How to Get Data to Speak at The Country Level

July 27, 2016

By Julie Espinosa via Devex

Ensuring that policymakers and practitioners use evidence-based research to inform their decisions requires both rigorous collection of data and a coordinated system to disseminate it. But this coordination remains a challenge for many national statistical offices.

“It’s one thing to have data, but to really have data speak, you need to have it used,” said Alex Ezeh, executive director of the African Population and Health Research Center, a Kenya-based organization that conducts research and advocates for national policies to enable strong data systems.

Ezeh has been outspoken in his support of improving the quality of research in Africa by Africans, and has dedicated his career to just that — in part through his work at APHRC, which holds trainings and fellowships to support young African scientists and strengthen local research capacity.

Watch the video to learn what he believes are the current limitations to accurate, open data in many African countries and how APHRC is working to overcome these barriers.