June 29, 2005— Aid flows, debt relief, and economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa are on the rise, but reducing poverty remains a challenge, warns the World Bank's annual report on Africa. African Development Indicators (ADI) 2005 offers detailed data on social and economic conditions across the continent spanning more than two decades. In this "Year of Africa," as the international development community has dubbed the current calendar year, ADI 2005 shows Africa as a diverse continent where several countries are making remarkable progress, some stagnating and others lagging behind. These latest African development statistics come a week before the G8 meeting of the world's richest countries where Africa will be one of the main topics on the agenda. "There is no question that there is an enormous, compelling moral urgency to the conditions of Africa and there is no question that there are needs. But there is a lot more going on than just need. Africa may be on the verge of being a continent of hope," said World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz. Despite progress, the report stresses that the rapid spread of HIV/AIDS, insufficient aid and investment flows, weak commodity prices and lack of trade opportunities could undo some of the gains of recent years. Some striking contrasts between countries include: - In Sierra Leone nearly 3 out of 10 children die before they turn 5 (or 284 per 1,000 births) while this is true for 15 per 1,000 births in Seychelles.
- Zimbabwe's literacy rate is 90%, compared to Niger's 17%.
- Liberia has three phone landlines per 1,000 inhabitants, while Seychelles has 269 lines per 1,000 inhabitants.
- Only 22% of Ethiopians have access to clean water compared to 99% of the Mauritanians.
- In Mali almost half of 10-14 year-olds work; while in South Africa child labor is practically non-existent.
- Ethiopia's and Burundi's Gross National Income (GNI) are a low US$90 compared to Seychelles' US$7,350.
|
RSS