A regional workshop on the harmonization of statistics in Southern Africa

Abstract

At the core of any development effort is the need for governments and other key stakeholders to measure and benchmark progress towards regionally and internationally agreed development goals such as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).There are standard development indicators and targets set, as well as comparison tools developed for countries and regions to track progress. All the measurement tools and indicators would be meaningless without appropriate and reliable statistical data and information. Across Africa many subregions and indeed countries lack the very basic sources of statistical information flows that are critical in tracking development targets and outcomes and should have been available on an annual basis as well as down to the lowest administrative level.