Abstract

The Strategy for the Harmonisation of Statistics in Africa (SHaSA) establishes a framework for producing reliable, comparable official health statistics across the continent. These statistics support evidence-based policymaking and the monitoring of development commitments such as the African Union Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals. Producing harmonised indicators requires strong analytical capacity within national institutions. This includes evaluating data sources, generating reliable estimates, assessing uncertainty, and interpreting discrepancies between datasets.

This presentation highlights an African Union-led capacity-building initiative to strengthen the analytical competencies of national focal points responsible for health statistics reporting. It focuses on the statistical skills needed to transform survey, census, and routine health system data into official statistics. Key topics include quality assessment, indicator comparability, and uncertainty analysis. The presentation demonstrates how statistical skills and effective institutional coordination can improve the production of comparable health indicators. Strengthening these capabilities also reinforces the role of national statistical offices as independent authorities and key actors in data governance.