African Statisticians discuss common position on global development

By Cristina Müller
January 06, 2006

Addis Ababa - Representatives of at least 40 African National Statistics Offices (NSOs) met in Addis Ababa today at the start of a three-day marathon seminar to determine Africa’s participation in the future of statistical development worldwide.

Central to the meeting, being held at the headquarters of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa ( ECA) from 6 to 8 February, are discussions on a Reference Regional Strategic Framework for Capacity Building in Africa (RRSF).

Sponsored by the ECA, the African Development Bank (ADB), the World Bank and Partnership in Statistical Development for the 21st Century (PARIS 21), this technical workshop of the directors of NSOs precedes the second Forum on African Statistical Development (FASDEV II) later this week on 9 to 10 February.

“African countries have extremely low representation in international statistical fora, meaning the continent’s views are not fully reflected in the development of international standards, methodologies and frameworks for statistics,” said Augustin Fosu, the director of the Economic and Social Policy Division (ESPD) of the ECA, in his opening remarks.

Agreement on the RSSF is considered key to the adoption of a common African position in international discussions and the forthcoming 37th session of the world Statistical Commission (STATCOM) at UN headquarters in New York from 7 to 10 March 2006.

While the UN STATCOM includes five African countries within its 24 members – Cape Verde, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Mauritania, and South Africa – the RSSF and FASDEV II aim to strengthen Africa’s participation in global decision-making.

Several meetings lay the ground for the draft of the RSSF in discussion, especially: FASDEV I, and the Advisory Board on Statistics in Africa (ABSA), both held last year.

The agenda of this NSO meeting loosely follows the 11-item budget of STATCOM 2006, but also includes an update by partners of NSOs on progress and challenges with respect to key statistical areas.

“We are certain that this meeting will assist Africa to consolidate its position on world statistical development, key to ensuring that the continent will continue to play a central role in the field today,” said Fosu.