The National Statistical Office (NSO) with support from the European Union (EU) and United Nations (UN) on Thursday launched the first official national observatory hub for sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) data.

The platform is one of the products that NSO has developed to collect and disseminate sexual and GBV data in Malawi.

Chikoti: The hub will ensure effective and efficient collection, management, analysis and dissemination of sexual and GBV data.

Speaking on the sidelines of the launch at Annie’s Lodge in Zomba, Commissioner of Statistics Lizzie Chikoti said the hub will ensure effective and efficient collection, management, analysis and dissemination of sexual and GBV data.

She said: “This can only be achieved when we have legislative and policy frameworks in place.  When national and sub-national systems and institutions are strengthened, when we have gender equitable social norms, attitudes and behavioural change at community and individual levels, when quality essential services for survivors are accessible and acceptable, when we have in place civil society organisations and women’s movement that effectively influence and advance progress to eliminate violence against women and girls.”

Chikoti further said the programme has harmonized data collection tools and distribution to all districts councils and group village headmen.

“The hub will ensure that there is interoperability among different sources of information, duplication elimination and effective coordination of data collection, transmission and reporting,” she said.

On his part, High Court Judge Joseph Chigona, who is chairperson of Judiciary Development Programme, said their vision is to offer expeditious and impartial justice for all.

“There are several strategic goals that have been outlined in our 2019-2024 strategic plan and one of them is strengthened service delivery.

“The Judiciary has some resource and technical support gaps hence working with its partners were of paramount importance. Under the Spotlight Initiative the Judiciary has received financial assistance from the UNDP as well as technical assistance from NSO to develop its Case Management System which has already been validated and ready to roll out shortly in the Spotlight Initiative impact districts,” he said.

NSO has legal mandate to collect, compile, analyse, abstract and publish or otherwise disseminate statistical information and is also mandated to organise a coordinated scheme of statistics relating to Malawi through the National Statistics Act 2013.

The success in achievement of the Spotlight Initiative Programme hinges on generating, processing and analysing SGBV data.

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