UN Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs,
with support from the UN Population Fund (UNFPA)
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| UN Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, with support from the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) |
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The electronic version of this document is being made available by the
Population Information Network (POPIN) of the United Nations Population
Division (DESIPA), in collaboration with the United Nations Economic
Commission for Africa, Population Division and the Pan African
Development Information System (PADIS). For further information please
contact the Director of the United Nations Population
Division via email at: bahri.uneca@un.org
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E/ECA/PSPI.9/5
(Agenda Item 6)
Ninth Session of the Joint Conference
of African Planners, Statisticians, and
Population and Information Specialists
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
11-16 March 1996
PROGRESS REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE
DAKAR/NGOR DECLARATION AND THE
CAIRO PROGRAMME OF ACTION
I. INTRODUCTION
1. To date, three African Population Conferences (APC) have
been organized. Excepting the first, the other two had adopted
Declarations purporting to provide some guidelines towards
fostering population and development planning in the various ECA
member States. The latter include the Kilimanjaro Programme of
Action for African Population and Self-Reliant Development (KPA)
adopted at the APC.2 (1984) and the Dakar/Ngor Declaration on
Population, Family and Sustainable Development (DND), adopted at
APC.3 (1992).
2. The periodic reviews on the implementation of the
recommendations of these development frameworks are intended to
provide a wealth of information on the facilitating factors as well
as the constraints in the development of National Population
Programmes (NPPs). By capitalizing on such facilitating factors
and/or addressing such constraints in the future activities of all
development partners, considerable progress could be made towards
attaining the goal of harmonizing economic and population growth
rates and hence in raising the standard of living of the population
in these States.
3. It is to be recalled that APC.3 synthesized such reviews on
the KPA during the 1986-1992 period. Among other things, the said
synthesis revealed that
"Despite the increased number of explicit population policies
formulated since the KPA, fertility is still high in most ECA
member States. There are also problems with
(i) effecting desired declines in mortality levels and rural-
urban in-migration rates;
(ii) ensuring effective roles of women in development;
(iii) implementing suggested programmes affecting children and
youths;
(iv) providing adequate data and information for the
development of population policies;
(v) ensuring increased role of non-governmental organizations
in the development of such policies; and,
(vi) putting in place, needed national focal points for the
collation and dissemination of population information to
operationalize the process of integrating population factors
into development plans (IPDP)".
4. The foregoing indicated a rather low implementation rate of
the KPA recommendations and led to the adoption of the DND which,
among other objectives, was aimed at accelerating the rate of such
implementation. The DND also served as the African Common Position
at the International Conference on Population and Development
(1994) which adopted a Programme of Action (ICPD.PA).
5. The last session of the Joint Conference reviewed constraints
in the implementation of the DND recommendations by African
Governments. Both the DND and the ICPD.PA have urged the promotion
of an effective partnership between all levels of Government and
NGOs regarding the discussion and decisions on the design,
implementation, coordination, monitoring and evaluation of
programmes relating to population and development.
6. The present review is focussed on the progress of efforts that
have been made towards implementing the recommendations of the DND
and the ICPD.PA at the national, sub-regional and regional levels.
(II) THE NATIONAL LEVEL.
Efforts
7. Available information reveals considerable uneven
implementation of the DND and the ICPD.PA amongst the ECA member
States. Among the causal factors are that generally, national
institutions in some sectors are better staffed and equipped than
those in others. There are also aspects of differential quality of
leadership, management and planning. For instance, national
authorities may be quite ready to improve maternal and child health
services but reluctant to launch programmes of family life
education in schools. Approaches to the formulation, adoption and
implementation of population policies and programmes may also vary.
Countries may simply not be able to provide all the health,
educational and information services which they consider absolutely
essential.
8. This uneven implementation is particularly applicable to the
countries in the Eastern and English-speaking West African
subregions. In KENYA for example, since 1992, the government has
(i) intensified its population management efforts as reflected by
the three overall goals of the 1994-96 Development Plans
simultaneous with being committed to ensuring that the country's
future development is economically, socially and environmentally
sustainable; (ii) pledged to assist the disadvantaged Kenyans
including the handicapped and the poor and, to address the
challenges of social integration with foci on ethnic harmony and
expanded opportunities for women and youth.
9. Towards providing a sound basis for the process of integrating
population factors in its development plans (IPDP), the government
has outlined a projected growth of the population through the year
2010. In this connection, it has reviewed its population policy
guidelines in line with the recommendations of the ICPD.PA using
national, sub-national and district level Workshops.
10. Regarding the identification and response to the reproductive
health/family planning needs of specific population groups, the
government has (i) eased availability of family planning supplies
(e.g. by increasing the number of service delivery points and
diversifying the range of available family planning services); (ii)
instituted family planning programme in the pre/in service of
existing teacher training institutions; and, (iii) taken positive
steps to deal with the problem of adolescent pregnancies.
