Africa Up Close

A student working on carpentry at Nyanza Vocational training center in Southern Rwanda. Photo courtesy of Graham Holliday via Flickr Commons. 

Education and training for productive employment is an important tool for economic growth and development. Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET)—an aspect of the educational process—is viewed as a tool for productivity enhancement towards achieving economic growth. TVET focuses on practical applications of skills learned, and are intended to prepare trainees to become effective professionals in a specific vocation. It also equips trainees with a broad range of knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are indispensable for meaningful participation in work and life.

A news control room. Photo courtesy of Ross G. Strachan via Flickr Commons. 

For decades, the mass media has shaped the world’s view of what is important in our daily lives—our social and political realities—through its ability to influence information and how it is presented.[1] As such, the media has been, and still is, a powerful tool in shaping our perceptions of what matters in our world today. If used well, this inherent power of the media can be of great value in the prioritization of the demographic dividend framework in Africa’s policymaking processes. The media has the power to raise the profile of the demographic dividend agenda in Africa’s development conversations and sustain policymakers’ attention. At any given time, policymakers have several competing policy priorities that may be influenced by their personal interests, opinions, and worldview,[2] not to mention the complex nature of the policymaking process that involves many moving pieces.[3] Media coverage of issues relating to the demographic dividend is critical now more than ever. Despite high-level conversations on the demographic dividend over the past five years, including the 2017 African Union Summit where African leaders committed to investing in the large youthful population to steer development,[4] there is still worry that the demographic dividend ‘hype’ may die out if these conversations do not translate into action at the policymaking level.

Women and girls gather over a solar panel installation in Benin. Photo courtesy of Solar Electric Light Fund via Flickr Commons. 

Over 620 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)—roughly two-thirds of the region’s population— lack access to electricity (Figure 1).The overall electrification rate for the region is 31 percent, with less than 10 percent of rural households having access to electricity. [1] Of the region’s grid-connected households, 40 percent do not pay their bills.

Mining at the Tarkwa Mine in Ghana. Photo via Wikimedia Commons. 

“Galamsey”[1]

Africa is endowed with numerous natural resources including gold, ore, copper, bauxite, manganese, and timber among others. Formal extractive companies do not offer much employment to local people, pushing them to find employment through illegal mining practices. The influx of small-scale and illegal miners, mostly Chinese to Africa, has worsened the illegal mining activities on the continent with migrant miners abusing mining laws and mining practices. Mining communities in Africa are experiencing numerous detrimental impacts environmentally, socially, and economically from mining. According to a report by Oxfam Australia, mining can negatively affect people by forcing them from their homes and farms and preventing them from accessing clean land and water.[2]

Malians vote at a polling station in the Ecole de la République in Bamako, Mali, during the presidential election. Photo courtesy of the United Nations via Flickr Commons. 

It has been a few decades now since many African countries adopted multi-party democratic systems of governance. Some progress has been made while challenges remain, but there is evidence to show that the majority of Africa’s population prefer the democratic system of governance to other types of governance. Elections, considered the ‘heartbeat’ of democracies, have increasingly become popular across the continent, with many African countries now holding regular elections. In the year 2015, at least 22 African countries held presidential, legislative and or local level elections. This also included two referendums in Rwanda and the Republic of Congo. In 2016, the number was even higher, with not less than 26 countries in Africa going through one form of election or the other. While the increasing acceptance of regular democratic elections maybe positive for Africa’s democratization, it is the quality of these elections that have been of concern to many. Elections in Africa continue to be plagued by a range of challenges, such as inaccurate voter registers, voter identification problems, mistrust between political parties and of Election Management Bodies (EMBs), rejection of electoral results and outcomes, election-related violence, unequal playing field for political actors, weak election management bodies, and high political tension. Some of these challenges affect the overall credibility of elections and the acceptability of their outcomes.

