Addis Ababa, 23 March 2015 (ECA) – The Economic Commission for Africa will launch its first set of five country profiles on 28 March in Addis Ababa at a side event to be held during the 25-31 Conference of Ministers entitled, “ECA Country Profiles as Policy Making Tools for Structural transformation”. The country profiles are in line with its commitment to providing enhanced services to ECA member States.
Once operational, the Profiles will provide countries and regional entities with data and forecasting tools to refocus their energies on macro economic and social policies towards achieving structural transformation. They will also provide decision makers with strategic and practical recommendations, and allow African countries to assess their macroeconomic and social performances; as well as their progress in line with post-2015 Development agenda objectives on a regular basis.
“The new country profiles are not meant to duplicate existing publications by other institutions, but rather to provide a unique overview of challenges and opportunities for structural transformation”, said ECA Executive Secretary, Carlos Lopes. A key difference between the ECA country profiles and similar products is that they will be based on a sound methodology and on the joint gathering of data with credible national sources, including National Statistics Offices, Finance Ministries, Central Banks and other key stakeholders. Once fully operational, the Country Profiles will be a unique source of comparative data, catering for the needs of decision makers, academics, analysts and civil society organizations.
Note to Editors:
The event will be held on Saturday, 28 March from 9:00 to 11:00 am at the UN Conference Centre in Conference Room 3 and is open to all media. For more information, please visit http://www.uneca.org/cfm2015.
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