Jobs and equity key to Africa’s poverty fight

Africa has the highest poverty rate in the world. Even though some countries are on track to meet the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of halving poverty by 2015, most are likely to fall well short. Income inequality in Africa remains higher than in most other regions, while gender, ethnic and regional inequalities persist. Such injustices endure for a variety of reasons, argues a new report by the UN Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD), Combating Poverty and Inequality. The report, which was launched just before the September MDG summit of the UN General Assembly, highlights problems that have not been adequately addressed by the MDG approach. These include poor or unstable economic growth — which has failed to generate productive employment — and the fragmentation and underfunding of social policies. Moreover, governments have been ineffective and their policies unresponsive to citizens’ needs, so the poor lack influence over public policies.