1. The African Union Committee of Directors General of National Statistics Offices (CoDGs) held their Seventeenth (17th) Annual Meeting at the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) from 13th to 15th December 2023. The meeting was convened to deliberate on the Acceleration of African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Implementation to raise awareness among decision-makers, technical and financial partners, data producers and users, researchers, and the public about the importance of official statistics and big data to accelerate implementing AfCFTA and promote the intercontinental trade.
2. During the event, The World Bank has officially launched the Project, Chapter: Harmonizing and improving of Statistics in West and Central Africa “HISWACA” Series of Projects One (HISWACA-SOP1-P178497) - IDA Grant No. E1740. HISWACA-SOP1 aims to improve the statistical performance, harmonization, and data access and use of participating countries and regional bodies in West Africa (AFW) and to support the modernization of their statistical systems under four (4) different components:
   • Component 1: Harmonization and Production of Core statistics Using Harmonized Methodologies
   • Component 2. Supporting Statistical Modernization of Participating Countries’ NSOs
   • Component 3: Support Physical Infrastructure upgrading and Modernization.
   • Component 4: Project Management, Monitoring, and Evaluation
3. This launching ceremony was coupled with its maiden Committee Meeting of the NSO’s Directors General. The implementing agency of the Project is AUC STATAFRIC with technical support of the Western Africa & Central Africa, the three Regional Bodies and the participating countries and financial support from the Bank IDA Grant No. E1740. HISWACA-SOP1. The ceremony was attended by AU member states, Directors General of National

4. Consequently, The World Bank is financing the Harmonizing and Improving Statistics in West and Central Africa (HISWACA or the Project) to support countries in Western and Central Africa to improve the statistical performance of national and regional statistical systems, especially data sources and data infrastructure while ensuring that data produced are harmonized and made more comparable. This program will be implemented in two Series of Projects (SOP). SOP1 covers eight member countries in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and three other regional institutions, African Union Institute for Statistics (STATAFRIC) under the Project Coordinator, Commission and West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU Commission). Countries in SOP1 are Benin, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, and The Gambia. SOP2 includes the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (Communauté économique et monétaire de l'Afrique centrale, CEMAC), Cameroon, Central African Republic (CAR), Chad, Gabon, and Republic of Congo (RoC), and work in close collaboration with the Project coordinator for the effective and efficient implementation of the project.

The four-year project aims to improve country statistical performance, regional harmonization, data access and use, and to enhance modernization of the statistical systems in participating countries and will focus on local communities and will benefit the population of each country and region who are the target beneficiaries through regional integration and national efforts to help eradicate poverty and promote shared prosperity in a sustainable way through improved living conditions.