National Statistics Database Launched

The Daily Observer (Banjul)

Bekai Njie and Fatou Jallow

2 June 2011

The Gambia Bureau of Statistics (GBoS) in collaboration with UNICEF, UNDP and UNFPA Wednesday launched the Gambia National Statistics Database otherwise called GAMINFO, at the Atlantic Hotel in Banjul.

The GAMINFO system was developed with the usage of a software called DevInfo which is also a database system that harnesses the power of advanced information technology to compile and disseminate data on human development indicators. The system is also believed to be endorsed by the UN development group to assist the countries to monitor progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Officially launching the system on behalf of the vice president and minister of Women Affairs, Lamin Nyabally, permanent secretary No1. Office of the Vice President described the launching of GAMINFO as a historic event whose process started since 2007 and went through hurdles. He added that with great determination, success was registered which culminated in the availability of a database already web-enabled and accessible by all stakeholders including the wider international community.

PS Nyabally told the gathering that the significance of the venture cannot be overemphasised, considering the serious data paucity the country is experiencing, warranting the conduct of a demographic and the health survey. “Days are gone when the planners and policymakers grope in the dark,” he enthused. He stressed the need to invest in enhancing capacities in data collection, analysis and dissemination as an important pre-requisite for effectively measuring progress in the attainment of the country’s development blueprint, among others. He then called on data users to endeavour to make good use of research findings in all aspects of planning.

He continued: “The fact that lots of efforts have been into the harmonisation of the national indicators, the absence of a national database for the presentation of this indicators has often led to conflicting data values for the same indicators generated. I am happy that all the 300 indicators are trackable and the data values posted against them are from nationally representative studies and published sources.”

Nyabally expressed optimism that GAMINFO will be effectively utilised as a powerful advocacy tool in the promotion of evidence-based policymaking, programme monitoring and evaluation. He said: “I also understand that the database will be continuously updated with the latest data from the national survey and censuses conducted by the GBoS as well as data from other statistics institutions.” He also called on stakeholders and other partners to feed GAMINFO and not to view it as just GAMINFO. He finally thanked UN for their effective collaboration throughout the struggle.

For his part, Alieu S M Ndow, the statistician general at the Statistics Bureau explained that GAMINFO is a human development monitoring tool developed by GBoS through funding from the United Nations in The Gambia. According to him, the main aim of the tool is to create a common national database that represents all sectors; and will enable easy accessibility of data and key development for effective planning, monitoring and decision-making. “Besides the global human development indicators, GAMINFO has also been organised to address national priorities such as those set in the Vision 2020 blueprint. The GAMINFO has been built on the latest version of the DevInfO software which has improved features such as generating time-series automatically and showing more than one indicator on one map using the Map Wizard,” he further explained.

Ndow finally urged all statistics producers to make available all necessary data that are being collected within their sectors to ensure that GAMINFO is sustained and continues to be relevant to development needs. He expressed hope that government agencies, development partners, private individuals and organisations will find GAMINFO an extremely valuable tool in the provision of timely and reliable data without going through any difficulty. Malcom Duthie, the acting UN representative in The Gambia explained the role of GAMINFO in connection to the importance of data and the availability of information that they can rely on and can be used for comparison to see how they are doing.

He said that the database is an offspring of efforts made worldwide in the development of something called DevInfo, which was established by UNICEF together with the UN system to assist member states to track progress in meeting the MDGs. He disclosed that the aim was to provide a database that could be accessed through the web. He added: “Its specific purpose is to store existing data, identify gaps in the MDG indicators, provide a single entry point on the MDG indicator, and disseminate information simply and attractively. It is also designed to be user-friendly and to make it easy for national entities to use the integrated database for advocacy with key decision-makers, planning and source of reliable national data on the MDGs.”

Duthie said a customised national version of the database can be found all over the world, and that presently 138 countries had developed national statistical data systems, including Benin, Russian Federation and The Gambia. He also stated that training has been provided to at least 213 countries in the use of DevInfo. “As we are all aware, up-to-date and reliable data is a challenge in this country and the process of developing the GAMINFO was long and complex. Series of training events were organised on the user interface and many partners from government and NGOs benefitted from these trainings,” he added.

He thanked the government of The Gambia for the support in facilitating the development of GAMINFO; he also thanked the various ministries as well as the planning directors for providing the data in the database and urged them to continue to support GBoS for easy facilitation and management of the database.

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