Overview

Africa’s economic performance, between 1999 and 2007 has been quite impressive especially when placed in the context of the negative gross domestic product (GDP) growth trends in the late 1980’s and early 1990s. The region’s GDP growth grew from just under 3.0% in 1999 to 5.8% in 2007. However these improvements in economic performance have not been matched by impressive gains in social development. Africa continues to face many social development challenges including chronic poverty, poor health status, inequitable access to education, unemployment, brain drain and other population issues, gender inequalities and increased number of people that are socially excluded and vulnerable. There has not been effective redistribution of the increased wealth from the improvements in economic growth into social development. The multiple global crises that include escalating food prices, volatile fuel prices, climate change and the financial meltdown that the continent has been experiencing since the end of 2007, heightens the need to strengthen policies and strategies that promote social development.

African countries have made commitments to promote social development based on comprehensive frameworks that have been developed at the international and regional levels. Achievement of social development is instrumental in promoting a broader, more inclusive, equitable and sustainable form of economic development. It is therefore important for African countries to firmly place social development issues at the centre of their development agenda
Recognising that addressing social development concerns was key in Africa’s development and given UNECA’s mandate which is to promote economic and social development in the region, a Human and Social Development Section (HSD) under the African Center for Gender and Social Development (ACGS) was created to help African countries sustain economic and social development growth.

Objective

Within the context of ECA’s strategic pillars of (1) Promoting regional integration in support of the African Union vision and priorities; and (2) Meeting Africa’s special needs and emerging global challenges, the main objective of the section is to assist member states to improve their capacity to design, implement and monitor policies and programmes designed to promote social inclusion and integration and enhance human development.

The Section seeks to accomplish this objective through: a) Research and policy analysis work; b) Advocacy on the importance of designing social policies that promote social integration; c) Monitoring the progress made by countries in implementing the international and regional commitments made on social development and d) Advisory services to member States and Regional Economic Communities through capacity building that bridges knowledge and skills gaps in social policy formulation, implementation and monitoring.