The fifth phase of the Statistical Capacity Building Program (SCB-5) was designed in response to the deterioration of the National Statistical Institutes (NSOs), particularly those in the transitional states since the onset of COVID-19.

The pandemic has not only disrupted field operations for data collection in previously planned surveys and censuses that have had to be postponed, but it has also reduced allocated budgets as scarce financial resources were shifted to saving lives, protecting livelihoods and reviving economies.

The SCB aims to build an efficient African statistical system that generates reliable, harmonized and timely statistical information covering political, economic, social, environmental, climate and cultural development dimensions to support the African integration agenda. The fifth SCB is anchored on many years of accumulated practical experience and incremental value addition to the African Statistical System. It comprises five main components namely:

(1) improving the availability and quality of economic statistics, including the measurement of the COVID-19 impact;

(2) improving the quality and availability of Social Statistics and reporting on COVID-19;

(3) Data Collection, Management and Dissemination;

(4) Strategic Planning, Systems Development, Coordination and Training as well as (5) Project Management....