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Africa sees some promise for children

Monday, 16 June 1997: There may be hope for Africa's children if promising new economic indicators lead to real growth and progress in eradicating the continent's desperate poverty, said UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy in observing the Day of the African Child today. 

The Day of the African Child is an annual event reaffirming the importance of ensuring the survival, protection and development of Africa's most important resource -- its children. 

Recent reports point to the potential for real economic recovery in Africa. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) 1997 Human Development Report, released last week, argues that, with strong political commitment, Africa could begin a process of broad-based economic growth and the eradication of poverty. 

In 1995, economic growth in Africa rose above population growth for the first time in a decade. In 1996, 18 countries recorded more than 5 per cent growth in their Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Uganda presently has one of the fastest growing economies in the world. 

"There is truly good news in these figures for a continent too often associated with want and suffering," Ms. Bellamy said. "It is not too much to hope that, if these trends continue, Africa could some day experience an East Asia-style boom." 

Despite these positive trends, she acknowledged that the progress was fragile. In sub-Saharan Africa, some 40 per cent of the population -- more than 220 million people -- still live below the poverty line. The UNDP report states that the depth of poverty in the region -- how far income falls below the poverty line -- is greater than anywhere else in the world and twice that of Asia. The report estimates that by the year 2000, poverty will affect half of the people living in the region. As large families are most vulnerable to poverty, children are the hardest hit. 

"It's an outrage that in this era of unprecedented global wealth creation, about one quarter of the world's population lives in poverty," said Ms. Bellamy. 

The experience of East Asian countries demonstrates that investment in basic education and basic health care are essential for the acceleration of growth over the medium term. Estimates by the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and UNICEF suggest that some $9 billion are required annually to provide Africa’s children with basic social services within a decade. The funding initiative, known as 20/20, endorsed in March 1995, suggests that this goal is feasible if African governments allocate 20 per cent of their budget to basic social services in return for support from the donor community to bridge the funding gap. 

Ms. Bellamy particularly stressed the importance of education for African girls. With women heading nearly one third of African households, the vicious cycle of poverty begins when girls drop out of school to help at home or lose their childhood when they become pregnant. 

She also emphasized the importance of freeing developing countries from the "devastating burden of debt." Huge debt obligations in many African countries are severely undermining their capacity to care for their children. Total external debt in sub-Saharan Africa represents about $800 per child. 

A more flexible approach to the new Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was essential, said Ms. Bellamy. The scheme, launched last September, is designed to enable the world's most indebted poor countries to reduce the level of debt repayment, releasing the funds for investment in basic health care and education. Recently, Uganda was officially approved for the scheme, but debt relief will only materialize in April 1998. This postponement may jeopardize Uganda's plan to extend primary education to four children in every household this year. 

Ms. Bellamy acknowledged that there was no 'magic formula' for sustainable economic growth and the eradication of poverty in Africa, and called for action on a number of fronts--the facilitation of broad-based economic growth, the provision of basic social services for all, the enhancement of income opportunities for the poor, a fair international trading system, debt relief, foreign investment and donor assistance. The answer, she said, was to couple appropriate economic policies with sustainable investment in children and their families. 

The Organization of African Unity (OAU) declared 16 June the Day of the African Child in 1991 in memory of the South African children massacred in Soweto on the same day in 1976. The event gives governments, humanitarian agencies, the media, the general public and children an opportunity to focus on the lives of Africa's children. 

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