Raising the Profile of the Rural Access Index as a Vital SDG Indicator for Measuring Rural Development and Connectivity

Abstract

The Rural Access Index (RAI) was defined in 2005 as the proportion of a rural population living within 2 km of an all-season road. In 2016 the RAI definition was adopted as Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Indicator 9.1.1 requiring regular update of RAI data for the majority of United Nations (UN) countries. ReCAP-funded research is working to develop, propose and obtain agreement on a harmonised approach to data collection and measurement of RAI, and scale up implementation of the RAI across UN member countries, starting with a trial of the proposed measurement framework in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. This paper will describe how the measurement approach for the RAI has been refined in order to eradicate inconsistencies in data collection, meet international standards, and provide a clear framework for data quality assurance. This work is part of the Applied Research on Rural Roads and Transport Services through Community Access Programmes in Africa and Asia (AFCAP2 and AsCAP)