Data coordination has presented a challenge to Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Program (CAADP) implementers for a long time. This is now more acute with the larger number of indicators in the new framework. CAADP aims to fight poverty and hunger through strengthening agricultural transformation which includes paying close attention to areas such as: investment in Agriculture, tripling Intra-African […]
The Open Data for Development Network (OD4D), during the recent International Open Data Conference (IODC 2016), announced that LDRI shall be the initial coordinator of the Africa Open Data Network. Consequently, we are now tasked with developing plans on how the network takes shape on the continent. The official announcement by OD4D can be found here. Africa’s […]
‘Pessimism around poor agricultural performance coupled with optimism about its potential and its necessity as an engine of growth and development combine to inform many of the most popular agriculture centred policy recommendations for Africa’ (Oya, 2010:85). Indeed as Oya notes, literature on determinants of agricultural policy in Africa often gravitate towards two polarizing views. […]
Over the past few weeks, we have explored key elements of Resilience in Disaster Risk Reduction. The vital role played by data and information was the first in this series and it illustrated the importance of awareness in resilience building because, as Judith Rodin explains in her book The Resilience Dividend, we must know what our strengths and assets are, what […]
In our first post of the series, we established our compound working definition for ‘developmental state’ as we explore the context within which a data revolution would play out in Africa; “A developmental state is one whose ideological underpinnings enable it to act with authority, credibility and legitimacy in making deliberate and serious attempts to […]
“Because everything is interconnected-a massive system of systems-a single disruption often triggers another, which exacerbates the effects of the first, so that the original shock becomes a cascade of crises.” Judith Rodin, The Resilience Dividend Over a 5 part series, we are exploring core elements of resilience which provide us with a contextual framework for examining […]
According to the World Bank, the African continent is home to some of the fastest growing economies in the world. However in the same breath, United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) asserts that disasters in sub-Saharan Africa are increasing in frequency, severity and impact. On average, almost two disasters of significant proportions are […]
Anyone who has made, even a cursory search, of the term ‘developmental state’ will immediately notice the predominant examples of south East Asian countries as models for developmental states. Over the years, with the South East Asian countries as the primary frame of reference, a number of prominent researchers have put forward definitions for the […]
It was the winter of 1997-1998 when the granddaddy of El Niños — the one by which all other El Niños are judged — vaulted this name, now a common term associated with climate change, to household name status. In Kenya, El Niño led to the closure of schools, wide scale flooding, displacement of people […]
The data revolution in Kenya has not only begun but is also inspiring other Africa countries on how data can help us achieve the ambitious Agenda 2063. The National Forum on Harnessing the Data Revolution for Sustainable Development held on August 28-29th 2015 is a platform that has catalysed the formation of a National Partnership on Development Data in Kenya. It […]
This next January, Africa will be celebrating 9 years since the adoption of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance. It will have been in force for 4 years in February 2016 and calls upon state parties to implement it in accordance with its explicitly stated 11 principles which include; Respect for human rights and […]
“The revolution and women’s liberation go together. We do not talk of women’s emancipation as an act of charity or out of a surge of human compassion. It is a basic necessity for the revolution to triumph.” Thomas Sankara, President of Burkina Faso, 1983 – 1987 Gender equality and women’s empowerment remain central tenets for […]