African Statistics Day across the continent marked UNECA Countries begin national activities in celebration of the Afrikaans Statistics Day on the theme "The modernization of national statistical systems to provide data and statistics to support sustainable peace and development in Africa"This year’s theme is in line with the theme of the African Union for 2020, "To silence the guns: Create favorable conditions for the development of Africa". Read more “

Addis Ababa – Countries launched national activities in celebration of African Statistics Day with the theme “Modernizing national statistical systems to provide data and statistics to support sustainable peace and development in Africa”.

This year’s theme is accompanied by the theme of the African Union for the year 2020, “Silencing the guns: Creating favorable conditions for Africa’s development”.

Director of the Economic Statistics for Africa (ECA) African Statistics Center, Oliver Chinganya, explains that the 2020 theme for African Statistics Day was chosen to raise awareness among decision makers, technical and financial partners, data producers, researchers and the general public. on the critical importance of government and socio-economic statistics in achieving the goal of a conflict-free Africa.

Peace, security and socio-economic development must be pursued simultaneously to achieve the “silence of the guns” across the continent.

“The digitization of statistical systems and processes will be the key to the modernization of national statistical systems to make data and statistics available for timely decision-making. The impact of COVID-19 pandemic has shown that ‘but also to do so now, and African Statistics Day is the dawn for this change,’ ‘the ACS director said.

He said if the continent continues to fight the new coronavirus pandemic, the ECA will also continue to support the development of COVID-19 national and continental dashboards to provide a geospatial response to the pandemic.

To build a peaceful Africa, statistics and data are needed.

The contribution of statistics to peace goes beyond repentance over the pain caused by conflict. Statistics can be used to create the conditions that are gradual for the development of Africa.

Management statistics are fundamental to ensuring that the relationship between the state and its people is inclusive, transparent and accountable. They help to monitor the performance of government, to better understand the contribution of government in its various dimensions to development and to ensure that policy-making is based on evidence.

Management statistics contribute to the measurement and realization of human rights. It can help identify groups or subgroups in the population most affected by dysfunction in management systems, with the aim of implementing appropriately targeted policies to leave no one behind.

Statistics on government, peace and security can also contribute to the prevention and management of conflict and violence. Used as early warning systems, it can help cultivate peace by regularly providing information on the status of state-society relations, which is at the heart of sustainable peace.

Available data indicate that Africa is performing poorly in a range of government, peace and security indicators, compared to other regions of the world. By training citizens in the use of data and statistics to inform the choices they make, national statistical systems can advance the democratic debate in the country.

Statistical literacy is therefore the key to promoting good governance and understanding what can be done to end war, civil conflict and gender-based violence.

Socio-economic statistics are essential for understanding and using economic information for planning and policy-making.

Macroeconomic decision-making based on data and statistics provides the best way to ensure strong economic growth and job creation, which in turn will lift more people out of poverty and increase their output.

African Statistics Day is an annual event celebrated on November 18 to make the public aware of the importance of statistics in all aspects of social and economic life.

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