The African Development Bank Group, together with regional and international partners, has concluded the first African Forum on Gender and Child Statistics (AGCSF 2026) in Yaoundé, Cameroon, with renewed commitments to strengthen statistical systems across Africa. The five-day forum brought together policymakers, national statistical agencies, development partners, researchers, civil society, and private sector representatives to improve the collection and use of data that supports better policies for women and children.
Organised by the African Development Bank Group, the African Union Commission, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), UN Women, UNICEF, and Cameroon’s National Institute of Statistics, the forum focused on the theme “Statistics that Matter: Rights, Justice and Opportunities for All.” Participants highlighted the critical role of reliable, harmonised, and disaggregated data in shaping evidence-based public policies and promoting inclusive development across the continent.
A major milestone of this inaugural edition was the expansion of the former African Forum on Gender Statistics, established in 2017, to fully integrate child-related data into gender statistics. The broader approach aims to provide governments with more comprehensive information to address issues affecting women, children, and vulnerable communities.
Throughout the event, delegates discussed strategies to improve the production, harmonisation, and use of gender and child statistics. Key topics included violence against women and children, legal identity, migration, climate change, access to justice, women’s leadership, and the growing role of digital technologies, administrative data, and artificial intelligence in modernising Africa’s statistical systems.
The forum also advanced preparations for the African Gender Index (AGI) 2027, a joint initiative of the African Development Bank Group and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. Participants reviewed updates to the index’s methodology and discussed lessons from the pilot data collection phase to strengthen the monitoring of gender equality across African countries.
At the conclusion of the forum, participants recommended making the event an annual platform for collaboration, knowledge sharing, and policy dialogue. They also called on African governments to increase investment in national statistical systems, encouraged development partners to continue supporting high-quality data collection, and urged national statistical institutions to modernise their operations to promote equality, human rights, and sustainable development.
The successful launch of Africa’s first continental forum on gender and child statistics marks an important step toward strengthening evidence-based policymaking. By improving the quality and availability of data, African countries will be better equipped to design inclusive policies that support women, children, and sustainable development across the continent.