11. Additionally existing health infrastructure is being
strengthened and maintained; areas of unmet needs (e.g. services to
youth through family life education, the promotion of safe
motherhood and promotion of fora to examine youth contraceptives)
are being identified and focused upon; and, maternal literacy rates
and educational attainment are being promoted through the Ministry
of Education and of Culture/Social Services.
12. Several population projects have been established each of
which has an evaluation component to assess the achievement of set
objectives. For instance, the government has embarked on a study to
cost the National Family Planning Programme through the year 2,000
and has planned to institute mechanisms for monitoring and
evaluating the impact of the programme. An IEC Document Centre has
also been established at the NCPD to facilitate the design and
implementation of effective policies. A Children's Bill has also
been prepared and is awaiting government approval; this will put in
place, various acts relating to the rights of children.
13. In RWANDA, the priorities of government for 1995 include (i)
the creation of a National Population Commission (NPC) to
coordinate population activities and to ensure a rational
utilization of available human, financial and material resources;
(ii) the establishment of Population Committees at the Prefecture
and Commune levels to serve as a framework for discussion at
different levels; (iii) the popularization of the population policy
through an integrated multi media IEC programme; and, (iv) the
organization of studies aimed at determining the size, structure
and distribution of the current population and demographic trends
and their impact on national development.
14. In SIERRA LEONE, the government launched (1992) a National
Family Planning Programme (NFPP) and has integrated MCH/FP
activities in order to address the issue of the high infant and
maternal mortality. In collaboration with NGOs, the MCH/FP
programme has improved on the service delivery through IEC efforts;
hitherto such service was largely urban-based. Additionally, the
government (1994) formulated a policy to strengthen NGO efforts,
minimize duplication and increase use of resources.
15. In UGANDA, the government established (1988) a Population
Secretariat in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning to
develop and implement a population policy. By 1990, eight District
Population Offices (DPO) were established. A Manual for each DPO
was prepared by 1992 for guidance. A national population conference
was held in March 1992. The first draft of the population policy
was thereafter circulated for consideration at 14 zonal workshops
held around the country between December 1992 and June 1993.
Another population conference was held in November 1993. It
approved the draft population policy which was promulgated into law
on 3rd March, 1995.
16. Thereafter, draft proposals for the National Plan of Action
of the population policy; this was reviewed at a Population Forum
held by the end of May, 1995. It is envisaged that, effective mid-
1995, each district will develop its plan of action using the
priorities identified in the National Plan of Action and the
peculiarities of each district.
17. Additionally, ministerial and district-based Planning Units
have been established to strengthen population and development
planning coordination and decentralize the implementation of the
population policy. As at April 1995, 17 such offices had been in
place; it is hoped to increase the number to 27 by 1996 ending;
only 12 districts will thus remain uncovered by 1996. In each DPO,
orientation Workshops have been organized to emphasize the expected
role of the Population Officer and to introduce deeper appreciation
of the population and development interrelationships specific to
the district.
18. Overall, since the ICPD, a number of activities have been
undertaken in the country including (i) Round-Table discussions on
Reproductive Health; (ii) Workshop and meetings on Youth
Initiatives; and, (iii) Priorities for Women Programmes. During the
1992-94 period, the Population Secretariat, in collaboration with
the Department of Population Studies, Makerere University,
conducted several Workshops on the IPDP process, for planners in
the Planning Units, the District Population Offices and the various
interest groups including Youth; Women leaders; Religious leaders;
District Youth Chairmen and District Women Chairpersons.
19. For countries in the Southern African sub-region, available
information indicates that almost all of them are at varying stages
of implementing the recommendations of the DND and the ICPD.PA.
20. For instance the current annual population growth rate is 1.0%
in Mauritius and 1.5 % in Seychelles as against the prescribed 2 %
by the year 2000 in the DND; the IMR is 45 per 1000 live births in
Botswana; 19 in Mauritius; 12 in Seychelles; and 46 in South Africa
as against the prescribed minimum level of 50 by the year 2000 in
the DND; and, the child mortality rate is 56 in Botswana, 22 in
Mauritius and 69 in South Africa as against the minimum level of 70
prescribed for the year 2000 in the DND.
21. In particular, Madagascar (1990) and Zambia (1989) had adopted
explicit population policies before the DND and the ICPD.PA came
into being; both had also established mechanisms for implementing
their policy measures. Lesotho (1994) and Malawi adopted their
population policies following the adoption of both development
frameworks. Eight countries (Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Mauritius,
Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland and Zimbabwe) are at varying stages
of formulating an explicit population policy using the DND and the
ICPD.PA as important guides. In Mauritius, in particular,
population programme efforts had, in the past, been limited almost
exclusively to population growth and fertility reduction through a
strong family planning programme.
