African countries have been urged to deepen home-grown evaluation ecosystem to be less dependent on western evaluation systems to make evidence-based decisions and fast-track their economic development.
The call came on Tuesday during the 25th celebration of the African Evaluation Association (AfrEA) in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, marking its journey of capacity building, knowledge sharing and promoting evidence-based policy-making across Africa.
Speaking at the event, Botho Keba Bayendi, Director of Strategic Planning and Delivery with the African Union (AU) Commission, emphasised the need to promote Africa centered evaluation systems that would help redirect resources, ensure inclusivity and diagnose development bottlenecks of the continent.
She said the home-made evaluation system will help Africa stimulate implementation of its development agenda, generate timely and credible data and translate evaluation findings into actionable policy reforms.
Bayendi stressed the need for the 55 AU member states to deliver SDGs and agenda 2063 based on their national development plans to achieve the “Africa we want”, urging the African government to meet the expectations of their citizens.
Miche Ouedraogo, President of AfrEA has called for promoting African-rooted evaluation approach with the aim of taking benefit of indigenous knowledge and aligning the evaluation process with the context, lifestyle and needs of African people.
“This 25th anniversary is not only a celebration but a call for action. It is time for bold steps forward, consolidate efforts, harmonize voices, and create a continental roadmap aligned with African Union agenda 2063, ”Ouedraogo said.
He said AfrEA is set to inaugurate the African School of Evaluation, in collaboration with leading academic and research institutions, to offer specialised programming on Made in Africa Evaluation.
MG/as/APA