This means that statistical data available on the platform can now be accessed in all 54 African countries with the latest inclusion of Benin, Comoros, Ivory Coast, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Kenya, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sierra Leone, Swaziland, and Togo.
A statement from the AfDB said: “The AfDB initiative is expected to revolutionize the collection, analysis and sharing of information on Africa and so bring the continent to the forefront of the global information economy.”
Also available on the platform are statistics on climate change, food security, infrastructure and gender equality.
Among the expected users of the data include researchers, analyst and policy makers.
Other users will include international development agencies such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), with the platform acting as a central hub for data sharing among donor agencies.
The IMF specifically is also expected to add and frequently update obtained data in regards to African countries onto the platform as well as provide technical assistance to the countries to ensure data submission and reporting.
The project has also seen the linking of each countries national statistics agencies, relevant ministries, central banks, subregional organisations, international development partners and the global community.
From the platform users can follow up on various development indicators, easily analyse countries and regions of interest, blog and use presentation-ready templates available on the platform.
The project has the objective of helping in the tracing of development, promoting good governance, transparency, foster evidence based decision making and above all help in the achievement of the millennium development goals as well as individual countries development plans.