Meeting the MDGs in Africa

“A question of unrelenting
concern rather than
despair”
-Barcelona Development
Agenda
 Meeting the MDGs in Africa
Context
 The advent of MDGs and Africa’s commitment
coincided with a transition period from structural
adjustment to PRSPs.

MDGs are relevant (sets benchmarks); necessary

(MDGs as ends but also means); and urgent (time-
bound targets) for Africa, given the low initial human
development for most African countries

The key point lies in the range of issues that MDGs

raise, in terms of the fundamental development
problem the continent faces today and the necessary
policy interventions to address this problem
 MDGs at a glance: levels and
Goals and Targets trends North Africa Sub-Saharan
Africa
G1 Poverty    
T.1 Halve poverty On track Not on track
T.2 Reduce hunger by half On track, minimal Not on track, minimal
change change
G2 Primary Education    
T.3 Achieve Universal Primary Education met Progress, but lagging

G3 Gender Equality    
 
T.4.1 Equal Girls’ enrolment in primary met Progress, likely to
school achieve target
 T.4.2 Equal Girls’ enrolment in secondary school Met Not on track, no
change
T.4.3 Literacy parity between young men and Lagging, likely to Lagging, unlikely to
women achieve achieve target
T.4.4 Women’s representation in national Progress but lagging, Progress but unlikely
parliament unlikely to achieve to achieve target
G4 Child mortality    
T.5.1 Reduce under-5 mortality by two-thirds met Not on track, minimal
change
T.5.2 Measles immunization (85% of population met Not on track, minimal
at risk) change
CONTD
 MDGs at a glance: Levels and trends
Goals and Targets North Africa Sub-Saharan
Africa
G5 Improve maternal mortality    

T.6 Reduce maternal mortality by two thirds On track, likely to Lagging, unlikely to
achieve goal achieve target
G6 HIV/AIDS, malaria and other    
diseases
T.7 Halt and reverse spread of HIV/AIDS Threat of increase Progress but unlikely
to achieve target
T.8 Halt and reverse spread of malaria Threat of increase Not likely to achieve
  target, regressive
trend
G7 Environmental Sustainability    
T.9 Reverse loss of forest N/A Not likely to achieve
target, regressive
T.10.1 Halve proportion without clean water met trend
On track, likely to
in urban areas meet target
T.10.2 Halve proportion without clean water On target Progress, but
in rural areas unlikely to achieve
T.11.1 Halve proportion without sanitation On track target
Lagging, unlikely to
in urban areas meet target
T.11.2 Halve proportion without sanitation Progress but lagging Not likely to achieve
in rural areas target, minimal
change
 African sub-regions composition
  Regions in Africa Countries

  North Africa: Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco,

Tunisia, Sudan
 

Sub-Saharan East Africa Burundi, Comoros, DRC, Djibouti, Ethiopia,

Africa Eritrea, Kenya, Madagascar, Rwanda,
Seychelles, Somalia, Tanzania, Uganda.
 

West Africa: Burkina Faso, Benin, Cape Verde, Cote d’Ivoire,

Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau,
Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra
Leone, Togo

Central Africa Cameroon, Chad, Congo, Gabon, Equatorial

Guinea, Central African Republic, San Tome
&Principe
 

Southern Africa Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius,

  Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland,
Zambia, Zimbabwe
      
Goals Sub-regions likely to achieve Countries in SSA that are likely to
goals/ targets achieve the targets
•Most
Goal 1: Eradicate
extreme poverty and
Halving poverty- North Africa
except Sudan and Mauritania
Poverty: Burkina Faso, Lesotho,
Botswana, Cameroon, Gambia,
African
hunger Child Malnutrition-North Africa Mauritania . Child Malnutrition: countries
  Overall undernourishment-North Botswana, Chad, Gambia Overall
Africa except Sudan and undernourishment: Ghana, Malawi
are lagging
Goal 2: Achieve
Mauritania
North Africa except Sudan and
and Angola.
Both net enrollment and completion
behind
universal primary Mauritania rate: Algeria, Egypt, Tunisia, Botswana, • Data
education Cape Verde, Seychelles, Togo,
Zimbabwe, Mauritius, Namibia, south aggregatio
Africa, Gabon and Sao Tom. & Princ. n hides
Goal 3: Promote gender Central Africa Primary level education: Botswana, country
equality West Africa Lesotho, Mauritius, Namibia, Swaziland,
North Africa and Zimbabwe. Secondary level: and sub-
A part of Southern Africa( 50%) Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, Botswana,
Lesotho, and Namibia
regional
Goal 4: Reduce child North Africa Mauritius, Seychelles, Cape Verde and specificties
mortality North African countries.
(example
Goal 5: Improve North Africa North African countries, Botswana, Cape Uganda will
maternal mortality Verde and Mauritius likely reach
Goal 6: Combat North African :Tuberculosis HIV/AIDS: Botswana, Zimbabwe and
Goal 1 but
HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Uganda. Malaria: Gambia, Guinea- not other
other diseases Bissau, Comoros, Benin, and Rwanda
Central Africa, Cameroon, and Kenya. goals)
Tuberculosis: South Africa, Swaziland,
Zambia, Angola, Gabon, Gambia and
Madagascar and North African countries •For Africa
Goal 7: Ensure All regions Access to safe drinking
in all the three case (HIV/AIDS, Malaria,
Sustainable development (forest
and Tuberculosis)
the MDGs
Environmental water urban area): North African countries, are
sustainability   Swaziland, the Gambia, and Cape Verde.
Access to safe drinking water minimum
(rural): Egypt, Mauritius, Algeria,
Botswana, Burundi, Malawi, South Africa,
benchmark
Tanzania, Ghana and Namibia. Access s, given the
to sanitation (urban): Libya, Morocco,
 
Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Ghana, and low initial
 Meeting the MDGs in Africa
Challenges
• Synergies across MDGs facilitate the choice of policy
instruments

• Goal 1 – eliminating extreme poverty and hunger -

likely supersedes the others, however, given that its
attainment generally requires reaching the other goals

• Slow GDP growth on the continent (2% on average in

the 90s) has made reaching the MDGs difficult. There is
an annual growth deficit of over 4%, for example, in
order to reach MDG1

•Thus the emphasis on (pro-poor) economic growth in

Africa is crucial to achieving Goal 1
 Africa and global poverty •Africa (at
headcount figures the
aggregate
Poverty Head count ratio over the period 1981-2001 by region level) has
the
80 East Asia and P acific
highest
60 East Europe and headcount
Central Asia
Latin America and the
ratio of all
40 Caribbean regions
M iddle East and North
Africa
20 •Its
South Asia

0 change
Sub-Saharan Africa
over time
1981 1984 1987 1990 1993 1996 1999 2001 has been
minimal
 Goal 1 by Sub-region
Africa Region Per capita Poverty 1999 Gini Required Actual Average
Monthly (headcount Coefficient Regional Real GDP Growth
Exp. (1985 ratio) (%)-Mid GDP rate (%),
PPP) 1990s Growth 1999-2003 •Slow economic
Rate (%)
growth on the
continent (4%
North 122 1.98 37 5.6 4.2
growth gap on
West 53 43 7.61 3.2
average) has
59.56 made reaching
Central 77 42.3 6.7 4.4 MDG 1 very
38.86
difficult
East 38 43.4 8.12 3.5
37.01
•Regional
Southern 90
28.17
47.4 6.2 2.7
differences point
Total Africa 76 37 44 6.79 3.6
towards
specificity in pro-
poor growth
(SSA) 65 40.9 43 7.16 3.1
strategies
 
 
Goal 1 : Some positive signs
Changes in the Poverty Headcount Ratio for
Selected African Countries: 1990-2001

80 •Chart shows
60 SSA countries
Headcount ratio (%)

40 likely to halve
20 poverty by
0 2015 given
1990
present rates
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2001
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 Meeting the MDGs in Africa
Policy directions I
• High levels of pro-poor growth and decreases in income inequality
must be essential characteristics of any poverty reduction strategy in
Africa

• The relative weight of growth and equity is very much country-

specific. In some countries, dealing with income distribution issues
can be complex, and even costly. In others, accelerating growth
alone may not help in meeting MDG target (examples Namibia should
emphasize distribution, Ethiopia growth)

• The pace of economic growth as well as the state of income

distribution in Africa are determined by structural factors

• These include institutional factors giving rise to good governance,

as well as geography and economic structures

• Increasing agricultural productivity, managing population growth

which to an extent derails poverty reduction and addressing spatial
 Meeting the MDGs in Africa
Policy
directions
Sub-Saharan Africa II components for a
depends on three
successful drive to reach the MDGs namely: commitment,
contextualization, and institutional capacity.
Commitment
Pledges made and the mutual accountability of such
pledges are important. In this respect a joint study by
ECA/OECD to ensure greater aid effectiveness is being
undertaken
Contextualization
Countries have started to integrate the MDGs into their
national development frameworks (PRSPs) and tailoring
them into national circumstances to achieve pro-poor
growth (e.g., Rwanda,Tanzania, Senegal, Zimbabwe,
Ethiopia)
Harmonizing a more comprehensive socio-economic
 Meeting the MDGs in Africa
Policy
directions
Institutional Capacity:
•Building statistical capacity for effective
monitoring of development results

•Critical is the development of a capable

state that: (1) maintains peace and security;
(2) creates a conducive environment for the
private sector; and (3) delivers public goods
efficiently

•Regional cooperation is also crucial

•And so is the support of the international