Policy Brief 1 - Social Exclusion and Gender Equality in Africa: Implications for the MDG Indicators
It has become widely accepted that promoting gender equality (women having the same opportunities in life as men) and women’s empowerment is essential to achieving human development, poverty eradication and economic growth on the African continent. Several global and regional frameworks were developed to support promotion of gender equality. The international level gender equality supportive frameworks include the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948); the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966); the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of discrimination against women (1975); and the Millennium Declaration (2000). Recent relevant world conferences, including the Cairo Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) (1994), Beijing 4th World Conference on Women - Declaration and Platform for Action (1995), and World Summit on Sustainable Development, Johannesburg, (2002), have confirmed the strong link between gender equality and socio-economic development.
At the regional level, the principle of equality and non-discrimination between men and women is enshrined in the founding legal instrument of the African Union and also in the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (1981) that provides for the elimination of discrimination against women and for the protection of their rights. The Constitutive Act of the African Union (2000) recognizes the key role that women play in development in general and calls upon the African Union to adopt a gender parity principle. The AU’s New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) endorsed in 2001 by African Heads of States and Heads of
Governments spells out gender equality as one of the core principles that underscore the new strategic vision for the long term-development of the continent.
Despite these notable improvements in the policy, legal and institutional frameworks, gender inequalities still prevail particularly in accessing: secondary and higher education; productive resources such as assets such as land, capital, and technology; basic infrastructure (water, energy, roads); agriculture and rural development services; basic health services; employment opportunities and decision-making processes. Women and girls are still heavily disadvantaged.
Policy Brief 2 - Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVCs) in Africa: Implications for the MDG Indicators
Vulnerable children are defined as those whose safety well being, are development are for various reasons threatened. Vulnerable children may include: orphans, abandoned children, street children, handicapped children, child soldiers and those affected by war (displaced and refugees), children exposed to hazardous work, children who are victims of trafficking and various forms of abuse and neglect, and children living in extremely poor conditions. A clear point that emerges is that there is a wide plethora of children at risk and a need to protect the future assets of nations.
The plight of vulnerable children has been recognized at both international and regional levels. The United Nations Rights of the Child and Universal Declaration of Human Rights do provide a clear legislative framework for the provision of children and vulnerable children. In 2000, the main objective of the Millennium Summit was to set quantifiable and time bound global development goals to end human suffering from hunger, destitution and diseases mainly in developing countries. At the regional level the African Charter for Children and various
programmes have been established to provide institutional context for the improvement of children in general and vulnerable children in particular.
The Aids pandemic has exacerbated the magnitude of vulnerable children in Africa. The orphans created by the AIDS have grown to enormous proportions- 11.4 million in Africa (UNAIDS 2007) notwithstanding coverage remains low, even in countries with high HIV prevalence, with a low median of 9 per cent. However several countries are making progress in providing orphans and vulnerable children with a minimum package of services, including education, health care, social welfare and protection.
Despite these notable improvements in the policy, legal and institutional frameworks, the vulnerability of large sections of the child population in Africa is still not adequate. For example, vulnerable children continue to have less access to education and health services relative to children from stable households. This gives rise to disadvantages over the life span of vulnerable children to advancement opportunities and employment. Their potential role and contribution to national development are neither recognized nor rewarded and the persistence of vulnerable children and orphans compounds the achievement of the MDGs and overall socio-economic development in Africa.
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