The Project will aim to strengthen the statistical system of participating countries and regional bodies in Africa to produce, disseminate and improve the use of key economic and social statistics.

The regional approach of this project is aligned with the African Union Strategy for the Harmonization of Statistics in Africa (SHaSA2) and the forthcoming ECOWAS Regional Strategy 2019-2023 which in turn is also aligned with SHaSA2. This sub-regional organization also has the harmonization of statistics as part of its mandate and for this reason can be used as a regional body for the implementation of this project. The ECOWAS vision is to mobilize regional resources to improve human capital and create opportunities for sustainable development, promote peace and security, and strengthen the institutions of democratic governance using international standards. The overall goal is to raise the standard of living of the people in its member countries, and to this end funding in the total amount of US$15,000,000 (fifteen million US dollars) has been provided by the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank Group.