Senior officials from the Bank’s Africa region, Alan Gelb, Chief Economist, Jeffrey Katz, Manager of Partnerships and External Affairs, and Gerard Byam, Director of Operational Quality and Knowledge Services gathered recently to present findings from the annual African Development Indicators. The ADI is Bank generated data gathered on more than 500 indicators from 53 countries during the period from 1965 through 2002.
Katz made introductory remarks about the book and its development. He noted that the Bank is the primary data source for these indicators and in previous years had been only available to Bank staff, but was now available to the public. Gelb said that Africa, while a diverse region geographically, was small economically. Most African countries are not on track to reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), but performance differentiates widely between countries. In 2002, Africa had a per capita annual income of $650, but North Africa and South Africa did better. Without South Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa averages just $300 per person. Growth follows a divergent pattern as well. Countries that were oil producers did better. Peace and good governance were also cited by Gelb as key growth or contraction factors. Surveys in a number of countries suggest there is a link between economic growth and poverty reduction. These countries also seem to be diversifying their economies. The ADI suggests private investment and domestic savings are low. Foreign investment is concentrated in oil producing countries, though there are promising indicators suggesting diversification. Development assistance rose in 2002, but its impact is unclear.
After conflict, HIV/AIDS is the biggest risk to Africa’s development, Gelb said. Population growth remains strong, but age dependant population rising. 62% of Sub-Saharan Africa’s population is under age 24. HIV/AIDS mortality is driving this average age down sharply in many countries. Gelb said the data, however, suggested some mitigation and declines in morbidity and mortality rates from the disease. Orphan rates are rising markedly that will have significant ramifications for social development in the region. On a more positive note, education rates are up and illiteracy rates are down. Immunization rates, however, are lagging suggesting that health care systems remain weak. Deforestation rates hover near one percent a year, and there are numerous endangered species. Ecosystems in Madagascar, Congo, Kenya and Cameroon remain especially vulnerable. Gelb closed by noting that the overall situation in Africa has shown signs of improvement in some areas, but remains very difficult.
Byam said the 2004 ADI represents substantial progress in the quality of the data for the region. He cited a cited a number of partners, internal and external, that contributed to enriching the datasets used in the ADI. Increasingly, he said, development practitioners are being held accountable for results on the ground, and the ADI will be seen as a document in which to measure success or failure.
|
Home
> Learning
& Knowledge > BSPAN
> Presentation
High Speed
Low Speed
Audio 
