Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ECLAC held National Capacity Building Workshops by Emerald David

These workshops form the first phase of the DA16 Project, which seeks to accelerate the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through targeted capacity building initiatives within the Public Service of Antigua and Barbuda. They aim to strengthen the technical capacities of public sector officials in areas that are critical to evidence-based policy making, strategic planning, programme implementation, and effective decision making. Attendees comprised of Officials from Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Education, Treasury Department, National Bureau of Statistics, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Health, Labour Department, Customs and Excise Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Immigration and Trade.

The workshops commenced on September 9th 2026 and concluded on September 24th 2026.“National Capacity Building Workshop in Strategic Planning”. 9th- 11th September. “National Capacity Building Workshop in Cost Benefit Analysis” 14th – 18th September. “National Capacity Building Workshop in Statistical Analysis”. 21st -24th September

The workshops presenter was Dr. Abdullahi Olabode Abdulkadri, Coordinator of the Statistics and Social Development Unit at United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). The Statistical Analysis Workshop, which I attended, primarily focused on enhancing the statistical skills of Public Sector Workers. The aim was to engage participants to become more comfortable working with data and to identify the importance of data while being informed on key factors to consider.

Focal points included. i) Introduction to Statistics and Statistical Technologies. ii) Introduction to Probability and Probability Distributions. iii) Data Collection and Sampling. iv) Data Presentation. v) Data Disaggregation. vi) Introduction to Regression Analysis.

On completion of this weeks workshop, participants would have gained knowledge to contribute in their respective Ministries regarding data and also complete simple analysis while appreciating the significance of data credibility and data integrity.

Each session was remarkably informative and impactful. As a Statistical Officer within the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Fisheries and the Blue Economy, the statistical process is truly the foundation for all information and it was quite an honor to have been selected to attend such an amazing and crucial initiative.