scope of a broader vision on sustainable development. 

A key element of speeding up progress on it involves eradicating gender-based violence and discrimination, which remain a significant barrier to women’s full participation in society, politics, and the economy. 

These barriers also hinder their ability to access education, healthcare, and economic opportunities. 

Quantifying these challenges will require boosting the evidence base with robust data to monitor and measure progress on SDG 5.  

As you know, SDG 5 has a total of 14 indicators. Thailand has data for only 3 or 21%. Through this collaboration, we are aiming to enhance data availability to secure over 60% of the indicators. 

This is critical as in Asia and the Pacific data availability for SDG 5 is the lowest of all regions. In fact, you may be surprised to learn that Thailand is on top despite having data for only 3 indicators out of 14. 

I am heartened that the country is investing in filling the data gap for SDG 5 and I understand that Cambodia is doing likewise. 

Today’s event is an important platform for promoting inter-ministerial and multi-stakeholder collaboration to boost coordination among the lead ministries and government agencies with a specific focus on the Ministry of Public Health, the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, the National Statistical Office, and law enforcement agencies.  

A whole-of-government approach combined with a joined-up UN system that brings 8 UN agencies together will enable us to put in place a fit-for-purpose strategy to fill the data gap for SDG 5. 

As you may know, we have adopted a similar approach with the Ministry of Justice to boost data availability for SDG 16.  

I am hoping this becomes a model worthy of replication across ASEAN. 

Together we can advance gender equality and promote sustainable development goals not only in Thailand but across the entire region. 

I am very much looking forward to thoughtful and constructive discussions as we finalize our strategy for SDG 5.   

Thank you.