Overall progress in West Africa towards the MDGs

The implementation of the MDGs released over 1 billion people from extreme poverty, led to remarkable progress in the fight against hunger, enabled more girls than ever before to go to school and helped to protect our planet. The mobilization of all national and international development stakeholders around the MDGs resulted in new and innovative partnerships, galvanized public opinion and demonstrated the supreme importance of setting ambitious goals.

By placing individuals and their immediate needs in the forefront, the MDGs reshaped decision-making in both developed and developing nations (United Nations, 2015).

1 United Nations Secretary-General 2015 report, prepared by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

2 MDG Report 2015 – Assessing Progress in Africa Toward the Millennium Development Goals, prepared by ECA, UNDP, the African Union and AfDB.

West Africa has made notable strides in implementing the global millennium development programme notwithstanding the initial difficult circumstances of most of the countries. Despite the poor statistical facilities in the States of the subregion, analysis of the available data shows that West Africa has recorded significant progress on the principal MDG-related socioeconomic indicators, which include increased primary school enrolment, gender parity in primary attendance, reduced infant mortality, lower prevalence of HIV/AIDS and improvement in the supply of drinking water.

Table 1 gives an overview of the status of MDG-related achievements in West Africa and shows that there is uneven progress between countries and targets. For example, the majority of countries will not achieve the extreme poverty reduction goal. Two countries achieved the goal and five countries made significant progress, although they did not reach the target. West Africa has made considerable progress in eradicating hunger. Two countries achieved the objective before the due date, while seven countries recorded impressive progress.

Six countries are on their way to achieving the goals related to universal primary education. Insufficient progress has been made in the area of gender equality and female empowerment. Although major strides have been made towards achieving parity in primary education, with seven countries having made substantial progress and two countries having attained the objective, insufficient progress was made on the other gender equality indicators.

On the issue of child mortality, three countries have achieved the objective. Two countries are not far off the target, but the majority (nine countries) failed to achieve the goal. In the sphere of maternal health, West Africa has not made sufficient progress, with nine countries lagging behind; one country has achieved the goal and seven countries have made significant progress.

Generally speaking, the subregion reports satisfactory progress in the fight against HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, but a third of the countries are still far from achieving the target.

4

Goals Status Targets and indicators Countries reporting best results

Goal 1: Eradicate extreme

Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less than $1 a day

Guinea, Senegal, Ghana, Niger, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Mali Not

achieved

Target 1.C

Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger

Ghana, Mali

Proportion of school pupils who complete a full course of primary education

Cabo Verde, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire

Gender ratio in primary, secondary and tertiary education

Cabo Verde, Gambia, Ghana, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso

Goal 4: Reduce child mortality Not achieved

Target 4.A.1

Reduce by two thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under-five mortality rate

Niger, Cabo Verde, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Mali, Benin, Guinea Goal 5: Improve maternal

Achieve, by 2015, universal access to reproductive health

Cabo Verde, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, Mali, Senegal Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS,

malaria and other diseases

Not achieved

Target 6.A

Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS

Proportion of land covered by forests Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia Not

Proportion of people using improved drinking water sources

Proportion of people using improved sanitation facilities

None Goal 8: Develop a global

partnership for development

Target 8.F.16

In cooperation with the private sector, make available benefits of new technologies, especially information and communications : Number of Internet users per 100 inhabitants

None

Source: ECA, AUC, AfDB and UNDP, UNDESA 2015. MDG Report 2015 Table 1: Overview of the fulfilment of the MDGs in West Africa, 2015

MDG 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

Target 1.A: Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less than $1 a day

According to the United Nations Secretary-General’s 2015 report, world poverty has declined significantly over the last two decades. The MDG target of halving the proportion of people living in extreme poverty was achieved five years before the deadline of 2015. The proportion of people living on less than US$ 1.25 a day fell from 36 per cent in 1990 to 12 per cent in 2015, with China and India making the principal contribution to this reduction. The reduction of the poverty rate worldwide is attributable mainly to strong economic growth, decent jobs, increased production capacities and the provision of social protection to the most vulnerable groups (United Nations, 2015). In Africa, the reduction of extreme poverty still poses a major challenge despite the good macroeconomic performances recorded since 2001.

Although the decline of poverty has speeded up over the last decade, there has still been insufficient progress made in Africa (excluding North Africa), since over 40 per cent of the population is still living in extreme poverty in 2015 (ECA and others, 2015).

In West Africa, the majority of countries made progress overall in significantly pushing back the frontiers of extreme poverty, although most were unable to achieve the target in 2015.

