Addis Ababa, December 3, 2025 (FMC) — The 19th Session of the African Union Committee of Directors-General of National Statistical Offices (CoDGs) officially commenced today at the AU Headquarters here in Addis Ababa, convening key statistical leaders, policymakers, and international partners from across the continent.
Ethiopia’s Deputy Prime Minister, Temesgen Truneh, attended the opening ceremony and delivered the inaugural remarks, highlighting the country’s commitment to advancing continental statistical capacity.
The session brings together directors-general of national statistics offices, regional economic communities, AU institutions, and international stakeholders to discuss strategies for harmonizing statistical practices across Africa.
This year’s meeting aligns with the 2025 AU theme, “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations,” emphasizing the role of robust, evidence-based data in supporting justice and development initiatives.
Over the course of the session, participants are set to review the mid-term progress of the Second Strategy for the Harmonization of Statistics in Africa (SHaSA-2), assess outputs from technical working groups, and evaluate the status of ratification of the African Charter on Statistics.
The meeting will also focus on strengthening governance and operational frameworks of AU-STATAFRIC to enhance coordination among national and regional statistical systems.
Experts and officials attending the CoDGs are expected to issue recommendations that will guide national statistics offices and continental institutions in producing timely, reliable, and harmonized data.
These outputs are said to be critical to supporting policymaking, development planning, and initiatives related to justice and reparatory efforts across Africa.
The 19th CoDGs session will continue throughout the week at the AU Headquarters in Addis Ababa.