The Minister of Local of Government, Chieftain­cy and Religious Affairs, Ahmed Ibrahim, yesterday launched the Constituency Profile Reports on Eight Constituen­cies and entreated Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assem­blies (MMDAs) to prioritise data collection on their operations to ensure effective policy planning for national development.He said data was important in the current digital world and the MMDAs must take data collection seriously in their service delivery.Mr Ibrahim said this during the launch and release of Constituency Profile Reports in Ghana in Accra yesterday.The constituencies are Accra Metropolitan Assembly Odododi­odio, Ablekuma South, Okaikwei South, Fanteakwa North Constit­uency, Akatsi North Constituency; Amansie Central Constituency, Afigya Sekyere East Constituency, Talensi Constituency, Tano South Constituency, and Ketu South Constituency.The Constituency Profile Re­ports was developed by the African Centre for Parliamentary Affairs Ghana (ACEPA), Statistical Service (GSS) and On Think Tanks (OTT) under the Data for Accountability Project II with funding from Hewl­ett Foundation.It was developed from adminis­trative data produced at the district level across multiple sectors as well 2021 Population and Housing Census, with the aim of providing background and context to the development needs of these Con­stituencies.It covered indicators across sec­tors such as education, health, ICT access, infrastructure, agriculture, and district financing.Mr Ibrahim said the report would be prioritised and use as indicator in the allocation of re­sources to the MMDAs.He directed MMDAs which had not submitted their 2024 data for statistical computation to GSS to do.The Government Statistician, Dr Alhasan Iddrisu, in his remarks said the Constituency Profile Reports was produced under the Data for Accountability Project (DAP) phase II.He said the report reflected the shared ambition of GSS to strengthen evidence-informed par­liamentary oversight and inclusive local development by leveraging administrative data that is collected at the district level.Dr Iddrisu said the reports were based on administrative data span­ning 2015 to 2023.In a highlight on the report, the Government Statistician said 24 per cent of the constituents in Afigya Sekyere East were not covered by health insurance.Dr Iddrisu said in the Fanteakwa North Constituency, females con­stituted more than half (55.1 per cent) of the population were not able to read and write, compared to males (44.9 per cent).In Akatsi North, the Govern­ment Statistician said the percent­age of households with improved sanitation had shown a significant increase, rising from 70 per cent in 2015 to 80 per cent in 2022.In the Talensi Constituency, Dr Iddrisu said almost 21 per cent of the population 15 years and over were unemployed and the unem­ployment rate for females (26.5 per cent) is more than for males (17.6 per cent).The Government Statistician said 36.4 per cent of males in Ketu South were not literate, a much higher proportion of females, at 63.6 per cent were not literate.Dr Iddrisu appealed for financial support so the project could be replicated in all the constituencies of the country.The Executive Director of ACEPA said the objective of the profile was to drive the use of data in national planning.He said the profiles would go a long way to help the MMDAs to make decisions based on reliable data.Dr Dramani appealed to inter­national organisations to support the project so the profiles could be replicated in all the constituencies. BY KINGSLEY ASARE