From Africa Recovery, Vol.13#1 (June 1999), Briefs page

Global economic turmoil stalls anti-poverty fight

In many developing countries, progress in reducing income poverty stalled in the latter half of this decade, largely because of the impact of the global economic turbulence set off in late 1997 by the Asian financial crisis, the World Bank reported in early June. Although the most immediate repercussions were felt in Asia itself -- with 20 million people suddenly falling below the poverty line in Indonesia alone -- Africa too was hard hit, notes the Bank's Trends in Poverty report.

Because of the lower world commodity prices resulting from the crisis, as well as adverse weather conditions and conflict in a number of African countries, growth in gross domestic product in sub-Saharan Africa in 1998 is believed to have been below the population growth rate, implying a decline in per capita income. As of 1993 (the latest year for which accurate figures are available), sub-Saharan Africa had the highest ratio in the world of people living in poverty, at around 15.3 per cent, and, after Asia, the second highest number of poor people, 218.6 million.

During 1991-95, sub-Saharan Africa was the only world region to register a decline in its real consumption growth rate, averaging -1.3 per cent over the period, with the annual average not expected to exceed 0.1 per cent during 1997-2000. Looking at broad trends in social indicators over the past couple of decades, the World Bank report notes that primary school enrolment rates in sub-Saharan Africa remained stagnant between 1982 and 1994, while all other regions experienced improvements. Infant mortality rates have improved modestly, although continuing poor health conditions and the large numbers of people (22.5 million) living with HIV/AIDS have been reflected in some health indicators: of eight countries in the world with declines in life expectancy of more than three years, six are in Africa (Botswana, Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe).

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