Timely and reliable data crucial for Africa’s development, says Adejumobi at Mauritius Country Profile launch

MAURITIUS, SEPT. 19 – The key to Africa’s inclusive development lies in the availability of timely and reliable data that can be used by policymakers to develop informed policies, says Mr. Said Adejumobi, Director of the Economic Commission for Africa’s (ECA) Southern Africa Office.
Speaking at the launch of the Mauritius Country Profile in Pointe aux Piments, Mr. Adejumobi said for Africa to measure its progress or come up with solutions to its challenges, it needed reliable and accessible data that is generated on the continent by its experts.
“That is why we at the Economic Commission for Africa are taking the continent’s data issues seriously because without accurate data and analysis, we cannot tell our stories. We cannot fix what we don’t know. if we do not have the data, we cannot undertake evidence based policy making and planning in Africa. That is why the Country Profiles are important to us as they are periodic assessments of socio-economic developments in member States, focusing specifically on policy analysis, regional integration and economic transformation, gender and development, with data mostly from national sources,” he said.
Recommendations from the analyses in the regional Country Profiles complement ongoing efforts by the ECA to improve the collection and use of statistical data on the continent, added Mr. Adejumobi.
The Mauritian Country Profile focuses on its economic performance, fiscal and monetary policies, demographic dynamics, gender equality, policies for skills development and job creation, health, education and related issues.
The profile includes indices measuring various aspects of development and integration such as the African Social Development Index, which measures human exclusion in six key dimensions of wellbeing throughout the life cycle – survival, health, education, employment, means of subsistence and the capacity to live a decent life after the age of 60; the African Gender and Development Index.
The Country Profile was officially launched by Mr. Vidyanand Lutchmeeparsad, the Permanent Secretary in the Finance and Economic Development Ministry of Mauritius
The ECA has since 2015 been producing Country Profiles with the collaboration and support of National Statistical Offices in member States, Ministries of Finance and Economic Development, Central Banks and other relevant national, regional and international data sources and institutions. – contributed