INE signs cooperation agreement with UNDP for institutional strengthening

The National Statistics Institute (INE) of Honduras signed a cooperation agreement with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to strengthen capacities at the INE and provide the means to produce and get access to information.

As part of this agreement, and for the first time, Honduras will conduct the "National Specialized Survey on Violence against Women and Girls age 15 and older." In addition, it will develop and improve the web page information system, which provides the population with access to timely and reliable statistics by means of a user-friendly and effective navigation experience.

Violence survey

A nationwide specialized survey on violence against women and girls over 15 years of age will be carried out during October and November of this year in order to expand and generate statistical data for the prevention of and response to violence for the use of decision-makers, academia and civil society.

The survey will provide information on acts of physical, psychological, sexual and property violence in both the public and private spheres. The sociodemographic profile of household members associated with the different situations of violence will also be investigated. This survey will provide information to contextualize and guide interventions in situations of violence, in order to design evidence-based public policies from a gender perspective, support victims, raise awareness and educate the population about protection mechanisms in the country. The results of this survey will be presented early in 2023.

According to INE Director Eugenio Sosa, "There can be neither democracy nor full justice in contexts of violence. Violence against girls and women is one of the threats in Honduras. President Xiomara Castro's Administration is working on statistical evidence. The survey that we will administer and analyse will be part of our contribution to the creation of public policies on violence against women."

Digital transformation at INE

The INE is optimizing and improving its information platform. The upgraded website leverages advanced technology to provide an improved browsing experience, shorter statistical query response time, better access to public information. Consequently, this will have an impact on enhanced transparency through a public data portal, which will be accessible and very intuitive. UNDP and INE have already defined a workplan to start with the web portal upgrade.

Further work will involve strengthening technical capabilities of the INE Business Management team and their institutional culture, in terms of presenting information and data focused on end users.

In the words of UNDP Resident Representative in Honduras Richard Barathe, "this agreement aims to contribute to central aspects of INE. For one thing, it shores up its role as a key player in combating violence against women, by enabling it to produce official information on the matter in a timely fashion; and for another, it bolsters the State process of digital transformation, and promotes transparency, by facilitating rapid access, providing a repository and a portal, with advanced technology to easily query information that is crucial for the country."

This agreement has come about in the framework of the UNDP InfoSegura Regional Project financed by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The agreement signing was held with Minister of Women's Affairs Doris García and Marcela Smutt, regional coordinator of the UNDP InfoSegura Project. Also in attendance were the members of the Interinstitutional Working Committee, who will work on survey implementation. This committee comprises the Secretariat for Security, the National Youth Institute, the Presidential Programme Ciudad Mujer (a one-stop multiple State service centre for women), the University Institute for Democracy, Peace and Security (IUDPAS), the Secretariat for Social Development (SEDESOL), the InfoSegura Project with funding from USAID and the Spotlight Initiative, an alliance of the United Nations System and the European Union.

By signing this agreement, INE and UNDP ratify and strengthen cooperation, working for timely and reliable statistics.

More information available on the UNDP Honduras website