Statistical development is hampering human development in southern Africa and awareness of the use of statistics is essential to track progress and strengthen decision-making.

This need to build capacity in the development and use of statistics in southern Africa, and the rest of Africa, was one of the conclusions of a recent international statistics meeting, the Partnership in Statistics for Development in the 21st Century (PARIS21).

The meeting held in Dakar, Senegal underscored capacity-building in human and financial resources, statistical tools, and new and relevant technology as crucial to obtaining access to timely, accurate and relevant statistics.

Development partners were encouraged to support capacity in developing countries to allow the generation of nationally appropriate and accurate statistics as opposed to estimates.

Underscoring accuracy and relevance, Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade drew the attention of development partners to the improper use of computer-generated data and international rankings that do not reflect the reality in developing countries, leading to questionable results.

In his opening remarks, Wade said statistics only have value if they are used, that is, if they are provided to the user in time to make decisions.

He also rejected the definition of poverty based on income of US$1 per day as not a representative of the reality in which daily work outside the formal economy is not properly valued.

An alternative definition of poverty proposed to development partners includes: lack of access to safe drinking water, food, decent shelter, basic healthcare, primary education and a healthy environment.

In response to why investing in advocacy is important for statistical development in southern Africa, the Malawi Commissioner of Statistics, Charles Machinjili said this would help to get statistics used and by improving awareness and use of statistics, a culture of evidence-based decision-making would be strengthened.

The huge communication gap between producers and users of statistics was noted, and statisticians were encouraged to go beyond the production of statistics to strengthen linkages with policy makers, researchers, media and the private sector.

The role of statistics is not only to provide public data but to produce public knowledge, meaning the focus should not all be on producing the figures but on transforming the figures into knowledge understood by various sectors of society.

Thus, the importance of organisations that can play an intermediate role between producers and users was underscored.

A key output of the meeting was the Dakar Declaration on the Development of Statistics, in which participants agreed on the need to focus attention on implementation of strategic plans with sustainable funding and technical capacity from development partners by 2014.

The conference sought to consider the state of statistical development in various countries and regions, to identify challenges, determine what needs to be done, and agree on steps and responsibilities of various partners, and was attended by statisticians, policymakers, research institutions, civil society and cooperating partners from developed and developing countries including all member states of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

It was organised by a consortium involving the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), World Bank, United Nations Statistical Division (UNSD), European Commission and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in collaboration with the government of Senegal.

PARIS21 is an international partnership of policymakers, analysts and statisticians with the secretariat hosted by OECD in Paris, France.

The work of the secretariat is guided by a steering committee, an international group of stakeholders with representatives of developing countries from each region of the world, bilateral donors, and multilateral institutions.

One of the co-chairs of the steering committee is Pali Lehohla, Statistician- General, Statistics South Africa.

The Dakar conference discussed statistics relevant to the targets of the Millennium Development Goal (MDGs) under three sub-themes -- Demand for Better Statistics and Use of Data, Strategy for Statistical Development, and Partnership for the Development of Statistics.

The high demand for statistics was noted for emerging issues such as climate change, food security, and financial crisis, issues that are not included in current national statistics.

These statistics could include data on indicators such as changes in ocean temperature, rise in sea level, impacts on biodiversity, and migration resulting from natural disasters.

Since the impact of these changes cross national boundaries, statisticians were encouraged to share data so that the problems can be analysed at the most appropriate level of geography – affording a regional analysis.

Participants agreed that national systems of data collection should be the foundation of the international statistical system, and statistical strategies should be developed at regional level to coordinate and harmonise the national statistical development strategies.

For African countries, the PARIS21 meeting was timely as participants got the opportunity to commemorate Africa Statistics Day on 18 November at Gorée, Island, a UNESCO World Heritage Site located two kilometres at sea from the main harbour of Dakar.

The island, which has the House of Slaves constructed in the 15th century, is a reminder of Gorée’s role as the centre of the West African slave trade.

For three centuries, Gorée was the departure point to America and the Caribbean by ships belonging to European slave traders and carrying millions of Africans from the entire western part of the continent against their will.

The owners of the house occupied the upper floor, while the lower flow was reserved for the slaves who were "fattened", weighed, and sold to traders before departing on the transatlantic journey to America.

The slave house with its famous "door of no return" has been preserved in its original state.

Gorée Island today is a haven of tranquillity and a sharp reminder of a painful past that still impacts on current development.

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