Proposed metadata sheets for the indicators for regional follow-up of the Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development.

The purpose of the metadata is to provide countries with methodological guidelines enabling them to calculate the indicators in a similar way. The metadata provide the user with a synthetic and nimble explanation of how the data for each indicator are calculated. At a minimum, The metadata comprise the definitions, indications, sources and procedures (including formulas or algorithms in their final format, when possible) needed to calculate the indicators for the regional monitoring of the Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development in a way that is  comparable through time and across countries. They metadata must be synthetic and precise and draw attention to any measurement difficulties. In the case of the indicators proposed for the follow-up of the Montevideo Consensus which have been taken from the Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs), official metadata are used without alteration, unless the SDG indicator itself has been adapted and modified, in which case this is duly indicated in the respective indicator. A point still under discussion concerns harmonization between national and international sources, since agreement 7 of the Resolution of the Second session of the Regional Conference on Population and Development "reiterates the call to use national official data in the generation, elaboration and analysis of the indicators that will be used to monitor implementation of the Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development”.