Experts gathered in Addis Ababa hear daunting assessment on population and development in Africa
ECA Press Release No. 52/2009
Addis Ababa 20 October 2009 – Africa has made laudable progress towards the implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD/PoA) and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), according to a review of the ICPD/PoA published here today.
The five yearly-review (ICPD@15) urged African leaders to translate their growing political commitment into concrete actions so as to overcome the many obstacles that are undermining the achievement of the MDGs and the implementation of the ICPD/PoA in the coming five years.
In a presentation on the highlights from the report, Professor Oladele Arowolo, a consultant with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, stressed the challenges facing the continent in achieving those goals.
One of those is fertility. The report, presented to a group of experts and civil society organizations working on population and development in Africa, put the total fertility growth rate in Africa at a staggering 4.61 per cent, representing an annual population growth rate of 2.1 per cent – the fastest in the world today. Such a growth rate is beginning to exert tremendous pressure on the continent , resulting partially in the food crisis, deforestation, uncontrolled urban growth.
In addition, the report reveals a high maternal mortality, with an average of 950 per 100, 000 live births. “This makes achieving this MDG impossible in Africa” said Professor Arowolo. There are however some notable country exceptions, including the Seychelles, which had no maternal deaths in 2008.
There have been other successes. For example, there has been an increase in the enrollment of girls in primary education, and a growing adoption by African governments of policies that are female-friendly – including those against gender based violence, and for the economic empowerment of women. There has also been an increase in the number of women elected or appointed to high political positions.
However, the report noted that many gender related policies and laws remained unenforced. In addition, the persistence of negative socio-cultural norms and traditional practices continue to contribute to gender disparities in many countries.
Africa isn’t lacking in plans on dealing with population issues, Professor Arowolo said. In fact, he went on listing a number of international, continental plans that have been adapted in recent years. “Many of those policies are beautifully written, but are gathering dust in departments”, he added. “What is lacking”, he said, “is a plan of action.”
“And if you have a policy and no action plan then you have achieved paperwork only” he said.
Yet speakers sought to point out the opportunities that exist still to improve many of the situations and that the problems could be beatable. A representative said that his country was written off in the 1960s as “doomed.” But today they have improved in many of the indicators – including maternal mortality and a literacy rate of 90 percent.
Their secret, he said, was commitment.
“If there is commitment things can be done,” he said.
The discussions continue today with small group sessions on the different aspects of the report.
The International Conference on Population and Development ends on Friday 23 October 2009.
For more information, contact
Kaylois Henry , UNECA, ecainfo@uneca.org Houda Mejri, UNECA, hmejri@uneca.org George Ngwa, UNFPA, ngwa@unfpa.org
