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57. The 2030 Agenda includes a welcome commitment to “accountability” through
“a robust, voluntary, effective, participatory, transparent and integrated follow -up
and review framework” (resolution 70/1, para. 72) that respects human rights at the
international, regional and national levels. Accountability will be critical to the
attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals. Yet what accountability, follow up and review precisely mean in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals
remains unclear.
58. The fields of global health and human rights have, in recent years, developed
accountability analysis and institutions, which can inspire accountability for the
health-related Sustainable Development Goals and help to shape new
arrangements. 30 In 2011, the Commission on Information and Accountability for
Women’s and Children’s Health, established to propose a framework to ensure that
commitments made under the Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health
(2010-2015) were met, proposed a tripartite model of accountability, composed of
monitoring, review and remedial action. 31 That model, derived from the human
rights understanding of accountability, was subsequently taken up by the Secretary General, including in the Global Strategy for Women ’s, Children’s and Adolescents’
Health 2016-2030, which supports the achievement of the Sustainable Development
Goals related to women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health.
Monitoring
59. Monitoring means “providing critical and valid information on what is
happening, where and to whom (results) and how much is spent, where, on what and
on whom (resources)”.31 It is envisaged that follow-up and review will be based on
a set of global indicators and data to be complemented by regional and national
indicators. The 2030 Agenda makes commitments to “high-quality, accessible,
timely, reliable and disaggregated” data.
60. States should ensure that adopted indicators are relevant to human rights in the
context of the Sustainable Development Goals and capture the availability,
accessibility, acceptability and quality of health care and underlying deter minants of
health. Participatory governance mechanisms should be in place for disaggregated
data collection and analysis, and there must be effective communication of data to
decision makers and the population more generally. States should also use
innovative methodologies to deal with the challenges of sample sizes.
61. Statistical data are important but not enough for monitoring; they should also
be supplemented by qualitative data and information, and analysis by human rights
monitoring mechanisms, international organizations and civil society. Monitoring
should focus not only on outcomes but also on processes of development and on
duty bearers, including States, donors, the private sector, international organizations
and civil society organizations. Monitoring, including data, must feed into review
processes.
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30
31
16-13597
Alicia Ely Yamin and Rebecca Cantor, “Between insurrectional discourse and operational
guidance: challenges and dilemmas in implementing human rights-based approaches to health”,
Journal of Human Rights Practice, vol. 6, No. 3 (2014).
Commission on Information and Accountability for Women’s and Children’s Health, “Keeping
promises, measuring results” (WHO, 2011), p. 7.
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