22. Information on efforts by countries in the Sahel and French-
speaking West Africa at implementing the DND and the ICPD.PA is
rather scanty. Only eight of them have adopted an explicit
population policy. Of those with a policy, Burkina Faso and Senegal
already have a programme for implementation. However, since the
adoption of the two population and development frameworks, the
previous reluctance on the part of some of the the countries to
quantify their population policy objectives, has changed.
23. In particular, some of the countries are ahead of certain
recommendations of the DND and the ICPD.PA. Among these are:
Instruments for monitoring the implementation of the
population policies have either been or are being prepared.
Efforts are also under way at integrating the population
policies into structural adjustment programmes (SAPs).
Although Population Units have played a role in the
formulation of existing population policies, new structures
(e.g. Permanent Secretariats, Population Policy Departments)
have been created and have been fully integrated into the
national policy coordination structures and development
programmes.
Facilitating factors and Constraints
24. Overall, among the factors that have facilitated the
implementation of the DND and the ICPD.PA in the countries (with
information) of the region are:
(i) the challenge of national population situations (e.g. high
fertility, youthful age structures);
(ii) emerging democratic environment;
(iii) accumulated experience in pertinent data collection.
(iv) increased (a) interest in gender concerns (b) national
capacity through availability of trained national staff and
(c) commitment and positive perceptions of and attitudes
towards population issues; and,
(v) the existence of (a) institutional mechanisms (e.g.
monitoring and evaluation of implementation) for IPDP, (b)
comprehensive population policies with defined goals,
objectives, targets, etc), (c) understanding of the intricate
linkages between population and sustainable national
development and (d) relatively extensive health and service
delivery infrastructure;
25. There are of course some constraining factors as well. These
include
(i) the prevailing social and economic crisis and the
associated declining budgetary provisions consequent upon
SAPs;
(ii) the perception of population policy development as a
donor driven affair with the associated perception of needed
institutional structures (e.g. the PPUs) as sacred cows to be
milked;
(iii) low technical, institutional and financial capacities at
sub-national levels;
(iv) inadequate established linkages between governmental and
non-governmental organizations;
(v) continuing low priority given in some countries to data
collection and analysis;
(vi) continuing existence of many structural weaknesses in the
health delivery systems of some countries;
(vii) non institutionalization and low priority for population
IEC within the structures and operations of various relevant
institutions;
(viii) the non-existence in most countries of policy
frameworks or plans of action focusing on women and girls
aimed at ensuring gender equality; and,
(ix) the continuing prevalence of socio-cultural attitudes and
practices which impede effective implementation of population
programmes.
Impact and Future Outlook
26. Although the DND and the ICPD.PA are largely consistent with
the policy development process under way in the various countries
in terms of effectuating changes in attitudes and priorities, there
are few indications that the countries are responding explicitly
and deliberately to specific provisions of both development
frameworks. If anything, there are significant gaps between the
goals of both frameworks and the achievements to date.
27. Both of these population and development frameworks have
recognized the importance of strengthening relationships and
exchanging information with NGOs in all aspects of sustainable
development. They have also urged the promotion of an effective
partnership between all levels of Government and NGOs regarding the
discussion and decisions on the design, implementation,
coordination, monitoring and evaluation of programmes relating to
population and development.
28. In terms of impact, it can safely be said that attitudes of
some of the countries, towards the adoption of population policies
are evolving rapidly; and that larger, stronger and more varied
National Population Programmes are being developed based on certain
principles, themes and recommendations of the DND and the ICPD.PA.
Even so, one would hesitate to attribute all the features of the
new policies and programmes to the two development frameworks.
29. There does appear to be an emerging increased willingness in
these countries to view the adoption of a national population
policy as a legitimate and logical course of action on the part of
the governments. The case for providing better family planning
services to a larger proportion of the population is increasingly
based on welfare and health arguments. References to gender issues
are frequent and policy documents tend to link population to gender
issues. Although that may indicate significant changes in
attitudes, it may not imply strong commitment to reducing gender
disparities.
III. THE SUB-REGIONAL AND REGIONAL LEVELS
Efforts
30. Pursuant to the "ECA's Resolution 748 (XXVIII) of 4 May 1993
on population, family and sustainable development and Paragraph 25
of Document E/ECA/CM.20/19, on 1 March 1994, the ECA Executive
Secretary faxed all African Governments requesting them to nominate
a focal point for the follow-up of the implementation of the DND,
as adopted by the third African Population Conference in December
1992". To date only seventeen out of the 52 ECA member States
have communicated the establishment of such focal points to the ECA
(see Annex A).
