In the spotlight
Sub-Saharan Africa takes centre stage
Bob Tortora is Gallup's Principal Scientist Chief Methodologist and Regional Research Director for Sub-Saharan Africa. In September Bob was invited to speak at the Friends of Europe's 'Africa Unbound' conference in Brussels. He also took the opportunity to present the Gallup World Poll findings on Sub-Saharan Africa at an event organised by the European Commission's EuropeAid Co-operation Office. Between these meetings the newsletter team caught up with Bob in Gallup's Brussels office.
GE: In your presentation you focused on the UN's Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and their relevance in Sub-Saharan Africa. What approach did the World Poll survey take?
BT: We wanted to ask the people of Sub-Saharan Africa what they see as the main objectives within the MDGs. Too often in the past we've seen examples of initiatives being introduced without sufficient consultation with the people themselves.
GE: Our understanding is that Gallup undertook 26 000 face-to-face interviews. What was the most striking aspect of the results?
BT: It was no surprise to see that poverty and hunger remain top priorities. However we didn't expect to see such an emphasis on the need of jobs for youth. In the 26 countries surveyed only 40% of the population is employed.
That is a massive bank of available labour. Overall we see a continent that is "resource rich and infrastructure poor" and the vast pool of labour can be utilised to build schools hospitals and roads. One of our main conclusions is that a really effective way of reducing poverty and hunger would be to provide such employment opportunities.
GE: Looking at the UN's MDG website it's apparent that the goals will not be met especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. Do Gallup's findings point to any other actions that could be taken?
BT: First off you have to realise that this is the first time that people have been asked to rank the importance of the MDGs. When you look at the results you might be surprised to see that Gender Equality is rather low. However we don't believe that the people are rejecting equality as an important goal in itself. They are saying it is more important to introduce jobs - for both sexes - so that poverty and hunger are reduced; with equality following in the wake of greater employment. I guess what we are saying is that you should not be looking at an individual goal but more at an overall strategy that will provide a better chance of meeting the MDGs.
Progress of the MDG goals - UN Report 2007
- The poverty rate has declined by nearly 6% since 2000. Nevertheless the region is not on track to reach the Goal of reducing poverty by half by 2015.
- Currently only one of the eight regional groups is on track to achieve all the MDGs. In contrast the projected shortfalls are most severe in sub-Saharan Africa.
- Over half a million women die each year from treatable and preventable complications of pregnancy and childbirth. The odds that a woman will die from these causes in sub- Saharan Africa are 1 in 16 compared to 1 in 3 800 in the developed world.
BE: Looking on the positive side the respondents seem to share an optimistic outlook.
GT: That's correct. We asked respondents how they compared their current or past lives with the way they see the future. Although less than 1 in 10 were positive about the past (and present) nearly half believe they will have a much better life in five year's time.
GE: Looking at the UN's website there's obviously a lot of work to be done. Will the World Poll be looking at Sub-Saharan Africa again?
BT: In the next round we'll be drilling down to determine more about the reasons for optimism. But repeating myself slightly the poll has already shown that one way forward is to use local labour and manufacturing sources as far as possible. So for instance when there is a need to increase the availability of mosquito nets they should be manufactured locally.
In the 2008 round we will be looking at 28 countries including the Democratic Republic of the Congo and adding more questions on the media - to find out how knowledge gets in and out of Africa. Plus we'll be asking the people on the ground what they see happening in terms of climate change. Sub-Saharan Africa needs help and we want to give the people a chance to have their word.