According to recent data provided by UNDESA, 60 per cent of the countries of the subregion are still reporting over 40 per cent of their populations in extreme poverty, and only 20 per cent of the countries (3 out of 15) achieved the target of halving the proportion of people living in extreme poverty between 1990 and 2015. It should also be noted that despite the overall underperformances recorded, 46 per cent of the countries (7 out of 15) reported robust progress in reducing the extreme poverty rate, whereas 20 per cent of the countries (4 out of 15) reported an increase in the number of persons living in extreme poverty over that period. Guinea, Ghana and Senegal reached the target before 2015 by reducing the number of people living in extreme poverty by over 50 per cent, while the Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso and Cabo Verde were between 10 per cent and 15 per cent off the target. However, the extreme poverty situation had worsened in Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Benin and Nigeria.

The state of persistent poverty is endangering the achievement of the target of ensuring full employment and the opportunity for everyone, including women and young people, to find decent and productive work. Poverty in West Africa has resulted in a deterioration of the job market, in which the informal sector remains dominant. According to 2014 figures supplied by the International Labour Organization, the number of workers in the formal employment sector in West Africa is not keeping pace with the rapid increase in the working-age population. With a rate of demographic growth estimated at about 2.5 per cent per annum, unemployment affects young people of both sexes and is more pronounced in the urban areas.

Figure 1: Progress made in the proportion of the population living on less than US$ 1.25 a day in terms of purchasing power parity in West Africa (per cent)

Source: ECA calculation using the UNDESA MDG Indicators Database, 2016

Target 1.C: Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger Poor nutrition in the first 1,000 days of a child’s life is also linked to reduced cognitive skills and poorer performance at school and work. According to the United Nations Millennium Development Goals Report 2015, over 90 million children under five, or one child in seven throughout the world, is underweight and 90 per cent of all underweight children live in two regions: half in south Asia and a third in Africa (excluding North Africa). In Africa, the prevalence of low weight decreased by only a third between 1990 and 2015. However, in reality, owing to the population increase in the region the number of underweight children actually increased.

In West Africa, progress towards the hunger reduction target varied significantly between countries. The target was almost reached by Ghana (- 48.0 per cent) and Mali (-49.8 per cent), but the reduction levels were marginal in some countries such as Togo (-1.2 per cent) and the Niger (-7.5 per cent) and about 11.7 per cent for Guinea and Nigeria. Countries such as Côte d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone, Benin, Senegal, Burkina Faso and Guinea-Bissau recorded moderately satisfactory performances, with reductions of between 28.7 per cent and 17.3 per cent.

‐80 ‐60 ‐40 ‐20 0 20 40 60 80 100 120

Cote d'Ivoire(1993‐2008) Guinea‐Bissau(1991‐2002) Nigeria(1992‐2010) Sierra Leone(2003‐2011) Togo(2006‐2011) Burkina Faso(1994‐2009) Niger(1992‐2011) Mali(1994‐2010) Ghana(1991‐2014) Benin(2003‐2011) Guinea(1991‐2012) Senegal(1991‐2011) Cabo Verde (2002‐2007)

Start End Variation in %

Figure 2: Proportion of moderately or seriously under-weight and under-five children in West Africa between 1990 and 2013 (per cent)

Source: ECA calculation using the UNDESA MDG Indicators Database, 2016.

MDG 2: Achieve universal primary education

Target 2A: Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling

While the number of children not enrolled in school worldwide had decreased considerably since 1990, universal primary education had not been achieved by the end of 2015. In 2015 it was estimated that 57 million children of primary school age were not enrolled in school, down from 100 million in 2000. They included 33 million in Africa excluding North Africa, and over half (55 per cent) were girls (United Nations, 2015). Africa (excluding North Africa) is facing colossal challenges, particularly the rapid growth of the population of primary school- age (which increased by 86 per cent between 1990 and 2015), high levels of poverty, armed conflicts and other emergencies. However, the continent made the greatest progress in terms of primary enrolment of all the developing regions. Its enrolment rate rose from 52 per cent in 1990 to 78 per cent in 2012 (ECA and others, 2015).

In West Africa, the net primary enrolment ratio improved significantly. Between 1990 and 2013, the subregion recorded a rise of about 51 per cent in its net enrolment ratio, while progress in this sphere in Africa as a whole (excluding North Africa) was estimated at 26 per cent. This certainly suggests that the countries of the subregion made undeniable progress

‐60 ‐50 ‐40 ‐30 ‐20 ‐10 0 10 20 30 40 50

Cote d'Ivoire(1994‐2012) Guinea‐Bissau(2000‐2010) Nigeria(1990‐2013) Sierra Leone(1990‐2013) Togo(1996‐2010) Burkina Faso(1993‐2012) Niger(1992‐2011) Mali(1996‐2010) Ghana(1993‐2011) Benin(1996‐2016) Guinea(1994‐2012) Senegal(1992‐2012)

Start End Variation in %

teaching staff. These significant advances were also facilitated by improvements in educational policies favouring participatory approaches, the provision of better services and strengthened governance (ECA and others, 2015).

