Professor Kofi Awusabo-Asare, Lecturer, Department of Population and Health (DPH), University of Cape Coast (UCC), on Tuesday said poor dissemination and lack of knowledge on the availability of data by potential users were reasons for the inadequate use of data in the country.
He said even though data were available, potential users including the media and policy makers might be unaware of their existence or potential use.
Prof. Awusabo-Asare made the observation at a seminar for journalists on strategising to improve access to and use of demographic and population data in reporting, in a manner which would be useful for the media community and society.
He explained that the seminar was a follow-up to the Demographic Data for Development, also known as the 3D study, which was conducted in Ethiopia, Ghana, Senegal and Uganda, by the Department in 2008.
Prof. Awusabo-Asare said the study indicated that delay in the collection and release of data also reduced demand for data from policy makers and the media, adding timelines was a serious problem, "as by the time the findings are released, the context may have changed, making the
data less useful."
He urged participants to identify strategies for continuing education and improving access to and appropriate use of data by the media, saying,
even though development data were increasingly being collected in developing countries, it was not clear whether they were being used to their fullest potential by the people who needed them most.
Prof. Awusabo-Asare, noted that demographic data provided an essential evidence-base for the planning and evaluation of development policies and therefore accessible data, functioned as public good, benefiting citizens and the political system as a whole.
He explained that Demographic Data for Development case studies, focused on the under-utilisation of existing data, particularly factors that limited their collection, use, and sharing.
Prof. Awusabo-Asare noted that with global initiatives such as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) increasingly putting pressure on
developing countries to quantify the outcomes of donor investments, the adoption of result-based budgeting by international donors had had a
positive influence on demand for data.
He challenged journalists to develop interest in data analysis to be able to provide reports accurately.