The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission has begun a five-day training programme to strengthen leadership and management within National Statistical Systems across West Africa.
The training, which runs from October 5 to 9, 2026, is taking place in Monrovia, Liberia, with participants drawn from ECOWAS member states and Mauritania, according to a statement issued Wednesday.
The programme is being implemented under the World Bank-funded Project for the Harmonisation and Improvement of Statistics in West and Central Africa (HISWACA).
It is organised through the ECOWAS Commission’s Department of Economic Affairs and Agriculture and is designed to improve the capacity of managers working in National Statistical Offices (NSOs) and National Statistical Systems (NSSs).
ECOWAS said the training is aimed at strengthening the ability of statistical leaders to provide effective leadership while improving the quality, reliability and relevance of official statistics across the region.
Participants include representatives of the West African Monetary Agency (WAMA), West African Monetary Institute (WAMI) and technical staff of the ECOWAS Commission.
The programme will expose participants to modern leadership and management approaches to help them coordinate teams more effectively and respond to changes in the regional and global data ecosystem.
The initiative comes as governments increasingly rely on accurate and timely official statistics to guide economic policy, development planning and resource allocation.
According to ECOWAS, strengthening leadership within national statistical systems is expected to contribute to more efficient institutions capable of producing reliable data for evidence-based policymaking and development planning across West Africa.
The Commission said the training forms part of broader efforts under HISWACA to harmonise and improve statistical systems in West and Central Africa.
