Africa should urgently invest in robust data and statistical systems to accelerate sustainable development, the Director of the Africa Centre for Statistics at the Economic Commission for Africa, (ECA), Oliver Chinganya has urged.

Opening the Eleventh Forum on African Statistical Development (FASDEV X), as part of the series of events by the community of African statisticians, including Statistical Commission for Africa (STATCOM),   Mr. Chingaya, stressed the importance of data and statistics in supporting informed decision-making and planning.

FASDev initiated in 2004 by the ECA, the African Development Bank, the Partnership in Statistics for Development in the 21st Century (PARIS21) and the World Bank, brings together representatives of national statistical offices, statistical training centres, international, regional and subregional institutions, bilateral agencies, international donors to deliberate on supporting statistical development in Africa.