Human & Social Development

Overview

Despite the significant progress in terms of economic and social development made in recent years, Africa continues to face chronic poverty. Poverty is associated with low levels of education, poor health status and higher vulnerability to economic shocks. The continent also suffers from infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, as well as armed conflicts.

Objective

The main objective of the sub-programme is to strengthen capacity in member States to formulate policies and programmes designed to reduce poverty, achieve the targets of the Millennium Declaration and for delivering equitable social services and integrating human and social dimensions in the development process, in line with internationally agreed development goals, (including the Millennium Development Goals) and the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD).

 

Main areas of focus:

The section concentrates on enhancing the capacity of member States to build enabling institutions for the delivery of equitable social services encompassing population and migration issues, health, including HIV/AIDS, education and other related social issues. It focuses on monitoring and assessing progress in the implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development, with emphasis on emerging issues identified in the 2010 World Programme on Population and Housing and Censuses, in particular urbanization and human settlements, international migration and ageing. Specifically, the Section focuses on the following:

• Strengthening the capacity of member States to design and implement appropriate national strategies and programmes to achieve the growth and poverty reduction with emphasis on MDG-consistent growth and employment generation, income inequality, and pro-poor financing mechanisms;
• Utilizing its knowledge management and peer-learning initiatives and experiences and lessons learned from the African Learning Group on PRSPs to provide a platform for the exchange of best practices and identification of weaknesses in the design and implementation of PRSs;
• Supporting the peer-learning process by undertaking research and advocacy to ensure that second-generation PRSs are more gender sensitive and address health related issues such as HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria;
• Tracking and following-up on progress made in the implementation of international commitments relating to human and social development at the sub-regional and regional levels (including those on population, aging, migration, HIV/AIDS, education, health, urbanization, human settlements, employment, sustainable livelihoods and youth);
• Working with other partners to identify bottlenecks and provide solutions including through capacity development activities, especially on human capacity development; and
• Strengthening networks for sharing information and advocating for social development issues at regional, sub-regional and national levels.

The strategies used by the section include building the capacities of African countries by conducting in-depth policy analyses and technical studies on social development issues; and advocacy and consensus-building by providing assistance to member States and major stakeholders.

Strategic partnerships are being developed with concerned United Nations agencies, the Millennium Project, the African Union Commission, AfDB and other international organizations.

 

Population Bulletin
Africa's Population and Development Bulletin
PEDA
PEDA-model An advocacy tool modelling the interrelationships between population, the environment, development and agriculture
African sustainable development bulletin
Africa's Sustainable Development Bulletin 2006 Capacity Building for Sustainable Development
Africa's Sustainable Development Bulletin 2005 Assessing Sustainable Development in Africa [ French ]
Migration and population docs
Population and Development
Africa's Population and Development Bulletin June - July 1999 (PDF format) Read [ French ] Implementation of the Dakar/NGOR Declaration and the Program of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD). An Assessment of the African Experience  Read Report of the First Meeting of the Follow-up Committee on the Implementation of the Dakar/Ngor Declaration: Read Report of the Second Meeting of the Follow-up Committee on the Implementation of the Dakar/Ngor Declaration: Read Process and Modalities for the Mid-term Review and Appraisal of the Implementation of  the DND and the ICPD-PA: Read ECA's Follow-up Activities Towards ICPD+5: Read Implementation of Policies, Programmes and Laws Related to Reproductive Health and Reproductive Richts in Selected African Countries': Read Constraints, Best Practices and Institutional Changes, Including Partnership with the Civil Society, in the Implementation of the DND and ICPD-PA in Africa: Read Third Meeting of the Follow-up Committee on the Implementation of the Dakar/Ngor Declaration & the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development: Read
ICPD 10th Anniversary: Africa Regional Review Report Year:2004 ; Final Declaration ECA Ministerial Conference on ICPD at 10 Year:2004 ; The ICPD 10 Anniversary: Africa Regional Review Report Regional Ministerial Review Conference on Implementation of the Dakar/Ngor Declaration and the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development-ICPD at 10 Year:2004 ;
Population, Agriculture and Environment in Africa: Some Key Indicators The publication contains data tables that have the following indicators: Selected Background Indicators, Population Indicators, Agricultural Indicators, Environmental Indicators Year:2002 ;
The State of Demographic Transition in Africa This publication has sections on theory of demographic transition, population dynamics in Africa, best practices from African countries, constraints in countries undergoing delayed demographic transition, lessons from Asia,. Year:2002 ;