Challenges of capacitybuilding in Africa: case study of the regular programme of technical cooperation project on estimating poverty, vulnerability and inequality in the absence of recent survey data

Abstract

Recent crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ukraine war, and inflation, have exacerbated poverty, inequality, and vulnerability in Africa, reversing prior gains. However, outdated household survey data in many countries such as Ghana (2022), Namibia (2015), Uganda (2019/20), and Tanzania (2017/18) hinder accurate poverty assessment and policy responses. To address this, the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) developed an imputed elasticity approach to estimate current poverty, vulnerability, and inequality, enabling governments to design targeted interventions despite data gaps. This brief highlights ECA’s efforts in these four nations to equip policymakers with timely insights for effective poverty reduction strategies.