It should, however, be mentioned that there are still major challenges to be met as regards the quality of education in the subregion. Primary completion rates in the subregion are among the lowest in the world (ECA, 2015). While Ghana and Cabo Verde achieved their primary completion rate target in 2012, reaching at least 70 per cent, with Ghana making more rapid progress (38.6 percentage points between 2000 and 2013), the Niger recorded less than 50 per cent and others (Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire and Mali) experienced very sharp declines.

The principal causes of this underperformance may be conflicts, political instability or the impact of the higher enrolment rate on the quality of education in the short term (ECA and others, 2015).

Figure 3: Shortfall compared with the net primary enrolment ratio target of 100 per cent in 2013 in West Africa (per cent)

Source: ECA calculation using the UNDESA MDG Indicators Database, 2016.

Note: +2014, **2011, +++2010, ++2012.

MDG 3: Promote gender equality and empower women

Target 3.A: Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and in all levels of education no later than 2015

The education of women and girls has a positive multiplier effect on progress in every sphere of development. The consequence of national and international efforts and the MDG campaign is that many more girls are now being enrolled in education than was the case 15 years ago. Gender disparity has diminished considerably at every level of education since 2000.

In 2015, all the developing regions achieved the target of eliminating gender disparity at all levels of education, with a gender parity index of 0.98 in primary and secondary education and 1.01 in higher education (United Nations, 2015). Also according to the Secretary-General’s 2015 report, notwithstanding the advances made by women in the education sector, they face a more difficult transition towards salaried work and earn lower salaries than men.

Furthermore, women are also more likely than men to be family workers.

0 20 40 60 80 100

Notwithstanding the substantial progress made between 2000 and 2014 by the West African countries in relation to gender parity in the primary sector, it is still the most impoverished girls who face the greatest risk of never attending primary school. For example, in Guinea and the Niger, in 2012, more than 70 per cent of the most impoverished girls had never attended primary school, compared with less than 20 per cent of the wealthiest boys (UNESCO, 2015).

According to UNESCO (2012), gender parity is achieved when the Gender Parity Index stands between 0.97 and 1.03. Applying this standard and given the upward trend since 2000, the majority of the countries of the subregion should have been able to achieve gender parity in primary education by 2015. In 2013, five countries (Burkina Faso, the Gambia, Ghana, Senegal and Sierra Leone) achieved gender parity in primary education. Five countries (Guinea, Benin, the Gambia, Guinea-Bissau and Burkina Faso) which has achieved less than 60 per cent parity in 1990, made considerable progress to achieve over 85 per cent. In secondary education, however, there has unfortunately been a decline in parity, while the gap is widening in higher education.

As regards gender equality and female empowerment, female representation in West African national parliaments presents another challenge. Women accounted for about 16 per cent of representatives in 2014 compared with only 9 per cent in 1990, as against 27 per cent in East Africa (and only 8 per cent in 1990). The countries with the highest number of women elected to parliament in 2014 were Senegal (43.3 per cent), Guinea (21.9 per cent) and Cabo Verde (20.8 per cent). Benin and the Gambia were among the countries with a small number of women elected to Parliament, with 8.4 per cent and 9.4 per cent respectively.

Figure 4: Gender parity index in primary education in West Africa, 1990 and 2013

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2

1990 2013

MDG 4: Reduce the under-five mortality rate

Target 4.A: Reduce by two thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under-five mortality rate Significant progress has been made in reducing child mortality over the last two decades, but more children dying of preventable diseases could be saved. According to the United Nations Millennium Development Goals Report 2015, the spectacular fall in preventable child deaths constitutes one of the most important achievements in human history. Between 1990 and 2015, the mortality rate of children under five worldwide dropped by more than half in relation to 1990, from 90 to 43 deaths per 1,000 live births (United Nations, 2015).

Although Africa (excluding North Africa) has the highest child mortality rate in the world, it has experienced the greatest fall in its child mortality in absolute terms over the last two decades; the annual rate of reduction doubled from 1990 to 2000 and from 2000 to 2011.

The under-five mortality rate fell by 55.5 per cent, from 146 to 65 deaths per 1,000 live births between 1990 and 2013, compared with the target of a two-thirds reduction. Surprisingly, the majority of these children died of infectious diseases, which could easily have been prevented.

In addition to bearing half the burden of under-five deaths in the world, Africa (excluding North Africa) is the only region where the number of live births and the number of children under five are both predicted to rise substantially over the coming decades (ECA and others, 2015).

