August 6, 2026 (Djibouti, Djibouti): The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), through its Planning, Coordination and Partnerships Division (PCPD), with support from the African Development Bank (AfDB), convened a four-day capacity-building and technical assistance programme on the adoption and implementation of the Statistical Data and Metadata Exchange (SDMX) standard, reinforcing its commitment to strengthening regional statistical systems and advancing evidence-based policymaking across the IGAD region.
The programme brought together technical experts, statisticians, data managers, IT and communications specialists from across the Secretariat to strengthen institutional capacity in SDMX and support IGAD’s transition to the Open Data Portal (ODP) 2.0.
The initiative forms part of the African Development Bank’s African Information Highway (AIH), which promotes the adoption of international standards for statistical data and metadata exchange while supporting African institutions in modernising data management, dissemination, and reporting systems.
Opening the programme, Mr. Onyari Josephat, Director of Administration and Finance at the IGAD Secretariat, underscored the importance of investing in modern statistical systems to support regional integration and evidence-based decision-making.
“Reliable, harmonised, and accessible data is fundamental to informed decision-making and effective regional integration. By adopting the Statistical Data and Metadata Exchange (SDMX) standard, IGAD is strengthening its capacity to generate, manage, and disseminate high-quality statistics that support evidence-based policies and sustainable development across our region. This programme is not only about enhancing technical skills, but also about building a modern statistical system that better serves our Member States and development partners,” he said.
Throughout the four-day programme, participants enhanced their practical knowledge of SDMX, multidimensional data modelling, and the development of harmonised data structures. They also acquired the technical skills required to deploy, administer, and manage the Open Data Portal (ODP) 2.0, strengthening IGAD’s capacity to manage, disseminate, and report official statistics using internationally recognised standards.
A key outcome of the programme was the development of harmonised SDMX Data Structure Definitions (DSDs) to support the online dissemination of regional statistics. These standardised data structures provide a common framework for integrating verified data from IGAD Member States and other data producers across multiple statistical domains.
The harmonised DSDs will improve the interoperability, consistency, comparability, and quality of regional statistics while facilitating more efficient data exchange between IGAD, its Member States, and regional and international partners. By reducing duplication in data collection and reporting, they will also contribute to more reliable statistics and better-informed policy and development decisions.
The programme further initiated the development of a long-term roadmap for institutionalising SDMX across IGAD and its Member States. The roadmap will guide the continued deployment of the Open Data Portal (ODP) 2.0 and the progressive migration of regional statistical data into a harmonised repository, providing a more integrated, interoperable, and user-friendly platform for storing, exchanging, accessing, and disseminating official statistics.
The four-day programme concluded with a renewed commitment to strengthening institutional capacity, advancing regional collaboration on statistical systems, and promoting the use of high-quality, harmonised data to support regional integration and sustainable development.
Through strategic partnerships and continued investment in modern statistical systems, IGAD remains committed to building a robust regional data ecosystem that enhances transparency, strengthens evidence-based policymaking, and delivers reliable official statistics for Member States, development partners, researchers, and citizens across the region.
