Doha: Representatives of governments, international organizations, and civil society organizations highlighted the critical importance of detailed and comprehensive data in shaping effective anti-corruption policies. They reviewed innovations and lessons learned from the experiences of countries such as Kenya, Ghana, and Nigeria in strengthening governance environments, and called for the development of more coordinated and inclusive data at both the national and international levels.
According to Qatar News Agency, this took place during the session on harnessing data for inclusive and effective anti-corruption efforts, held as part of the eleventh session of the Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption, hosted by Doha from Dec. 15 to 19.
In this context, senior governance specialist at the World Bank Jens Kristensen affirmed that there is growing global recognition that reliable, comprehensive, and detailed data constitute the cornerstone of any effective anti-corruption system. He said that for years, aggregate indicators have dominated international discussions, such as the Worldwide Governance Indicators, which attract broad attention despite the debates and criticism surrounding them, due to their role in directing attention and stimulating dialogue.
He added that the world is now witnessing a growing shift toward reliance on granular data, driven by the data revolution and rapid technological developments. According to him, this shift reflects a deeper understanding of the importance of precise data in designing more targeted and effective anti-corruption policies.
For her part, HE Permanent Representative of Ghana to the United Nations Ambassador Matilda Aku said that her country has realized that ensuring integrity without data is like building a house without a solid foundation. Data, she noted, was increasingly serving as a benchmark for assessing successes and failures, and for formulating informed policy options and decisions. She emphasized that effective anti-corruption efforts ultimately depend on the quality of the data on which they are based.
She explained that moving beyond perception-based measurements and investing in indicators of governance, integrity, and equality makes it possible to gain a clearer picture of how corruption actually operates within public systems and how it affects different segments of society. She added that aggregated data, disaggregated by gender, age, income, disability, geographic location, and other characteristics, help identify areas most vulnerable to corruption and reveal patterns of discriminatory corruption that might otherwise remain hidden.
She further stressed that this type of evidence is essential for designing effective and equitable interventions, and for ensuring that national anti-corruption strategies are aligned with international human rights commitments, the Sustainable Development Goals, and the preventive pillars of the relevant United Nations frameworks. The Permanent Representative of Ghana to the United Nations said that strong, well-coordinated data systems enhance transparency, accountability, and continuous monitoring in practical terms.
She noted that in 2021, with technical assistance from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Ghana conducted its first nationwide field survey on people's real-world experiences with corruption and its indicators. She said that the survey revealed the presence of bribery in various forms and sectors in Ghana, affecting youth, marginalized groups, and women. Among the particularly significant findings, she noted, was that corruption disproportionately affects women more than men, and that young people pay bribes more frequently than older people when dealing with government officials.
She added that Ghana, with further assistance from UNODC, also carried out an evaluation of its first National Anti-Corruption Action Plan (NACAP I) for the period from 2015 to 2024. She explained that the data derived from this evaluation are being used to formulate the next phase of anti-corruption planning, namely the National Ethics and Anti-Corruption Plan. The Ghanaian official urged all States Parties to adopt data collection as the strongest tool for safeguarding genuine integrity and combating corruption.
Winston Kongo of Kenya's Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission said that anti-corruption efforts in Kenya are fundamentally data-driven. He noted that Kenya has clearly defined its objectives and goals in ways that help track progress, measure results, and guide strategic anti-corruption interventions in both prevention and law enforcement. For this purpose, he noted, the Commission has established key partnerships with stakeholders at the national and international levels to generate and manage data for anti-corruption purposes.
He added that over the past two decades, Kenya has developed effective tools and gained valuable experience in conducting national anti-corruption surveys, with a focus on households, the business sector, and public servants. He explained that these include the annual National Ethics and Anti-Corruption Survey, the National Institutions Survey conducted every three to five years, and the Public Service Ethics Survey, which is also carried out every three to five years.
He also spoke about the support provided by UNODC through the launch earlier this year of a national survey on gender and corruption in Kenya, conducted in cooperation with the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. He noted that the 2025 Kenyan National Gender and Corruption Survey analyzes data according to age, gender, ethnicity, location, income, education, disability status, marital status, parental status, and other variables. He explained that the survey focuses on interactions between citizens seeking services and the public officials who provide them.
He concluded by calling for enhanced regional and international cooperation on data-driven anti-corruption reforms.