UN / ECONOMIC REPORT ON AFRICA 2010

A new economic report on Africa says that African countries must prioritize the creation of jobs as a central pillar of macroeconomic policy required to attain the millennium development goals and eradicate poverty. UNTV / FILE

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Production Date: 18 May 2010
• Asset Language: Original
• Corporate Name: WORLD BANK
• Subject Topical: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS; ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT; FINANCING; ECONOMICS
• Geographic Subject: AFRICA
• MAMS Id: U100518b

Description

STORY: UN / ECONOMIC REPORT ON AFRICA 2010
TRT: 2.02
SOURCE: UNTV / WORLD BANK
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
RESTRICTIONS: NONE

DATELINE: 18 MAY 2010, NEW YORK CITY / FILE

Shotlist

1. Wide shot, United Nations headquarters
2. Wide shot, press conference
3. Cutaway, journalists
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Rob Vos, Director, Development Policy, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations:
“The key concern of the report is about the employment situation in Africa noting that despite impressive GDP growth rates particularly given Africa’s history in the years prior to the crisis, unemployment in various sectors remain high which is making the race to poverty reduction much more challenging.”
5. Cutaway, journalists
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Rob Vos, Director, Development Policy, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations:
“The recession should also work as a wake up call for Africa to deal with its vulnerabilities and introduce further reforms to promote growth, more particularly employment and promote social development in the region.”
7. Cutaway, journalists

FILE - WORLD BANK - JUNE 2009, DAKAR, SENEGAL

8. Various shots, farmers riding carts
9. Various shots, trucks and cars
10. Close-up, Dakar sign
11. Pan left, road construction

FILE - WORLD BANK - JUNE 2009, MALLAWI

12. Wide shot, farmer woman picking cotton
13. Various shots, teacher with kids in classroom interior
14. Various shots, teacher with kids outdoors
15. Close-up, blackboard

FILE – WORLD BANK - MOZAMBIQUE, FEBRUARY 2007

16. Wide shot, street
17. Med shot, truck carrying men
18. Med shot, street
19. Med shot, women working in a factory

FILE – WORLD BANK – 21 AUGUST 2008, JUBA, SUDAN

20. Wide shot, people at the Juba Job Fair
21. Close up, sign reading “Juba Jobs Fair”
22. Med shot, people at the fair

Storyline

High unemployment rates continue to hinder poverty reduction efforts in Africa, the United Nations (UN) said in a new report released today (18 May), stressing that African countries must give priority to diversifying their economies to create decent jobs to boost social development.

According to the Economic Report on Africa 2010, published by the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the African Union Commission, Africa’s long-term growth prospects and ability to sustain high rates of employment generation and broader social development depend on success in economic diversification.

Rob Vos, Director at the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations, who presented the findings of the report, said that “the key concern of the report is about the employment situation in Africa noting that despite impressive GDP growth rates particularly given Africa’s history in the years prior to the crisis, unemployment in various sectors remain high which is making the race to poverty reduction much more challenging.”

The current global economic crisis offers African countries an opportunity to lay the foundation for sustainable, employment-intensive economic growth.

Vos added that “the recession should also work as a wake up call for Africa to deal with its vulnerabilities and introduce further reforms to promote growth, more particularly employment and promote social development in the region.”

The report – whose theme is “Promoting High-level Sustainable Growth to Reduce Unemployment in Africa” – recommended investment in infrastructure and human capital, renewed efforts to mobilize domestic resources, market reforms, incentives to support private-sector employment and efforts to increase productivity and incomes in the informal sector.

It warned African countries against continuing to depend on traditional drivers of economic growth, such as exports of raw commodities, foreign investment and development aid, saying those sources of resources were unpredictable.

Gross domestic product (GDP) in African economies declined from 4.9 per cent in 2008 to 2.4 per cent in 2009, but is expected to grow by 4.8 per cent in 2010, the report says.

The reported stated that Africa’s other major challenge is climate change. It added agricultural output is expected to decrease by 50 per cent on the continent, resulting in severe under-nourishment. The health burden and conflicts will increase as populations fight over dwindling resources, the report adds.