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Towards an African Regional Social Policy - Johannesburg draft
November 2006
United Nations Department for Economic and Social Affairs, Southern African Development Community (SADC)
Ministers and senior officers from 13 SADC-countries + UN-DESA met in Johannesburg 21-24 Nov, 2006 with an intention to contribute towards developing regional social policies for Africa. The Ministerial Declaration and Draft Strategy are going to be contributions towards a social dimension in SADC and NEPAD - and will help African governments in their process of drafting continent-wide African Union Social and Employment Policy Frameworks. Finland and the World Bank participated as observers in Johannesburg.
Despite recent positive GDP growth performance in many African countries, the continent has registered slow progress in the fight against poverty. Due to a variety of historical and present-day causes, human deprivation is acutely felt in Africa. An overwhelming majority of Africans are caught in a vicious circle of poverty, unemployment and social exclusion. These adversities combine in a destructive manner to further complicate other social problems. Addressing these social challenges is necessary for achieving internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals, and bringing prosperity to the population of Africa.
These social challenges do not only have a high human cost, but also incur significant economic losses for the region. Uncertainty and instability discourages private investment. High poverty and inequality result in small domestic markets, with insufficient demand to foster growth and economic development.
Addressing Africa’s social development is an urgent priority. Ministries of Social Development, Labour and Social Security, and other related Ministries in each of the African countries are working towards this at the national level. However, the benefits of cooperating at the regional level have been generally overlooked. This document addresses regional policies for the following social challenges of Africa:
- Employment and Decent Work
- Social Protection
- Cross-border Aspects of Health
- Higher Education and Regional Research
- Housing
- Social Regulation of Services and Water, Electricity and Other Utilities
- Disaster Prevention, Management and Mitigation
- Gender
- Children, Youth, Older Persons, Persons with Disabilities, Refugees and Minorities
- Human Rights, Social and Economic Empowerment
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