By Politico Staff writer
Sierra Leone’s Statistician-General Professor Osman Sankoh is now Vice-Chair of the United Nations Statistical Commission (UNSC). He was unanimously elected following his nomination by the Government in Freetown through the country’s Permanent Mission to the UN in New York, the United States. Before his latest position, Prof. Sankoh in the recent past twice served as Rapporteur at the Commission in March 2020 and March 2021.
Ms. Gabriella Vukovich from Hungary was elected the new Chair of UNSC. Colombian Juan Daniel Oviedo and Georges –Simon Ulrich from Switzerland also got elected Vice-Chair.
The commission’s new Rapporteur is South Korean RYU Keunkwan.
Prof. Sankoh was appointed to head Sierra Leone’s Statistics office in 2018.
His tenure in office has seen Stats. SL conduct the first digital Mid Term Census in 2021, which was preceded by the use of satellite imagery for the first cartographic mapping of the country, and also the initiation of transformative programmes , thereby attracting donor confidence that saw the allocation by the World Bank of $30 Million grant for 2019-2024
“Mallam O. has been awarded several national awards including among the topmost, Commander of the Order of the Rokel by His Excellency the President of the Republic of Sierra Leone during the commemoration of the country’s 60th Independence Anniversary in April 202”, a Press Release by Stats SL Communications and Public Relations Division reads.
According to Stat SL, UNSC is the highest global “decision making body for international statistical activities, responsible for the setting of statistical standards and the development of concepts and methods, including their implementation at the national and international level.”
It is the functional Commission of the UN Economic and Social Council. Prof. Sankoh “is a poet, author of both technical and literary books and has more than 120 scientific papers in peer-reviewed international journals.”
He got his first degree in Mathematics and English at Njala University College (University of Sierra Leone). He pursued postgraduate studies in Statistics at the Technical University of Dortmund in Germany, ending with a Doctor of Science degree. He then secured a scientific position at the University of Heidelberg Medical School in Germany.
“He currently holds a honorary position as a full professor on the Faculty of Health Sciences in the School of Public Health at one of Africa’s topmost universities, the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa where he has supervised masters, doctoral and postdoctoral students”, according to Stats SL Communication.
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