Conclusions and Recommendations 37.  Even though significant efforts have been made to identify, prevent, and reduce statelessness, millions of people in the world remain stateless, and the lack of socioeconomic data prevents efforts to adequately address their needs. Since the launch of the #IBelong Campaign and its efforts in identifying and reducing statelessness, more than 166,000 stateless persons have acquired or had their nationality confirmed, and many states have complied with the statelessness conventions. However, the lack of data on stateless communities and the difficulty in identifying who precisely these persons are, still leave an estimated millions of persons stateless and at risk of statelessness. Despite often living their entire lives in a single country, stateless persons lack a nationality, thereby facing limitations in the exercise of human rights such as education, health, and employment opportunities. Furthermore, without proper documentation, it can be difficult to engage in the labor force, acquire permits to work or drive, or purchase property. “The very nature of statelessness means it is difficult to determine exactly how many people are affected, or at risk,” (United Nations, 2018). Together, the impacts of statelessness are felt not only on the individuals concerned, but also on society as a whole, which benefits from the full participation of all residents. And therefore, important data gaps persist, preventing efforts to address stateless persons’ needs through evidence-based policies and programming. 38. Comparable data on stateless populations and nationals are necessary to inform policy planning and programming to reduce the negative impacts of statelessness, while data on the impacts of crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic can help mitigate its effects. Micro-data collection through household surveys, as carried out for the Shona community in Kenya, can contribute to filling socioeconomic data gaps while supporting the objectives of the #IBelong campaign. The Shona SES is a result of continued efforts to resolve statelessness in Kenya and build the nascent body of work on stateless communities. It provides the first poverty and socioeconomic comparisons of stateless and non-stateless populations in Kenya, contributing toward fill data gaps and enhancing the evidence base for the efficient design of programmatic and policy interventions. Frequent data collection exercises—as carried out for the COVID-19 RRPS—can also contribute to the design of timely measures to mitigate socioeconomic shocks on vulnerable populations, such as the stateless Shona community. 39.  Building and maintaining human capital among the Shona community, especially among girls and women, emerges as a policy priority. Even though the gender distribution is balanced in population size, the Shona community is younger than urban nationals, which translates into a higher economic burden on working-age adults. In addition, young Shona people have lower access to education than nationals, especially for secondary school, which is partly explained by a higher employment rate among Shona youth (15 to 24 years) compared to national youth. With the right education and employment opportunities, the youth bulge in the Shona population can be turned into a demographic dividend. Substantial investment is needed to build and maintain human capital by improving access to education and supporting the transition to secondary school, especially among secondary schoolage children. Removing barriers such as the requirement of birth certificates, and enhancing access to income generating opportunities among adults of nonschool age will be key in supporting access 30 10183_Shona Report.indd 30 12/14/20 2:56 PM