Malawi launches its latest database on human development

APA-Lilongwe (Malawi) Malawi’s National Statistical Office and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) on Tuesday in Lilongwe launched MASEDA 3.0, a computer programme said to contain the latest and most comprehensive database on human development in the country.

Malawi Socio-Economic Database (MASEDA) is designed as a fundamental tool to promote evidence-based planning of development efforts, according to the two offices.

Speaking during the launch, the UN Resident Coordinator here, Michael Keating, said that MASEDA allows one to have a common understanding of the performance and impact of development investment.

Keating said the opportunities that MASEDA 3.0 presented like management of development is impossible without measurement tools.

“Our role is to support the government track progress of meeting Millennium Development Goals in Malawi, prioritise development investment by region and sector, and raise and allocate funds in a coordinated fashion to maximise results,” the diplomat added

MASEDA 3.0 software organizes data by sector or geographic area and presents this in different formats – maps, graphs and tables.

The mapping facility can produce 28 individual district maps showing boundaries of traditional authorities (or chiefs) within each district map.

The software contains over 600 socio-economic indicators, which can measure progress of the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy (MGDS), the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and sector-specific targets.

Keating said the software was developed to enable government departments, development organisations, civil society, research and academic institutions to access uniform information for coordinated national development efforts.

Keating commended National Statistical Office for its commitment and hard work in developing the database.

According to National Statistics Office Commissioner Charles Machinjili, his office developed the first version of the programme in 2001 with 147 key indicators, and launched a second version in November 2004.

He said MASEDA is based on DevInfo software, which has been adopted globally by the UN as the format for national indicator databases.

Machinjili added that this week marks the halfway point between adoption of Millennium Development Goals in 2000 and the target date 2015.

The 2007 UN Millennium Development Goals Report shows that sub-Saharan Africa is not on track to achieve the MDGs, but reaffirms that the goals can still be achieved with the right combination of policies, resources and global partnership.

"Policymakers and development planners at national, district and local level can use MASEDA to ensure policy formulation is in response to the real picture on the ground and therefore determine the sectors and regions that require increased investment, and accelerate progress to meet the Goals," he said.