Reporting under the WHO FCTC
The WHO FCTC requires each Party to submit to the Conference of the Parties (COP) periodic reports on its implementation of the Convention. Parties are required to report at intervals of two years and not later than six months before the next regular session of the COP.
The objective of reporting is to enable Parties to learn from each others’ experience in implementing the WHO FCTC. Parties' reports are also the basis for reviews by the COP of progress in implementation of the Convention internationally.
The reporting instrument, hosted by the Convention Secretariat, consists of a core questionnaire mandatory for all Parties. Further, additional questions on the use of implementation guidelines adopted by the Conference of the Parties aim to facilitate voluntary submission of such information by the Parties.
All the submitted implementation reports are available by Party in the WHO FCTC Implementation Database. Before every session of the COP, the Convention Secretariat summarizes the key findings from the reporting cycle, together with highlights from progress among the Parties, into Global Progress Reports.
Good practices in reporting
In line with the mandate of COP6 (decision FCTC/COP6(27) on the Work Plan and Budget for the Financial Period 2016-2017, the Secretariat commissioned a report on good practices in data collection and preparation of FCTC implementation reports.
The review, based on surveys and key informant interviews with 11 participating Parties, aims to describe the good practices in WHO FCTC reporting for the benefit of all Parties to the treaty.
The review focuses on three broad categories:
- Improving data quality
- Developing systems and processes
- Facilitating in-country use of the WHO FCTC implementation reports
Review results: good practices in data collection, preparation and reporting
- Good Practice 1: Establish a Functional Reporting Infrastructure
- Good Practice 2: Build Robust Data Systems for Reporting
- Good Practice 3: Involve Subnational Jurisdictions in Data Collection and
Report Preparation - Good Practice 4: Develop Systems and Processes for Report Preparation
- Good Practice 5: Validate Data Using Diverse Sources
- Good Practice 6: Dedicate Time and Human Resources for Reporting
- Good Practice 7: Familiarize Stakeholder Agencies with WHO FCTC meetings
- Good Practice 8: Link WHO FCTC Reporting to Key National Priorities
- Good Practice 9: Disseminate WHO FCTC Implementation Report
- Good Practice 10: Use Country Reports to Advance WHO FCTC Implementation
- Good Practice 11: Involve Partners outside the Government in Report
Preparation - Good Practice 12: Limit and Verify Data from Tobacco Companies
Read about the review in more detail in the full report.