Africa

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Africa has been gravely affected by the global economic downturn, says the African Economic Outlook 2009:

Press Release | Website | Policy Brief

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2 Measuring and Fostering the Progress of African Societies AfricanUnion.JPG
3 Measuring Progress in Africa
4 Initiatives
5 Measuring Child Well-being
6 En français
- 6.1 Rapports sur le développement humain (RDH)
- 6.2 Declaration for the Creation of an African Working Group to Develop Better Measures of Progress
7 See also
8 Websites

Measuring and Fostering the Progress of African Societies

AfricanUnion.JPG

Measuring Progress in Africa

“Why is it important to focus on the future and progress? The future, unlike the past and the present, is something that can be changed. And the future is where we will all spend the rest of our lives” Dr. Allioune Sall (Executive Director of the African Futures Institute).

By tracking those aspects of African progress that Africans see as important, progress measures will help prevent Africa making some of the mistakes other countries have made as they ‘developed’. A well constructed set of progress measures can ensure African societies will not lose sight of the characteristics of their way of life that they wish to maintain, and so better avoid some of the social and environmental problems that many ‘developed’ countries now face. Social capital is one example of an aspect of wellbeing that is often not tracked using traditional statistics but is often seen as an important asset and a potentially fragile one.

Aspects of social capital can be very strong in some African societies and need to be measured if they are to be protected: but these aspects of wellbeing are often not well measured. As the noted African thinker Dr Allioune Sall has pointed out, exercises in measuring progress should be seen as an effort to help communities to build a “progress society”: a society in which the future corresponds to citizens’ aspirations and one in which they can take the right decisions to help achieve the future they desire

“African societies, like any other societies indeed, have to measure progress. But more importantly they have to define what is meant by progress. They have to hold a dialogue in a way that has not been done before” Pali Lehohla (Director General of Statistics South Africa).

Initiatives

The Global Project on Measuring the Progress of Societies has helped facilitate the establishment of an African Regional Group, led by the African Development Bank. The group met for the first time in Tunis in September, 2008.

The African Gender Institute (AGI) was established in 1996 by the University of Cape Town, South Africa. AGI work focuses on questions of access and women's leadership development and is concerned with integrated strategy development for transformative policy research and intervention, as well as supporting the production of indigenous knowledge which enhances understanding of gender equity issues in African contexts.

The Association of African Women Scholars, (AAWS) is a worldwide organization dedicated to promoting and encouraging scholarship on African women in African Studies, forging intellectual links and networks with scholars, activists, students, and policy makers inside and outside Africa, and participating actively in continental and global debates on issues specifically relevant or related to African women.

Women In Development NETwork - Statistics: Africa, 2008, (WIDNET). These resources are provided by Women In Development NETwork (WIDNET) and cover information for African Women with regard to health, business, nutrition, law, communications, training, etc

United States African Development Foundation, 2008, A US Government Agency, (USADF). The United States Congress established the United States African Development Foundation (USADF) in 1980 as an independent public corporation with a mandate to promote the participation of Africans in the economic and social development of their countries. For more than 25 years, ADF has helped grassroots groups and individuals in Africa help themselves by providing the resources they need to advance their own efforts to promote economic and social development.

The Gates Foundation grants US $19 million to women's programs in West Africa, 2008, Gates Foundation. Dakar - The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded a US $19 million grant to a poverty reduction and women’s empowerment project supported by the UNDP and designed to boost the productivity and income of women farmers using low-cost, mechanized power.

The African_Monitor, was established in Cape Town, South Africa, in 2008 and developed as a catalyst among faith communities, wider civil society, NGOs, governments, international agencies, think tanks, academia, and the private sector on a national and international level and ensures the urgent and effective delivery of development commitments.