A five-day ECOWAS training on statistical leadership for managers of National Statistical Systems from Member States and Mauritania concluded in Monrovia, Liberia, with calls for stronger institutions and regional cooperation.
The workshop ran from 5 to 9 October 2026 and was organised under the World Bank-funded Project for the Harmonising and Improving of Statistics in West and Central Africa (HISWACA).
According to the ECOWAS Commission, the training aimed to strengthen leadership and management capacities within National Statistical Systems, improve coordination of statistical activities, and support the production and dissemination of reliable, high-quality and timely data across the region.
In closing remarks, Mr. Samson Bel-Aube Nougbodohoue, Director of Research and Statistics at the ECOWAS Commission, thanked participants for their engagement and encouraged them to share the knowledge and skills acquired with their teams on returning to their countries.
He also thanked the Government and People of Liberia for their support, particularly the Director General and staff of the Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo-information Services.
The workshop’s deliberations produced a set of recommendations urging Member States to strengthen strategic leadership, safeguard the professional independence of statistical institutions, improve managerial capacities and coordination among statistical producers, and accelerate the elaboration and implementation of national statistical quality-assurance frameworks.
Participants also emphasised the responsible use of artificial intelligence in producing official statistics, the diversification of data sources, and stronger communication strategies to promote wider use of statistical data.
ECOWAS was encouraged to support these efforts through capacity-building on generative artificial intelligence, regular regional exchanges of experience and good practices, the translation of international statistical guidelines into Community languages, and technical assistance and peer reviews to improve statistical quality assurance.
Participants further recommended establishing a regional committee to ensure that the Community’s perspectives are adequately represented in international statistical decision-making.
The workshop brought together representatives of National Statistical Systems from ECOWAS Member States and Mauritania, alongside regional institutions including the West African Monetary Institute (WAMI), the West African Monetary Agency (WAMA) and the Economic and Statistical Observatory of Sub-Saharan Africa (AFRISTAT).
It concluded with the presentation of certificates to participants.
Comments