Report of the African Group on Statistical Training and Human Resources AGROST

Abstract

The link between statistics training and the requirement for quality statistics to promote development is high on the agenda of African countries. One of the problems facing Africa is the lack of human resources needed to produce good quality and up-to-date statistics to cater for increasingly diverse needs. While the sub region does have a few statistics training schools and university statistics departments, there still is a dire need for qualified statistics personnel to meet the growing needs of the continent. This is because of the emergence of issues such as good governance, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), climate change and the environment and gender equality. However, the language barrier is impeding the full integration of the continent and greatly reducing opportunities for French and English-speaking training centres to interact with each other.