Somalia Set to host Inaugural African Statistics Day Celebrations

The Somalia National Bureau of Statistics (SNBS) is set to host the inaugural African Statistics Day Celebrations on Thursday 18th November 2021. The African Statistics Day is an annual event celebrated to raise public awareness on the importance of statistics in all aspects of social and economic life.

The theme for this year is “Modernizing National Statistical Systems to support sociocultural development in Africa”, and was chosen to raise awareness among decision-makers, technical and financial partners, data producers and users, researchers, academicians, and the general public about the importance of data and statistics in the process of building back better and more inclusively, post COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking ahead of the event, SNBS Director-General Mr. Sharmarke Farah said that the the event will provide a platform for stakeholders including government agencies, federal member states, development partners and the private sector to chart the way forward in producing statistical information relevant to the current and emerging needs of data users. “Ensuring the relevance of our national data can only be accomplished through consultation with data users, data producers and other interested parties. In order to reach the different groups, many different consultative mechanisms are adopted. The African Statistics Day summit will provide us with a unique opportunity to meet and consult the stakeholders on transforming and modernizing our National Bureau of Statistics to adequately respond to all data demands,” Mr. Sharmarke Farah.

The event will be graced by among others the Minister of Finance Dr. Abdirahman Dualeh Beileh, Ministrer of planning, Investment and Economic Development Amb. Gamal M Hassan, Auditor General Mohamed Ali (Afgoi), representatives from UNICEF, UNFPA, and Central Bank of Somalia.

In recent years, national governments and the international development community have increasingly recognised the essential role that statistics play in development policy and, as a consequence, the need for strategic planning in the development of national statistical systems in developing countries. Following the adverse impact of the pandemic on the global economy, African countries have been prompted to accelerate and materialize the establishment of the African group on transformation and modernization of official statistics. The statistical community has globally recognized that producers of official statistics need to transform and modernize to adequately respond to all data demands arising from the 2030 Agenda, Agenda 2063, Subregional and National Development Plans as well as other agendas and frameworks.

This transformation and modernization cover all areas of official statistics, including the institutional statistical environment, production processes, coordination, and collaboration. The event will provide a platform for stakeholders to create a body of knowledge to promote statistical development.

Ends About Somalia National Bureau of Statistic