UNICEF hails Ugandan database for measuring social development

Praising Uganda for setting up a national database containing measures from more than 200 indicators of social development, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said it would help the African country monitor its progress towards achieving its anti-poverty goals.

Unveiled yesterday in Kampala, the national capital, UgandaInfo – which was developed by the Ugandan Government with the help of UNICEF – comprises data from key indicators in such fields as education, health and poverty.

The computer software behind the programme allows the data to be updated constantly, while the information can be compiled by district as well as by country.

UNICEF Representative in Uganda Martin Mogwanja said the database “will provide the backbone to efficient decision-making and resource allocation,” adding it will be particularly useful in charting progress towards international poverty and development targets.

These include the global Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), adopted at a 2000 UN summit, which call for halving extreme poverty and slashing child and maternal mortality rates by 2015.