Tracking progress on counting and measuring the success of the Sustainable Development Goals. An initiative of @StartingUpGood #SDGs #GlobalGoals #Data
Joined August 2015
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Turning AI pilots into better public services requires clear goals, public trust and human accountability. Salesforce’s Wendy R. Anderson joins Devex to discuss what governments need to make that transition and measure improvements in people’s lives.
youtube.com/watch?v=zC1i01vo…
After 20 years, the World Bank’s Enterprise Surveys completed their first global cycle. Eugenia Rodríguez and colleagues explore what data from 164 economies reveal about innovation and jobs.
blogs.worldbank.org/en/opend…
Poverty and inequality data now extend through 2025, while food security data reach 2024. The World Bank’s October WDI update refreshes employment, governance, energy and agriculture indicators.
blogs.worldbank.org/en/opend…
We’re surprised and disappointed to see the UN World Data Forum postponed to 2027 just weeks before it was due to begin. It is consistently one of the most significant events we cover, and we were looking forward to sharing this year’s discussions.
reuters.com/world/middle-eas…
About 75% of U.S. data centres' water footprint comes from power generation rather than on-site cooling, according to research cited by UNEP FI. Its new banking brief calls for scrutiny beyond facility-level reporting.
unepfi.org/industries/bankin…
Speed matters. Direction matters more. And the people closest to the problem should be the ones holding the map. One week on, our read on AI at #UNGA81 in full:
medium.com/sdg-counting/ai-a…
The World Social Report 2026 argues that social inclusion helps drive economic growth. @IISD_SDGs summarizes its four priorities spanning skills, connectivity, decent work and sharing the benefits of transformation.
sdg.iisd.org/news/un-report-…
Karya pays 200,000 workers across India 20 times the minimum hourly wage to build AI training data in 115 languages. Most are women. The "new jobs" promised by AI, already here. Karya's MIT Solve pitch, in our #UNGA81 piece:
medium.com/sdg-counting/ai-a…
AI-powered nonprofits report strong efficiency gains, but evidence of impact is thinner. Fast Forward finds that 92% report more efficient delivery while only 39% evaluate AI's impact on outcomes, exposing a gap between adoption and accountability.
ffwd.org/ai-for-humanity-rep…
The World Investment Forum begins October 25 in Doha, with sessions on AI, sustainable finance, entrepreneurship and investing in peace. UNCTAD's preview outlines 10 things to watch, plus programme and livestream links.
unctad.org/news/ten-things-w…
Great article from our colleagues @StartingUpGood on how the social entrepreneurs who are doing great on-the-ground work can get more attention at big events like UNGA.
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Health funding can favor what is easiest to count. The NYT examines how some AI donors' focus on measurable results could undervalue systems that make treatment possible.
nytimes.com/2026/10/20/us/po…
Africa produces growing volumes of data, but much of it remains disconnected from the decisions it should inform. The 10th Statistical Commission for Africa opens this week with a focus on turning official statistics into trusted, usable evidence.
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The loudest AI debate at UNGA was about speed. One of the more useful ideas was to build around the people most often left out first, because systems designed for the margins tend to work better for everyone else.
medium.com/sdg-counting/ai-a…
Small AI does not need frontier models to deliver practical services. At the World Bank's Annual Meetings, AgriConnect showed how farmers can use local-language tools on basic phones to ask about crops, loans and markets.
live.worldbank.org/en/event/…
Benin's social registry covers every municipality but only a third of the country's poor. Next door, Togo used satellite imagery and machine learning to target cash transfers 42% more effectively. Why a finance minister sat on an AI panel at #UNGA81:
medium.com/sdg-counting/ai-a…
Private capital mobilized by the World Bank Group reached $112bn in FY2026, but stayed near $3bn for low-income countries. Its Annual Meetings in Bangkok showed why tracking where finance goes matters alongside counting how much is raised for development.
worldbank.org/en/news/speech…
Digital progress is easy to count in connections and users, harder in improved lives. At Digital @ UNGA 2026, UNDP and ITU highlighted solutions in health, public services and inclusion.
undp.org/digital-innovation/…
A declining poverty rate can still leave more people in poverty. UNDP and Oxford find that multidimensional poverty rates fell in Angola and Zambia, but population growth pushed the number of people in poverty higher.
undp.org/egypt/press-release…
Kenya's electronic health system helped community health workers find 30,000 people in Nairobi who did not know they had diabetes. Margaret Odera's next question at the @devex Impact House: "Will AI be able to translate Luhya?"
medium.com/sdg-counting/ai-a…