Johannesburg, South Africa — Officials from Southern African Development Community (SADC) member states gathered in Johannesburg from May 19 to 22 for a regional workshop focused on integrating mobile phone data into national statistical systems. The workshop aims to strengthen the region’s capacity to use innovative data sources to improve the accuracy and timeliness of official statistics.
The four-day event, supported by the World Bank Group, brings together government representatives from ICT ministries, national regulatory authorities, statistics offices, and mobile network operators. Participants are involved in hands-on sessions and collaborative exercises designed to enhance their skills in applying mobile phone data for statistical analysis.
Key topics discussed include tracking population movements and demographics through mobile data, socio-economic applications such as urban planning and health surveillance, and the use of Call Detail Records (CDRs) for analysis. The workshop also addresses legal frameworks, data sharing agreements, and public-private partnerships crucial for ethical and effective data use. 
Senior Programme Officer for Statistics at the SADC Secretariat, Mr. Deepchandsingh Jagai, noted the significant benefits mobile phone data offers in modernising statistics, enabling faster, cost-effective, and more precise data collection. Dr. George Ah-Thew, SADC’s Senior Programme Officer for ICT, stressed the importance of collaboration among ICT ministries, regulatory authorities, national statistics offices, data protection agencies, and mobile operators for the success of this initiative.
Project Coordinator for the SADC Regional Statistics Project, Ms. Pamela Chirwa, said the workshop represents a major step in harnessing big data sources for smarter, evidence-based policy decisions across the region.