TTC Mobile HIV/AIDS quiz question. Photo courtesy of TTCMobile via Flickr Commons.  

mHealth, the leveraging of mobile and wireless technologies for use in the health sector, offers a promising opportunity for Africa to strengthen national health systems and to solve some of its most pressing health and infrastructural challenges. The rapid rise and expansion of technology usage across Africa, as well as recent successful applications of mHealth in countries like Kenya and India, evidence that the continent should look to mHealth not only as a means to achieve its health goals but also to realize sustainable peace and development. As of this past April, the 2017 African Mobile Trends Paper suggests that there are now 960 million mobile subscriptions across Africa, achieving a penetration rate of 80 percent. The growth in mobile phone ownership is only expected to continue, as cell phones are now as common in countries like South Africa and Nigeria as they are in the United States. Africa can capitalize on its growing mobile phone penetration rate, utilizing cell phone technology as a means to further health and development efforts.

Bizuye Solomon teaches at Alula ABEC. Photo courtesy of UNICEF Ethioipia vis Flickr Commons. 

Over the past 25 years, economic and political demographers have documented how declines in fertility rates have preceded improvements in state capacity, income, and political stability in much of East Asia, Latin America, and, most recently, in the Maghreb region of North Africa (Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria). Nonetheless, social scientists still debate over where and when this “demographic dividend” will occur in the youthful, low-income countries of sub-Saharan Africa.  Elizabeth Leahy Madsen of the Population Reference Bureau and I find that, for most youthful countries—like those in sub-Saharan Africa—changes in population age structure provide a means to gauge the timing of their future development.

Pictured here is a tea field in Ethiopia. Photo courtesy of Rod Waddington via Flickr Commons. 

In the past, many believed that only large-scale irrigation projects were viable in Africa in order to provide higher returns on investment and drive agricultural productivity growth. However, World Bank estimates show that on average, the internal rate of returns of investment in small-scale irrigation projects is about 26% as compared to 17% for large-scale projects in Sub-Saharan Africa. Similarly, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) reported a 28%  internal rate of returns for investment in small-scale systems, but for 7% large -scale systems. But deciding which type of irrigation system is best-suited for a particular country is not easy. Ultimately, it depends on several factors, including geo-ecological conditions, budget constraints, productivity gains, and economic cost and benefits. Beyond ensuring economic viability of investment projects, addressing issues relating to institutional and governance frameworks is important and must be taken care of the ensure sustainability of projects. Therefore, it is imperative to ensure that management challenges and land tenure issues that account for the slow investment in irrigation infrastructure development are equally considered.

Pictured here is a community garden in Niger that Mercy Corps helped the local women start. Photo courtesy of USAID via Flickr Commons

Over the last decade, Africa’s agricultural production has improved notably. Between 2000 and 2014, the production of major crops like cereals increased by 69%, while production of roots and tubers increased by 62%[i]. A recent Agriculture Status Report by the Alliance for Green Revolution for Africa (AGRA) shows that in many countries, such as Ghana, Rwanda, and Burkina Faso, the growth in production has improved the lives of farmers’ households. Unfortunately, despite the output growth, food insecurity on the continent remains a major challenge with over 232.5 million people (or nearly 20% of the population) in Africa still suffer starvation and malnutrition. Thus, Africa is far from reaching the Sustainable Development Goal 2 of eliminating hunger.

Madam Laadi Forkinam, standing in her 13 acres maize farm in Nakpanduri, in the Northern Region of Ghana. Photo courtesy of USAID via Flickr Commons

As the debate concerning Africa’s economic transformation progresses, there is increasing agreement that industrial sector development, guided by credible industrial policy[i], is crucial for the structural transformation of many African economies. This view is largely influenced by the widespread failures of free market development strategies that have been pursued over the last few decades and by a recent growth in joblessness without concurrent industrial development. To be successful, however, any industrial policy should include certain key fundamentals, including sufficient support to and from the private sector, increased dialogue between the public and private sectors, and sound macroeconomic management.