Management of Population Change by Facilitating the Demographic Transition to Healthier Families
Problem
Widespread poverty in Africa fuels environmental degradation, poor quality of life for human populations, declining agricultural productivity, and food insecurity. It is thus a major challenge to the attainment of sustainable development. Land degradation poses serious limitations to food security, especially with high and increasing population densities. Since rural dwellers are dependent on agriculture for their livelihood, the acuteness of their poverty is linked to the deteriorating natural resource base, which has led to declining agricultural productivity and thus incomes. Increasing population intensifies environmental degradation. In addition, emerging new challenges such as HIV/AIDS and its social, economic and demographic impact rapidly take effect in communities pervaded by poverty.
Consequently, there is an urgent need to develop and effectively adopt comprehensive strategies aimed at promoting food security and sustainable development in African countries. Such strategies should address among others the management of population change by facilitating the demographic transition to smaller and healthier families; and easing women’s time constraints and increasing their capacity building.
The promotion of smaller and healthier families should be one of the priorities considered by member states in order to reverse effectively the undesirable imbalance between population needs and economic growth. This would support and facilitate other aspects of development such as health, education and poverty reduction.
Goal
The goal of the Population Team is to promote an enabling environment for managing population change by facilitating the demographic transition to healthier families where individual quality of life is highly enhanced.
Strategy
The strategy adopted will involve mixing the following elements:
Building capacity at the national, sub-regional and regional levels;
Promoting advocacy and awareness creation on policy formulation, policy analysis and management of population issues in the context of the linkages among population, environment and agriculture;
Participating in the development of tools and materials for advocacy and awareness creation;
Compiling best practices and indicators on population and socio-economic issues;
Producing comparative studies on population and related areas;
Providing assistance in monitoring and evaluation of population policies and programs;
Monitoring the implementation of UN development programs with emphasis on population;
Promoting the generation and sharing of information through ICT; and
Networking and exchanging experiences with partners.
Highlights of 2000 Activities
Meetings
Second meeting of the Working Group on the Follow-up Committee for the implementation of Dakar Ngor Declaration/International Conference on Population and Development Plan of Action (DND/ICPD-PA);
High-level Stakeholders meeting on Sustainable Development.
Other substantive activities
Africa’s Population and Development Bulletin (2nd issue);
Africa : Demographic, Environmental and Agricultural Indicators;
The state of the demographic transition in Africa (preparatory outline);
Issues paper on population, environment and agriculture;
Website on population and development, follow-up to ICPD and nexus inter-relationships.
International co-operation and inter-agency co-operation and liaison
In close collaboration with the UNFPA, the Population Team monitored and evaluated the implementation of the DND and the ICPD.PA in the context of ICPD+10. In this regard, activities planned in 2001 for the regional follow-up of the DND and the ICPD.PA in the Project Document submitted to UNFPA (for possible funding) will be carried out in co-operation with the UNFPA and its CST offices based in Addis Ababa, Dakar and Harare.
Towards monitoring the implementation of the recommendations of the second meeting of the Follow-up Committee on the implementation of the DND and the ICPD.PA and the third General Assembly of the African Population Commission held in May 1999, the Population Team cooperated with the Organization of African Unity(OAU) and the African Development Bank (ADB) within the framework of the Joint ECA/OAU/ADB secretariat which services both the African Population Commission and the Follow-up Committee on the implementation of the DND and the ICPD.PA
The Population Team liaised with the United Nations Regional Institute for Population Studies (RIPS), International Union for the Scientific Study of Population (IUSSP), the “Institut de Formation et de Recherche Démographique” (IFORD), the “Centre d’Etudes et de Recherches en Population et Développement” (CERPOD), the Union for African Population Studies (UAPS), the World Bank, related UN agencies, experts, and selected NGOs in the course of implementing the various outputs within its work program.
Members of the Population Team participated in relevant regional and international conferences and UNFPA meetings, which deliberated on issues, related to the interrelationship between population, environment and agriculture. Attendance at such conferences helped in strengthening networking and collaboration with ECA partners.
Technical Co-operation, Training and Field Projects
Advisory services were provided to various countries on request including the host country.
Three professional members of the Division were given more in-depth training on the PEDA model for a period of one month at both ECA and the IIASA in Vienna.
The Population Team organized and held a sub-regional seminar on the PEDA model for use in sensitizing ECA member states about the inter-linkages between agriculture, population and environment. This was carried out in collaboration with SDRC-Eastern Africa.
Highlights of 2001 Activities
Meetings
4th meeting of the Follow-up Committee for the implementation of DND/ICPD-PA;
2nd meeting of the Committee on Sustainable Development.
3rd meeting of the Advisory Board on Population, Environment and Agriculture.
Other substantive activities
Africa’s Population and Development Bulletin (3rd issue);
Africa : Demographic, Environmental and Agricultural Indicators;
User’s Manual on PEDA;
Technical Manual on PEDA;
The state of the demographic transition, HIV/AIDS and Socio-Economic Development in Africa;
Advocacy booklets on PEDA; and
CD-ROM on PEDA software and data.
International co-operation and inter-agency co-operation and liaison
The Team will continue to collaborate with the UNFPA, UN Population Division, Global POPIN, OAU and ADB to monitor and evaluate the implementation of the DND and the ICPD.PA.
The Population Team will also continue to liaise with various other partners in the course of implementing the various outputs within its work program including participation in relevant regional and international conferences.
Technical Co-operation, Training and Field Projects
Advisory services will be provided to selected countries and sub-regional institutions on request.
The Population Team will co-organize with SDRCs two training workshops on PEDA. The resources for the workshops will be mobilized through the SDRCs.
Major Publications
Publications in 2001
Africa : Demographic, Environmental and Agricultural Indicators;
User’s Manual on PEDA;
Technical Manual on PEDA;
The state of the demographic transition, HIV/AIDS and Socio-Economic Development in Africa
Advocacy booklets on PEDA
Africa’s Population and Development Bulletin (3rd issue)
Some recent publications
Africa : Demographic, Environmental and Agricultural Indicators;
Issues paper on population, environment and agriculture;
Staff members
Mr.
Israel Sembajwe, Demographer, Team Leader
Mr. Lamine Gueye, Demographer
Mr. Han Chol O, Economist and Statistician
Ms. Donatella Giubilaro, Economist
Mr. Georges Reniers, Sociologist
Mr. Assefa Belai, Research Assistant
Mr. Moulie Gibril, UNFPA-TAS/ECA