Addis Ababa — The theme for this year's African Statistics and Information Days, on 18 and 19 November, is: BUILDING AN INFORMATION SOCIETY, and is centred around:
- Strengthening statistical information systems
- Promoting information technologies
- Building geoinformation systems
- Dissemination of development information.
The weak status of National Statistical Services was recognized by the ECA Conference of Ministers responsible for economic and social development. As a result, they adopted the Addis Ababa Plan of Action for Statistical Development in Africa and the Strategy for its Implementation.
The development of national statistical information systems is important particularly in the following areas: organization and management of National Statistical Services, mobilization of human and financial resources, application of state-of-the-art technology, coordination of statistical activities, improvement of the quality and quantity of data, responsiveness to requests for information including new data needs and dissemination and marketing of statistical products.
National Statistical Services provide much of the information required for policy formulation and decision-making in government as well as in the private sector, especially in situations arising from natural catastrophe, changes of the environment, and forecasting the economy.
Through The Coordinating Committee on African Statistical Development -CASD, a task force on connectivity for Statistics was established in May 1997 to ensure that CASD members and eventually National Statistical Services are connected through the Internet. This will enable coordination and speedier transfer of data between or among countries, ECA and other international agencies.
Any strategy for building an information society cannot overlook the importance of gender. As part of the efforts to respond to the dearth of gender disaggregated data, ECA is committed to assist in strengthening national statistical services and other institutions including the media, to fulfil the coverage of gender issues.
The African focal point for this effort, The ECA's Development Information Services Division, is charged with the responsibility of coordinating and implementing the African Information Society Initiative (AISI), a framework for putting in place a development-centred information society adopted by the Ministers in 1996.
The need for geoinformation has been rapidly increasing over the years as an essential input for the preparation, implementation and management of development programmes and projects in agriculture, population census, mineral resources exploration, water resources development and conservation, natural hazards monitoring and reduction, urban development planning, physical infrastructure planning and environmental monitoring and protection.
ECA has been promoting geographic information for more than three decades in its efforts to assist member States to improve their management of natural resources as well as their stewardship of the environment.
Adequate publishing, marketing and dissemination of information is vital to ensuring the continual availability of information. National institutions should consider applying relevant strategies that make use of modern information and communications technologies to package, market and disseminate information. In addition to printed material, database dissemination should take advantage of diskettes, CD-ROMs, the World Wide Web and other electronic media as efficacious information routes.
The commemoration, this year, of the African Statistics and Information Days, offers an opportunity for individuals and organizations within African countries as well as African governments, international organizations, multilateral and bilateral donors agencies and the mass media to assist in enhancing information infostructure, as well as data production and dissemination for effective socio-economic policy analysis and management.
For further information please contact Peter da Costa, Cabinet Office of the Executive Secretary, UN ECA, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Tel: +251-1- 51-58-26 (direct) or 251-1-51-72-00 (main switchboard), Ext. 354866 Fax: +251-1-51-22-33 E-Mail: ecainfo@un.org
