By Asmau Ahmad
The African Development Bank (AfDB), said it will assist African countries to improve their data management and dissemination through the provision of Open Data Platforms.
According to AfDB, it will collaborate with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to achieve this.
To this end, the bank said that a seminar toward improving data management in Africa has begun.
The bank, in a statement on its website on Wednesday, said that the seminar was organised for regional member countries in its Africa Information Highway (AIH) initiative.
The seminar which started on February 6, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia is scheduled to end on February 10.
According to the AfDB, the AIH initiative, established in 2012 aims to assist African countries to improve their data management, and dissemination.
“The use of these platforms facilitates the flow of national data from countries to the public, thus promoting greater and more efficient use of data in government and institutional decision-making.
“The seminar will allow the bank to update member countries and partners on the achievements and latest developments of the initiative.
“It will also enable participants discuss ways of improving its operational work and make the information highway more inclusive.
“It will further provide an opportunity for the bank’s partners to share their work with the participants,” the statement said.
On the overall objectives, the AfDB said it would familiarise participants with the best approaches for managing their country platforms and ensure they were up to date with the latest available data.
“It will highlight the role that the highway can play in improving the dissemination and visibility of data on the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“Update member countries on the opportunities the portal offers to quickly disseminate first census results from future census rounds.
“Inform African member countries about the upcoming system upgrade aiming at improving the platform’s capabilities.”
According to the bank, it will support African member countries to improve data reporting and timeliness in updating the National Summary Data Page under the IMF’s Enhanced General Data Dissemination System.
The bank also said it will present its newly inaugurated Data Innovation Lab, its work, and how countries could participate in the initiative.