Regarding the progress made in reducing the under-five mortality rate in West Africa over the period 1990-2013, only the Niger (with a reduction of 68 per cent) reached the target by 2015, followed by Senegal (with a reduction of 60.8 per cent). However, Cabo Verde continues to be the country in the subregion with the lowest under-five mortality rate of only 26 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2013, compared with 63 in 1990. Five of the subregion’s 15 countries (Burkina Faso, Mali, Benin, Guinea and Cabo Verde) managed to achieve a mortality rate of between 50 and 59 per cent over the period in question. The Niger, Guinea and Mali led the way in the subregion in terms of the pace of progress over the period under review.

However, countries such as Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Guinea-Bissau and Togo recorded insufficient progress, with over 100 deaths per 1,000 births.

If the child survival rate is to improve over the next 15 years, it is crucial to bring down neonatal mortality. There are a number of interventions which have proved their worth in terms of effectiveness, affordability and major impact: they include childbirth attended by qualified health-care personnel and emergency obstetrical care; management of premature births, including the administration of prenatal corticosteroids to accelerate lung maturation; basic neonatal health care; neonatal resuscitation; early detection of serious infections and treatment by antibiotics; clinical care for very small or sick newborns; and the prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission. It is crucial that these interventions should be given priority and integrated into health-care provision. Furthermore, children living in the poorest households must benefit from social welfare mechanisms, including health insurance that will allow better access to high-impact interventions.

Figure 5: Under-five mortality rate in West Africa between 1990 and 2013

Source: ECA calculation using the UNDESA MDG Indicators Database, 2016

MDG 5: Improve maternal health

Target 5.A: Reduce by three quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio Globally, maternal mortality dropped by 45 per cent between 1990 and 2013, falling from 380 to 210 deaths per 100,000 live births. Nonetheless, this progress fell well short of the 2015 target of reducing maternal mortality by three quarters. In 2015, 16 of the 18 countries recording the most significant maternal mortality rates (higher than 500) worldwide were in Africa. Sierra Leone had the highest maternal mortality rate, with 1,360 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. Other West African countries in this group were Côte d’Ivoire (654), Guinea (679), Liberia (640), the Niger (553), Guinea-Bissau (549), Nigeria (820) and Mali (587).

West Africa reported an average reduction of 41.6 per cent of its maternal mortality ratio between 1990 and 2015. Only Cabo Verde (83.6 per cent) achieved and even surpassed the target of a two-thirds reduction before the deadline of 2015, while Côte d’Ivoire (12.3 per cent) and Benin (29.7 per cent) reported the smallest reduction in the subregion between 1990 and 2015. In addition to Cabo Verde, five other countries of the subregion recorded a reduction of over 40 per cent: Ghana (49.7 per cent), Burkina Faso (49.0 per cent), Sierra Leone (48.3 per cent), Mali (41.9 per cent) and Senegal (41.1 per cent).

‐100 0 100 200 300 400

Cote d'Ivoire Guinea‐Bissau Nigeria Sierra Leone

Togo Burkina Faso Niger Mali Ghana Benin Guinea Senegal Cabo Verde

1990 2013 Variation in %

areas between 2010 and 2014. In 2014, six West African countries³ had a rate of births attended by qualified health-care personnel of below 50 per cent: the Niger (17.7 per cent), Nigeria (38.9 per cent), Guinea-Bissau (43 per cent), Guinea (46.1 per cent), Liberia (46.3 per cent) and Mali (49 per cent). In the subregion, only Cabo Verde (77.5 per cent) and Benin (84.1 per cent) have a rate of over 75 per cent.

Furthermore, the low level of contraceptive use in West Africa (9 per cent) was one of the factors explaining the large number of pregnancies among adolescents throughout the continent. Guinea was one of five countries in Africa with a level of contraceptive use of less than 10 per cent. The birth rate among adolescents is considered to be high when 100 women in 1,000 between the ages of 15 and 19 give birth (ECA and others, 2015).

In addition, early marriage, a common practice in Africa, is a key contributing factor to the high teenage birth rate in the continent. The group of countries with the highest teenage fertility rate includes three West African nations: the Niger with 206 births per 1,000 adolescents, Mali with 172 births per 1,000 adolescents and Guinea with 154 births per 1,000 adolescents.

In addition, early marriage, a common practice in Africa, is a key contributing factor to the high teenage birth rate in the continent. The group of countries with the highest teenage fertility rate includes three West African nations: the Niger with 206 births per 1,000 adolescents, Mali with 172 births per 1,000 adolescents and Guinea with 154 births per 1,000 adolescents.