31. It will be recalled that the inaugural meeting of the Follow-
up Committee held (24 to 25 March 1994 in Addis Ababa) during the
8th Session of this Joint Conference, evolved a 5-year programme of
activities for the implementation of the DND. Among other things,
the said committee suggested the organization of two workshops:
Experts and NGOs to provide fora for bringing together Experts and
NGOs working in the field of population and development planning
from ECA member States to review and discuss modalities of
accelerating the implementation of both the DND and the ICPD.PA
with a view to ensuring that the targets set and objectives
outlined in both frameworks are met.
32. However, due to funding constraints, the two workshops were
merged into one Workshop of Experts and NGOs for monitoring and
evaluating the implementation of the DND and the ICPD.PA. The
Workshop was organized by the Joint ECA/OAU/ADB Secretariat in
liaison with the IPPF and the UNFPA and in collaboration with
African Institutions including the Arab League, CDC, CICRED, IFORD,
RIPS, UAPS, the UNFPA Country Support Teams (CST) Groupings based
in Addis Ababa, Dakar and Harare and the United Nations Specialized
Agencies (ILO, UNESCO, WHO, World Bank, IMF, UNCHS-Habitat, UNHCR,
UNICEF, UNIDO, UNIFEM and WFP).
33. It was held in Abidjan, Cte d'Ivoire, at the African
Development Bank (ADB), from 6 to 9 June 1995 and was attended by
26 national experts and 28 NGO representatives as well as
representatives from 7 African Research Institutions, 8 observers
and 13 representatives from UNFPA and eight International Agencies.
Together with the 22 members of the Joint Secretariat and two
representatives from the IPPF, a total of 106 participants attended
the workshop.
34. Discussions of background papers were first held at the level
of the Plenary. Thence two committees (Experts and NGOs) were
constituted to exchange views and make recommendations on the
theme. At a resumed Plenary, the synthesized recommendations were
adopted with amendments. The full report of the Workshop has since
been published; copies are available at this session.
Guidelines for monitoring and evaluation
35. Among other things, the Workshop set out Guidelines to enable
member states to monitor and evaluate the implementation of their
National Population Programmes based on the DND and the ICPD.PA.
Details of the said Guidelines are published elsewhere. It
outlines (i) the derivation of sectoral development objectives of
the National Development Plan focussing on the operational aspects
of endogenizing population in the planning process; (ii) the
selection of indicators for monitoring and evaluating the
implementation of NPPs; and, (iii) the mechanisms for monitoring
and evaluating the implementation of NPPs at the regional, sub-
regional and national levels.
36. In terms of the mechanisms for monitoring and evaluating the
implementation of NPPs, the Guidelines stressed that the population
and development data needed both for monitoring and evaluating the
implementation of the DND and the ICPD.PA and for developing a
National Population Programme has been compiled by the ECA over the
years. There is need to update these data partly to reflect the
more recent ones and partly to ensure inclusion of the areas to be
monitored and evaluated.
37. Towards this end, the Guidelines suggests that ECA should
design a questionnaire for the monitoring and evaluation of the
implementation of NPPs using the DND and the ICPD-PA. This should
be sent to the designated Focal Points (Annex A) for completion.
It is proposed that, the member states themselves should use the
responses to prepare a National Report to be presented to the next
session of the Follow-up Committee scheduled to be held during the
next Session (i.e. the 10th Session scheduled for March, 1998) of
this Joint Conference. The ECA should use the National reports to
check on the consistency with the information in its updated data
base.
38. Towards fostering the sharing of experience, the ECA should
transmit the updated data sheets (which contains information on the
entire region) both to all ECA member states as well as to the
development partners (i.e. the international community involved in
population and development planning in the ECA region including the
UNDP Resident Representatives, UNFPA Country Directors, the three
CST Groupings and the Joint Secretariat).
39. At the sub-regional level, it is suggested that the CST
Advisers, in consultation with the UNFPA Country Directors, should
update the country-specific data sheet during their missions (to a
specific country). These updated country-specific data sheets
should constitute an integral part of their mission reports, copies
of which should be returned to the ECA. To the extent that the
Joint Conference is a biennial activity, this process would ensure,
that the updating of population development data and information in
the region, becomes an on-going activity.
40. In principle the foregoing gradual country by country update
process through the national, sub-regional and regional efforts,
should ensure the continuous monitoring and evaluation of the
implementation of the two development frameworks. In practice, the
difficulty envisaged is the dependence on the completion and the
return of the Questionnaire by member states. But if ECA member
states are committed to raising their populations' quality of life,
the way out is a continuous monitoring and evaluation of their
implementation of these two development frameworks. The region must
stand and work together in these efforts.
