Background

What is the FASDEV?

The Forum for African Statistical Development (FASDEV) was established following a recommendation made by the first meeting of the Governing Board of the International Comparison Programme for Africa (ICP-Africa) hosted by the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 24 July 2003.

During the meeting, the Board discussed how to further strengthen modalities for collaboration, with a view to leveraging on each partner's comparative advantage, and advancing the common goal of improving statistics in Africa. The Board recommended the organization of a meeting to exchange information on the division of statistical work in Africa and the UNECA Executive Secretary accepted to convene such a meeting, in partnership with the African Development Bank (ADB), the Partnership In Statistics for Development in the 21^st century (PARIS 21) Consortium, and the World Bank.

1st Meeting of the FASDEV

The first meeting of the FASDEV took place at the UNECA headquarters from 12 to 13 May 2004. Twenty-two international, regional and sub regional organizations attended this first meeting. During this meeting, the participants reviewed and took action, through a communiqué endorsed by all them on the following items:

• Establishment of the FASDEV;

• Production of a Reference Regional Strategic Framework for Statistical Development in Africa;

• Support to the elaboration of the National Strategies for the Development of Statistics; and

• Reaffirmation of their willingness of moving from coordination to collaboration among partners.

The establishment of the FASDEV was endorsed at unanimity and its functions were stated as follows:

• To have an overview of statistical activities, including assistance and training in Africa;

• To set up a permanent system to monitor statistical development in Africa, and;

• To strengthen modalities for collaboration with a view to leveraging on each partner's comparative advantage.

The  2nd Meeting of the FASDEV

Following the resolution of the first FASDEV meeting, the AfDB, PARIS21 Consortium, and the World Bank, decided to contribute to the preparation of a Reference Regional Strategic Framework under UNECA coordination, in line with the Marrakech Action Plan on Statistics (MAPS). One of the major sources of constraint of the African statistical systems is the uncoordinated and unsustainable manner in which past statistical development efforts were undertaken. African countries and partners agreed to put in place a new comprehensive and strategic framework serving as a reference guide for all stakeholders engaged in statistical development in Africa. In this regard, representatives of the primary sponsors of FASDEV and the IMF met in Tunis in January 2005 to discuss the coordination of statistical capacity building work in Africa. They agreed to initiate the preparation of the Reference Regional Strategy Framework for statistical capacity building in Africa.

The second FASDEV meeting had representatives from countries, donors, partners, sub regional, regional and international organizations to review and endorse the strategic framework, to guide African statistical development in the future.