Africa’s poverty level drops, basic education sees progress – MDG Report
The level of poverty experienced in Africa has reduced and basic education is seeing some significant improvement, according to a new report to be released July 15 by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the African Union (AU), African Development Bank (AfDB) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The report titled “Assessing Progress in Africa Towards the Millennium Development Goals 2012,” states that Africa has made major strides in primary school enrollment, gender parity in primary education, the proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments and a marked decline in HIV/AIDS new infection rates.
The report which is the 8th in a series initiated in 2005 by the ECA, gauges Africa’s performance against targets agreed by 189 world leaders at the 2000 UN Millennium Summit.
It reveals that for the first time since record keeping on poverty began, the number of Africans living under $1.25 per day has declined.
“The poverty rate and the number of poor declined for the first time in Africa. Excluding North Africa, the percentage of Africa’s population living below the poverty line ($1.25 per day) declined from 56.5 to 47.5 percent between 1990 and 2008,” the report said.
In concrete terms, the number of people considered poor fell from 394.9 million to 386.0 million over the same period, according to the report adding that the positive performance was driven in part by strong economic growth over the past decade, although many African countries still have serious challenges to halve poverty or sufficiently address the challenges of job creation, school drop-out rates, and high child and maternal mortality rates by the 2015 target date.
It however noted that “poverty is on a slow decline in Africa” and that “poverty in Africa is concentrated in rural areas and affects men and women differently.”
Generally referred to as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), these targets include the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger; achievement of universal primary education; promotion of gender equality and empower women; reduction of child mortality; improvement in maternal health; the fight against HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; promotion of environmental sustainability; and the development of a global partnership for development.
The report also cautions African countries on the need to adopt an integrated approach that takes into account the inter-linkages among goals and indicators of the MDGs, as the countries engage in the process of defining the contours of the post-2015 agenda.
The report is scheduled for launching during the next session of the African Union Summit of Heads of State and Government in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia next week.
By Ekow Quandzie