IV. CONCLUSION
41. Given the relative recency of the two population and
development frameworks (i.e. the DND and the ICPD.PA), available
information on the efforts being made by ECA member States at using
the recommendations therein to develop their NPPs, indicate
considerable variation in the implementation. There are significant
gaps between the goals of both documents and the achievements to
date. It is probably too early to assess the impact of the efforts.
42. At the sub-regional and regional levels, the information of
such efforts are based largely on the recommendations derived from
the Experts/NGOs Workshop on monitoring and evaluating the
implementation of NPPs using the two population and development
frameworks. Additional to the recommendations (see Annex B), the
Workshop made suggestions on Guidelines for developing and
implementing the NPPs of the member States as well as on a
mechanism for monitoring and evaluating such implementation at the
national, sub-regional and regional levels.
43. The session is called upon to
(i) request the ECA member States to establish the
aforementioned focal points, if they have not done so already.
(ii) take note of the efforts being made by member States and
to request the other member states (not included in the
present review) to provide the secretariat with pertinent
information on their own efforts;
(iii) request that such information should be coordinated by
the UNFPA Country Directors in liason with the UNFPA CST
Advisers;
(iv) make suggestions for improving on the suggested
guidelines and mechanism for monitoring and evaluating the
implementation of a National Population Programme based on the
DND and the ICPD.PA; and,
(v) encourage member states to utilize the suggested
guidelines and to implement the recommendations of the
Expert/NGO Workshop.
ANNEX A
LIST OF FOCAL POINTS FOR DAKAR/NGOR
1. Mr. Alex Quist-Therson,
Director
Secretariat of the National
Population Council
c/o Population Desk, Social
Sector Policy Unit (SSPU)
Ministry of Finance and
Economic Planning
P.O.Box M. 40, Accra, Ghana.
2. Miss M. C. Mphutlane, Acting
Director, Economic Policy
Department, Ministry of
Planning, Economic and Manpower
Development
P.O.Box 630, Maseru 100,
Lesotho [Tel. 31 11 00 ext.
2512;
Telex: 4429 LO; Fax: 266-
310281; Cable: PLANNOFF].
3. Mr. E. M. Matekane,
Principal Secretary
Ministry of Planning, Economic
and Manpower Development
P.O.Box 630, Maseru 100,
Lesotho [Tel. 32 25 99; Telex:
4429 LO
Fax: 266-310281, Cable:
PLANNOFF].
4. M. Lafarakh Abdellatif,
Fonctionnaire responsable
Centre d'tudes et de
recherches dmographiques
(CERED)
Direction de la Statistique,
Ministre des affaires
Economiques et sociales
SIS, Rue Mohamed Belhassan El
Ouazzani, Haut-Agdal, Rabat
B.P. 178
Rabat, Maroc [Tel. 77 36 06;
Fax: 77 30 42/ 77 32 17; Telex:
36714]
5. M. Sidi Mohamed Ould Sidina,
Direction des ressources
humaines
Ministre du plan, Nouakchott,
Mauritanie [Fax: 22 22-551-10].
6. Mr. Nama Goabab, The
Permanent Secretary,
National Planning Commission,
Metropolitan Building
Private Bag 13356, Windhoek,
Namibia [Tel. (061) 22 25 49;
Fax: (061) 22 65 01].
7. Mr. Bouraima Nairidine,
Expert demographe
Direction Generale de la
Statistique, B.P. 118 Lome
(Togo)
[Tel. 21-27-75].
8. Mesdames Bangirinana
Matrone, Burengengwa Concilie
Service Planification Ress.
Humaine et de la Population
Ministre de la Planification,
Bujumbura (Burundi).
9. Mme Safir Tamany, Charg
d'Etudes et de synthse
Ministre de la Sante et de la
Population, Algerie.
10. Director of Population
Activities
Federal Ministry of Health and
Human Services
Federal Secretariat Phase II
Ikoyi, Lagos, Nigeria.
11. M. Zourkaleini Younoussi,
Directeur de la population
Ministre du developpement
social, de la population et de
la Promotion de la femme, B.P.
11 286, Niamey, Niger [Tel. 72 36 77].
12. Mr. Michel Rosali, Ministry
of Employment and Social
Affairs (MESA), Principal
Secretary, P.O. Box 190,Victoria, Mahe, Seychelles,
[Tel. 32 23 21; Telex: 2352,
Fax: 321880].
13. Ms. Mariama A. Deen,
Secretary, National Population
Commission Secretariat, Central
Planning Unit, Department of
Finance, Dev. and Econ.
Planning, Youyi Building
Brookfiels, Freetown, Sierra Leone.
14. Miss Nomathemba Dlamini,
Chief Economic Planning Officer
Ministry of Economic Planning
and Development, MInistry of
Finance Building, 5th Floor,
P.O. Box 602, Mbabane,
Swaziland [Tel. 43 76 5/7/8;
Telex: 21 09 WD; Fax (09 26 8)
42 15 7].
