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The United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and have launched a new project to improve macroeconomic statistics in 44 countries in Africa and the Middle East. DFID will provide $9.3 million to support the project over the next five years.
 
The Enhanced Data Dissemination Initiative 2 (EDDI2) is the second phase of a DFID-funded statistics project for Africa that has been implemented by the IMF during 2010-15. The initiative achieved many concrete results, including helping numerous countries to produce for the first time quarterly national accounts, international investment position statistics and financial soundness indicators. The initiative has also facilitated in adding more countries to the IMF’s General Data Dissemination System (GDDS) and the Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS).
 
While building on previous successes, the EDDI2 will provide technical assistance and training to national statistical systems in 44 African and Middle Eastern countries on a broad range of macroeconomic statistics. The project will have a new focus on improving source data, advocating the use of the Open Data Platform for more efficient data dissemination, and expanding the country coverage to include more fragile states in Africa and the Middle East.
 
Under the new project, IMF statistics experts will undertake technical missions to individual countries and lead regional workshops and seminars, working with regional organizations and agencies to promote an exchange of experiences and lessons learned within the regions. Close coordination with the IMF Regional Technical Assistance Centres in Africa and the Middle East (AFRITACs and METAC) is built into the design of the project.