African Social Development Index
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African Social Development Index: A tool to assess human exclusion in Africa
Tool brief and initial findings
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About the tool
The African Social Development Index (ASDI) is a tool developed by the Social Development Policy Division of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).
It responds to a special request made by African States during the second session of the ECA Committee on Human and Social Development in 2011 for an Africa-specific indicator of exclusion. Following a life cycle approach, the Index aims at assessing the level of human exclusion in six key dimensions of well-being, including survival, health, education, employment, means of subsistence and decent life. The focus is on the impact that a range of contextual factors and policy interventions can have on reducing the gap between the haves and the have-nots on the continent.
The potential of the tool is considerable insofar as it can be applied at both national and subnational levels to measure the levels and drivers of human exclusion over time. In addition, it allows countries to capture the differences across gender and location, helping to improve social policy targeting.
The ASDI provides a simple, intuitive tool to advocate for policies and programmes geared towards promoting more inclusive and equitable development in Africa. It is expected to increase global and regional commitments in the field of social development, and specifically in relation to the Sustainable Development Goals and Africa’s Agenda 2063, where issues of equity and inclusion have been given prominence.
The ASDI has been piloted in 5 countries – Cameroon, Kenya, Morocco, Senegal and Zambia – and rolled out in 43 African countries and 9 regional economic communities. The implementation of the tool is led by national implementation teams which include experts from the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Planning, the Ministry of Social Affairs and the National Statistical Office, among others. The roll-out of the ASDI on the continent is expected to increase knowledge-sharing and strengthen national capacities for statistical analysis and social policy planning.
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Human exclusion throughout the life cycle
Life Stage
Birth Age 0 to 1
Early childhood Age 1 to 5
Formative years Age 6-14
Entering the labour market Age 15+
Productive life Age 25+
Old age Age 60+
Dimension
Survival
Health/nutrition
Quality education
Productive employment
Means of subsistence
Living a decent life
Indicator
Infant mortality
Child stunting
Youth literacy rate (Percentage of young people
aged 15-24) Youth unemployment (Percentage of total labour force
aged 15-24)
Individuals below national poverty line (Percentage of total population)
Life expectancy at 60
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Key messages of the ASDI
1. Child mortality affects 6.9 million children globally, mostly caused by preventable diseases. In sub-Saharan Africa, 1 in 9 children still die before the age of 5 - more than 16 times the average in developed countries.
2. In Africa today 2 out of 5 children under five are stunted. Child malnutrition affects cognitive and physical growth, critically reducing the opportunities for healthy development.
3. More than 50 per cent of the youth population in Africa - 133 million young people - are illiterate, most of them young women.
4. Youth unemployment reached 20 per cent in Africa in 2015. North Africa has the highest rate, at close to 30 per cent, with almost one woman in two unemployed.
5. In Africa excluding North Africa, there are more people living in poverty today than in 1990. In 2015, an estimated 347 million people were still living on less than US$
1.90 a day.
6. In most parts of the world, people live significantly longer than in previous decades.
However, trends in life expectancy in Africa are still far behind the global average of 76 years.
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Is Africa moving towards a more inclusive development path?
For more information about the tool, please contact:
Takyiwaa Manuh, Director
Social Development Policy Division (SDPD)
P.O. Box 3001, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
+251-115443823 [email protected]
Iris Macculi
Economic Affairs Officer
Social Development Policy Division (SDPD)
P.O. Box 3001, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
+251-115445002 [email protected]