15. Dr. Mohamed Boukhris,
President Directeur general
Office national de la famille
et de la population (ONFP)
Adresse 42, Avenue de Madrid,
Tunis (Tunisie)
[Tel. 25 89 86/34 10 88; Fax 34
03 35].
16. Mr. Stephen Sianga,
Director, Human Resources
Planning Development, National
Commission for Development
Planning (NCDP)
P.O. Box 50268, Lusaka, Zambia.
17. Mr. O.E.M. Hove, Chief
Planner (Macroeconomic Planning)
National Economic Planning Commission,
Office of the President and Cabinet
Private Bag 7700, Causeway,
Harare, Zimbabwe.
ANNEX B
RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE WORKSHOP
A. Preamble
1. The Workshop of Experts and Nongovernmental Organizations on
the Implementation of the Dakar/Ngor Declaration on Population,
Family and Sustainable Development (DND) and of the International
Conference on Population and Development Programme of Action
(ICPD.PA), held at Abidjan from 6 to 9 June 1995, was organized by
the Joint Secretariat in liaison with the International Planned
Parenthood Federation (IPPF). It was funded by the Governments of
France and the Netherlands and by the United Nations Fund for
Population Activities (UNFPA).
2. Recalling
that the First African Population Conference had called on
African countries to intensify their efforts in the collection
of data related to population and development, simultaneously
with the analysis of such data and its utilization in the
formulation of relevant population policies and programmes;
3. The Workshop noted that:
(a) By adopting the Kilimanjaro Programme of Action for
African Population and Self-reliant Development (KPA) at the
Second African Population Conference, African Governments had
resolved to accelerate self-reliant, social and economic
development;
(b) The implementation of the KPA was affected by serious
economic crisis, characterized by severe and unprecedented
socio-economic hardships, mounting external indebtedness and
an absolute increase in the number of people living in
poverty; and,
(c) As the gravity of the economic situation in African
countries continued unabated, particularly against the
background of structural adjustment programmes (SAPs), several
other development policy statements were elaborated which
purported to pave the way for alleviating the effects of the
economic crisis: they included Africa's Priority Programme of
Action for Economic Recovery (APPER) 1986-1990; the United
Nations Programme of Action for African Economic Recovery and
Development (UN-PAAERD) 1986-1990; the African Alternative
Framework to Structural Adjustment Programmes (AAF-SAP) 1989;
and the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of
Africa (UN-NADAF) 1993.
4. Noted further that:
(a) Subsequently, the Third African Population Conference
reiterated the continued viability of the KPA as a framework for
the development of Africa and accordingly adopted the DND, calling
on ECA member States to accelerate the rate of implementation of
the KPA recommendations;
(b) The importance accorded by African leaders to population
and development was further reflected in the endorsement of the DND
by the thirtieth Assembly of the Heads of State and Government of
the Organization of African Unity (OAU), meeting at Tunis, 13 - 15
June, 1994;
(c) The DND was subsequently presented as the African Common
Position on population and sustainable development to the
International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD),
Cairo, Egypt, September 1994, which adopted its Programme of Action
(ICPD.PA); and,
(d) The OAU Council of Ministers at its Seventeenth Extra-
ordinary Session, held at Cairo, Egypt, 25-28 March 1995, also
stressed the importance of population issues in the socio-economic
development of Africa.
5. Accordingly, to assist further the implementation of the two
frameworks for development, the Workshop adopted the following
RECOMMENDATIONS addressed to African Governments, subregional,
regional and international organizations and NGOs:
B. Recommendations to African Governments
1. General
6. Countries should, wherever necessary, promote an enabling
environment for improving socio-economic conditions,so as to
achieve the goals, objectives and targets of the DND and the
ICPD.PA. They should reactivate the tradition of long-term
perspective development planning, including strategic planning, and
establish appropriate mechanisms for the formulation as well as the
monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of National
Population Programmes (NPP).
7. Countries that have no comprehensive and explicit population
policies should be encouraged and assisted to formulate and
implement such policies, taking into account the national social,
economic and cultural specificities. Those which already have such
policies should be encouraged to review them in the light of the
DND and the ICPD.PA, consistently with their development
priorities.
8. A better understanding of the process of integrating
population factors in development planning by the makers and
planners of policy should be fostered. Policy-makers, planners and
parliamentarians should have a working understanding of social,
economic and demographic interrelationships, as well as a
functional sensitivity about the need for an integrated approach to
development planning. They should also understand the methodology,
criteria and principles of developing a NPP.
9. The promotion of inter-country and inter-organizational
technical assistance should be encouraged and exchange of
experiences and knowledge should be promoted through publications,
conferences, meetings, study tours and visits.
