Making Poverty Reduction Count : Celebrating 10 Years of the Program for the Improvement of Statistical Information

This note points out that the World Bank, jointly with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) developed the Program for the Improvement of Surveys and Measurement of Living Conditions in Latin America and the Caribbean (MECOVI in Spanish) in 1996. The program was initiated with the objective of facilitating improved living conditions for the people of Latin America and the Caribbean through the production of relevant, quality and timely data. Ten years later, the MECOVI program continues to pursue this goal with new and innovative strategies for statistical development.