Assistant Chief Technical Officer at the Ghana Statistical Survey (GSS), William Addo, has said that Ghana needed to collect quality data to help focus its intervention policies.
He said when data was readily available and understood by everyone, it yielded results and helped in nation building from the grassroots level.
Mr Addo, who was speaking at the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) Data Awareness Workshop in Ho, said data was relevant to Ghana in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
He said for the nation to realize its SDG by 2030, there was the need to monitor and measure all interventions in order to rectify any if need be, to achieve the goals.
Mr Addo said the GSS was collaborating with Local Government to collect administrative data to aid in the call for an open data system.
Mr Wisdom Donkor, President, Africa Open Data, said data was very relevant to development as it promoted transparency in government, generated economic value and improved public service.
He said an open data must be complete, timely and easily accessible to the public without restriction for usage.
Mr Theo van de Sande, Governing Chair, IATI, said gathering data and monitoring SDGs still remained a challenge, and that, usually the goals were often wider than the associated targets and indicators, making collection cumbersome.