10. Countries need to show greater political will and commitment
in the implementation of the DND and the ICPD.PA. Greater effort
should be made to mobilize greater resources at both national and
international levels for population and development programmes.
Efficient use of resources and a strong will to implement such
programmes are key factors in that regard.
2. Formulation and Implementation of National
Population Policies (NPP) and Programmes
11. All data sources on population and development - vital
statistics, censuses and field surveys - should be promoted and
institutionalized as an integral part of comprehensive follow-up,
monitoring and evaluation system. Government should put in place an
integrated population and information system for that purpose.
12. Existing data should be fully analysed and utilized in the
formulation and implementation of population and development
programmes.
13. Realistic targets should be set at national and sub-national
levels after a careful analysis of both demographic and socio-
economic conditions.
14. Governments should define clearly each component of the
implementation structure, the criteria for selecting incumbent of
positions within the structure and the terms of reference, as well
as the mode and mechanism of collaboration between elements of the
structure. The scope and nature of the implementation structure
should depend on the comprehensiveness of the population policy
measures.
15. The trend towards decentralizing the implementation of NPP
strategies should be systematic and rational in terms of
conceptualization, formulation and implementation.
3. Monitoring and Evaluation of the
Implementation of National Population Policies,
Strategies and Programmes
16. Countries should promote the culture of incorporating in-built
monitoring and evaluation procedures when designing and
implementing population programmes and projects. A management
information system (MIS) should be developed at all levels of
operation, which carefully monitors the stocks and flows of
programme and project inputs, as well as serving as an essential
ingredient in the understanding and explanation of impact
indicators. A series of relevant policy and small-scale operational
research should be undertaken to improve implementation and
management of population programmes.
17. Member States should define their own priority sectors of
intervention and state a clear set of national objectives per
sector, including progress indicators aimed at facilitating the
monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the DND and
ICPD.PA.
18. The selection of output indicators should be based on the
identification of the variables which are most responsive to
change.
19. In all sectors, wherever necessary, indicators of behavioural
change, aspects of economic and social progress should be included
in the monitoring and evaluation mechanism.
20. Popular participation should be enhanced in the process of
monitoring and evaluation of programmes and projects.
21. In order to make an overall assessment of the progress made by
countries in monitoring and evaluating the implementation of the
DND and the ICPD.PA, Governments should ensure that they complete
and return questionnaires sent out to them by the Joint ECA/OAU/ADB
secretariat.
4. Capacity-building for the Formulation, Monitoring and
Evaluation of the Implementation of NPPs
22. Governments should put in place and empower relevant
institutions for the formulation, implementation, monitoring and
evaluation of population and development programmes and projects;
and they should establish and/or strengthen appropriate structures.
23. Existing and ongoing training programmes in population and
development planning should be reviewed and reoriented,
consistently with the emerging new development paradigm. In that
regard, Governments need to involve NGOs in such training schemes.
Equally, provision should be made to update periodically the skills
and the basic knowledge of policy-makers and planners, in order to
keep them abreast of the changing socio-economic environment.
24. Governments are urged to ensure the appropriate location of
population programmes; security of tenure for competent staff; and
a designation conferring high authority for the institution
entrusted with the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of
population and development programmes. They should also continue to
support and co-operate with subregional and regional institutions,
including CERPOD, the Institute de formation et de recherche
dmographiques (IFORD) and the Regional Institute for Population
Studies (RIPS).
C. Recommendations Addressed to African NGOs
25. To complement Governments' efforts in the area of population
and development, as well as in taking the initiative to develop new
approaches to service delivery, NGOs should:
(a) Provide pertinent and timely information on their
experiences, the better to identify what population programmes
should achieve. They should also diversify approaches to service
delivery and include the folk media;
(b) Lobby Governments to include education about family life
in the curricula of the systems of the formal and non-formal
(vocational) educational sectors within their countries; and,
(c) Strengthen and expand coverage into new areas and to
populations which are culturally, socially and physically under-
served: especially, to adolescents, out-of-school youths, refugees,
the urban poor, rural communities and the disabled.
26. NGOs and other development partners should be represented on
appropriate consultative committees, especially those concerned
with policy-setting and the design and implementation of population
programmes.
27. Recognizing the existence of a large number of national NGOs,
each operating under its own regulations, there is a need to set up
an umbrella organization, in appropriate cases, to co-ordinate
programmes and activities. When such a body is established, NGOs
should have representation in its governance and decision-making
process.
28. There is a need for self-regulation by NGOs, in line with
government regulations. To that end, NGOs should develop, where
applicable, a code of conduct which stipulates standards and
responsibilities, while taking into account existing regulating
mechanisms.
