Africa Progress Problems Prospects

How successful have Southern African states been in dealing with the major issues that have faced the region in recent years? What could be done to produce more cohesive and effective region-building in Southern Africa? In this original and wide-ranging volume, which draws on an interdisciplinary team of mainly African and African-based specialists, the key political, socio-economic, and security challenges facing Southern Africa today are addressed. These include the various issues confronting the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and its institutions; such as HIV/AIDS, migration and xenophobia, land-grabbing and climate change; and the role of the main external actors involved with the region, including the United Nations, the European Union, the United States, and China. The book also looks at the Southern African Customs Union and Southern African Development Finance Institutions, including the Development Bank of Southern Africa and Industrial Development Corporation, and issues of gender and peacebuilding. In doing so, the book goes to the heart of analyzing the effectiveness of SADC and other regional organisation, suggesting how region-building in Southern Africa may be compared with similar attempts elsewhere in Africa and other parts of the world.

This unique work by the Centre for Conflict Resolution (CCR), Cape Town, South Africa, tracks the progress Africa has made in achieving the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) since 2000. The chapters are organized around the larger themes of political economy, structural issues, sustainable goals, and human development goals. Together they provide a unique assessment from experts on the ground of whether the goals were a success and what remains to be done to achieve sustainable economic and human development in Africa.

Pt. 1. Historical legacy -- pt. 2. Governance and military security -- pt. 3. Economic integration -- pt. 4. Human security -- pt. 5. External actors.

This book reviews the progress, prospects and challenges of meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Africa. Each chapter corresponds with one of the eight goals of the Millennium Declaration. The introduction sets the stage for the discourse contained in the main text while the conclusion forms an opinion from the findings and prescribes the way forward. The goals, in sequence, include: bull; Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger bull; Achieve universal primary education bull; Promote gender equality and empower women bull; Reduce child mortality bull; Improve maternal health bull; Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases bull; Ensure environmental sustainability bull; Develop a global partnership for development. While it is apparent that most North African countries are on track to achieve the above goals by 2015, few countries in sub-Saharan Africa are expected to succeed in this. As well as reviewing progress towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals, the authors also analyse the obstacles and challenges that stand in the way of achieving the goals. These include internal, economic and cultural obstacles as well as external and environmental factors such as reductions in funding, problems in accessing global markets and the implications for Africa of climate change.