The Use of Geographic Information Systems in National Statistical Offices for Data Collection and Poverty Mapping

Poverty alleviation is at the forefront of the global development agenda. As a result, there has been an increase in the demand for quality statistics to evaluate and monitor progress towards internationally and national agreed development agendas such as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the Poverty Reduction Strategies (PRSs).
The latest evaluation of the progress towards achieving the MDGs1 shows that African countries are lagging behind with increasing number of poor, lack of school, and poor access to water and basic health care in their search of sustainable development.