The Next African Agenda

LDRI’s monthly data chat is held on Twitter and is part of efforts to advocate for and mobilize stakeholders around a common agenda on the publication and use of data and evidence responding to Africa’s development agenda. The data chat provides a platform for stakeholders to discuss the way forward for inclusive and sustainable development in the continent; share insights on how data can be used for evidence-informed decision making; create awareness of the benefits of the use of data and new technologies for development and explore how different stakeholders can strengthen capacity to open up and use data to address development challenges

August Data Chat: Data And Access To Justice

Access to justice is important for inclusive development. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) maintains that the “inability to resolve legal problems diminishes access to economic opportunity, reinforces the poverty trap, and undermines human potential and inclusive growth.” The United Nations has also endorsed the view that justice matters for the global development agenda and its commitment to leave no one behind. The inclusion of target 16.3 in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) commits all member states to “promote the rule of law at the national and international levels, and ensure equal access to justice for all.”

But how do we measure “equal access to all” and sustain access to justice solutions while ensuring marginalized and vulnerable groups are not left behind? How can data on crime be used for development beyond generating statistics? How can we shift the focus from the performance of judicial institutions to measuring the outcomes of the pressing legal needs of the people such as having justice delivered in a fair, cost-efficient, timely, and effective manner?

In our data chat, we will be looking at unpacking some of the above concern areas and ways to expand on the collection and application of Judicial data.

Access to justice is important for inclusive development. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) maintains that the “inability to resolve legal problems diminishes access to economic opportunity, reinforces the poverty trap, and undermines human potential and inclusive growth.” The United Nations has also endorsed the view that justice matters for the global development agenda and its commitment to leave no one behind. The inclusion of target 16.3 in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) commits all member states to “promote the rule of law at the national and international levels, and ensure equal access to justice for all.”

But how do we measure “equal access to all” and sustain access to justice solutions while ensuring marginalized and vulnerable groups are not left behind? How can data on crime be used for development beyond generating statistics? How can we shift the focus from the performance of judicial institutions to measuring the outcomes of the pressing legal needs of the people such as having justice delivered in a fair, cost-efficient, timely, and effective manner?

In our data chat, we will be looking at unpacking some of the above concern areas and ways to expand on the collection and application of Judicial data.

The Athena Initiative's Catherine Nyambura and Nyasha Phanisa speak with Muchiri Nyaggah about the challenges facing the girl child in Africa today, where governments need to prioritize their investments and their observations on the state of gender data in this era of the data revolution.

Visit the Athena Initiative website at www.athenanetwork.org. Follow them on Twitter and Facebook @networkathena

Leonida and Muchiri speak with Irungu Houghton, Amnesty International Kenya's Executive Director, on his experiences, his views and his recommendations on how governments could combat corruption especially in COVID-19 Response procurement.

Leonida and Muchiri speak with Irungu Houghton, Amnesty International Kenya's Executive Director, on his experiences, his views and his recommendations on how governments could combat corruption especially in COVID-19 Response procurement. 

Leonida Mutuku and Muchiri Nyaggah discuss the emerging insights from a project on open data for anti-corruption. LDRI's is part of a consortium led by Open Data Charter with support from the Open Government Partnership and the World Bank that is seeking to support countries in bringing open data for anti corruption to their Open Government Partnership action plans as part of their anti-corruption arsenal. Among those interviewed for this are Irungu Houghton, Executive Director of Amnesty International Kenya, Harriet Wachira of Transparency International Kenya and Jessica Musila, LDRI's Open Government Fellow.

Leonida Mutuku and Muchiri Nyaggah discuss the emerging insights from a project on open data for anti-corruption. LDRI's is part of a consortium led by Open Data Charter with support from the Open Government Partnership and the World Bank that is seeking to support countries in bringing open data for anti corruption to their Open Government Partnership action plans as part of their anti-corruption arsenal. Among those interviewed for this are Irungu Houghton, Executive Director of Amnesty International Kenya, Harriet Wachira of Transparency International Kenya and Jessica Musila, LDRI's Open Government Fellow.

Muchiri speaks with John Kamara, founder and CEO of AfyaRekod, a consumer-driven health data platform built on AI and Blockchain technology. He is also a director at the Machine Intelligence Institute for Africa (SA) and founder of Adalabs (Nairobi).

Muchiri Nyaggah and Leonida Mutuku discuss the recent LDRI report on the state of big data for development in Africa. The report was the result of a study conducted as part of the activities of the Big Data for Development Network of which LDRI and the Africa Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) host the African hub.

Muchiri Nyaggah speaks with Ahmed Maawy, the VP for Engineering at Streamlytics on his journey so far, his experience from previous roles at Ushahidi and Al Jazeera as well his thoughts on where the opportunities lie for big data and artificial intelligence in the industry.