29. All NGOs working in the population and development field in
Africa should ensure transparency and accountability to their
stake-holders and keep beneficiaries, Governments and other
supporters informed.
30. Recognizing the central place which information must occupy
for governance and decision-making, as well as the current state of
information management, NGOs should develop sound management
information systems (MIS) that significantly improve the existing
activities of information-gathering, processing, storage,
retrieval, use and dissemination.
31. In view of the deteriorating resource base in the region for
financing their work, NGOs should be assisted to mobilize and
diversify their own resource bases and sources of funding. That
assistance should include the search for new sources of funding,
extending the support obtained from both private and state sectors.
32. NGOs should strengthen their capacities for monitoring and
evaluating programmes and they should strive to build strong
research capabilities. Moreover, they should pay special attention
to operational research. There should be participation by
international NGOs in programme-monitoring and evaluation.
33. NGOs should liaise with parliamentarians for the purpose of
lobbying Governments to assist them in the implementation of the
DND and ICPD.PA.
34. NGOs need to develop gender-sensitive programmes that enhance
the involvement and participation of women and youths in their
governance and decision-making processes.
35. NGOs should campaign to remove legal, political and cultural
barriers against access to services and should lobby for the
establishment of equal rights for women and young people, so that
they have unrestricted access to services for reproductive health.
In that regard, efforts should be intensified to sensitize men,
women and policy-makers about gender issues.
36. NGOs should utilize the existing networks, where applicable, as
a basis for establishing a mechanism for collaboration,
consultation, sharing of experiences and exchange of information,
mutually and with other key actors in the field of population and
development. Where networks do not exist, they should be created.
37. NGOs should build their institutional capacities, as a way of
strengthening their governance and management.
38. In view of the support, both material and financial, extended
to NGOs in the region by Governments in the countries where they
operate, their relations with Governments should be strengthened
with a view to sustaining that support, especially by exemption
from taxes on dutiable commodities received by them, where that is
not already the case. NGOs are urged to capitalize on other forms
of support from Governments, such as secondment of skilled
workforces to the NGOs.
39. Noting that NGOs are already collaborating with Governments in
the population and development field and that they acknowledge the
resource support given by Governments, NGOs should make a
deliberate effort to cultivate trust and mutual co-operation. Such
a relationship should be nurtured, for the benefit of the NGOs,
Governments and the beneficiaries of their services.
D. Recommendations Addressed to International Organizations
40. Both the Follow-up Committee established by the ECA Conference
of Ministers of Planning and Economic Development (1993) and the
African Population Commission (APC) should strengthen their
advocacy and monitoring roles in support of National Population
Commissions (NPCs) to ensure that they are able to implement their
programmes effectively. They should encourage Governments to assist
NGOs to participate in activities related to the implementation of
the DND and the ICPD.PA.
41. Regional and subregional programmes with the objective of
supporting the formulation, implementation, monitoring and
evaluation of population policies and programmes at the country
level, should ensure that their activities complement each other
and avoid duplication. Efforts should be made to avoid multiplying
the demands on national Population Secretariats and Units to supply
various kinds of data and information.
42. The Joint ECA/OAU/ADB Secretariat of the African Population
Commission should:
43. (a) Promote and facilitate exchange of experiences and
information pertaining to the implementation of the DND and
ICPD.PA;
(b) Continue to co-operate with subregional and regional
institutions such as Cairo Demographic Center (CDC), CERPOD,
(Institute if Development and Economic Planning (IDEP), IFORD and
RIPS.
44. To avoid duplication and to promote co-operation, sub-regional
and regional organizations should establish a standing exchange
information system (SEIS).
45. International organizations, including ADB, are encouraged to
integrate population components in their prospective programmes and
projects related to social issues, such as health, education, women
in development and poverty alleviation. They should increase the
resources allocated to human development activities.
46. UNFPA and other international bodies are invited to enhance
their co-operation with African countries and to assist them to
integrate the DND and ICPD.PA recommendations in their socio-
economic development plans and programmes.
47. International organizations, including ADB, should continue to
encourage co-operation with bilateral and multilateral donors
through complementary initiatives. They should co-operate more
closely with NGOs to implement projects at the field level.
48. Other international organizations and NGOs concerned with
other aspects of human development but whose activities include
population issues should keep the Joint Secretariat
informed of activities related to such issues in order to avoid
duplication of efforts and promote inter-agency collaboration.
49. The Follow-up Committee of the DND should assist Governments
in establishing structures for the formulation and implementation
of national population programmes (NPPs). The experiences of other
international bodies such as ECA, OAU, ADB and IPPF should be
harnessed to assist in that regard.
50. There should be proper co-ordination in the monitoring and
evaluation of the implementation of population and development
programmes in the African region within the United Nations family.