Statistics: A call for collaborations, new technologies

Aug 27, 2020

Government officials and experts say there is need to embrace new technologies and collaborations during data collection and analysis.

STATISTICS

KAMPALA - Different government officials and experts have said there is need to embrace new technologies and collaborations during data collection and analysis, as the world tries to cope with effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prof. Ben Kiregyeya, an international statistics consultant, said the pandemic has disrupted ways through which data is collected.

This was during a Thursday conference on the role of quality statistics in national development and post-COVID-19 recovery in Uganda.

Kiregyeya said data collectors need to consider relying on emerging open sources like the private sector and collaborations among themselves to source for credible data that can be used for national development.

His entiments were shared by economist Michael Atingi-Ego, the deputy governor of Bank of Uganda, who said there will be need to rely on new technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning to collect and analyse data "because this is where we are going".

Atingi-Ego said the pandemic, which has turned the entire globe upside down, has affected humans and statistics alike.

With so much data flying around, the economist talked of how it is now hard to know the truth.



The conference happened at the Uganda Bureau of Statistics headquarters in Kampala - conducted in observance of, among other things, the social distance measure meant to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

In the context of development, Uganda's ntional unemployment rate stands at 9% of the working age population while for youths aged 18-30 years it stands at 13%.

UN resident coordinator Rosa Malango, speaking virtually, called for the inclusion of the youth in key national decisions, considering that Uganda is statistically the second youngest nation in the world.

"Any action that you [Uganda] take must make sure that the youth can participate constructively in addition to making sure the women can do so as well," she said.

Gideon Badagawa (pictured immediately below), the executive director of the Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU), voiced the need to focus on how sufficient data is generated to take key decisions.



UBOS executive director Dr. Chris Mukiza underlined that collaboration and coordination are pillars of a consolidated national statistical system.

"The quality of statistics also depends on the quality of users we have, and so is technology, to harness big data," he told the meeting.





BOU deputy governor Michael Atingi-Ego (pictured immediately below) talked of how the pandemic has affected statistics.



UN resident coordinator Rosa Malango, seen below on a giant screen, delivered her remarks remotely.



Statistician Dr. Sam Mugume (pictured below) said this is the suitable time for timely data.




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