TWO RECENT SNAPSHOTS: IIAG & Zambian DHS 2013-14

The Moibrahim Foundation has just published its annual assessment regarding the quality of governance in Africa. There are 4 main qualities with over 100 indicators that it uses in its methodology to produce the annual league table of African States. The Foundation uses Safety & the Rule of Law, Participation and Human Rights, Sustainable Economic Opportunity and Human Development. The full report can be found onwww.moibrahimfoundation.org

 

Over all, 13/52 countries made good gains, though saying that, even amongst the top 10 leaders, there were areas of deterioration and underperformance. Ivory Coast and Guinea made the greatest strides in improvement by resolving internal conflicts, on the other hand, Egypt and Libya falling in the table, is due to the on-going instability and conflict in both countries. This year Zambia was ranked number 13/52, its score has risen by 3.1% over the past 5 years.

 

Position	Country	Score	Position	Country	Score
1.	Mauritius	81.7	28.	Mali	49.5
2.	Cape Verde	76.6	29.	Niger	49.4
3.	Botswana	76.2	30. EQ	Comoros	49.3
4.	RSA	73.3	30. EQ	Liberia	49.3
5.	Seychelles	73.2	32.	Ethiopia	48.5
6.	Namibia	70.3	33.	Madagascar	48.2
7.	Ghana	68.2	34.	Cameroon	47.6
8.	Tunisia	66.0	35.	Djibouti	46.8
9.	Senegal	64.3	36.	Togo	46.4
10.	Lesotho	62.3	37.	Nigeria	45.8
11.	Rwanda	60.4	38.	Burundi	45.3
12.	ST & P	59.7	39.	Mauritania	44.5
13.	Zambia	59.4	40	Ivory Coast	44.3
14.	Morocco	58.8	41.	Congo	43.4
15.	Tanzania	58.2	42.	Guinea	43.3
16.	Malawi	57.6	43.	Libya	42.1
17.	Kenya	57.4	44.	Angola	40.9
18.	Benin	56.7	45.	Eq Guinea	38.4
19.	Uganda	56.1	46.	Zimbabwe	38.0
20.	Algeria	54.4	47.	DRC	34.1
21.	Burkino Faso	53.3	48.	Guineau Bissau	33.2
22.	Mozambique	52.2	49.	Chad	32.3
23.	Gambia	51,6	50.	Eritrea	29.8
24.	Swaziland	51.5	51.	CAR	24.8
25. EQ	Sierra Leone	51.1	52.	Somalia	8.6
25. EQ	Egypt	51.1
27.	Gabon	51.0

 

Tying in quite well with human development aspects, but on a more local level, we have another interesting and in places shameful survey just out; the slides for the 2013-14 Zambia Demographic and Health Survey. These are updates concerning amongst other things fertility, family planning, nutritional status of children, Mother-Child Health and mortality rates over the past five years in Zambia.

 

16000 households were surveyed, 16000 women and 18000 men, all in the 15-49 year range. Around a half were married with 53% being rural and 47% urban.  Over 90 % were educated to at least secondary level.

 

Fertilty Trend: this fell from 6.2 in 1992, to 5.3 today

 

Family Planning: 49% of respondents were using or had used family planning.

 

Mortality (deaths per 1000 births)

 

                                    1992                                        Today

Neo-natal                    43                                            24

Infant                          107                                          45

Under 5                       191                                          75

 

Full Immunisation: this seems to stubbornly sit at just under 70%

 

Fully Breastfed           73%

 

Child Nutritional Status  Stunted: 40%          Wasted: 6%                 Underweight: 15%

 

Ante-Natal Clinic Attendance: 96% with almost 2/3 of births taking place in a Health Facility

 

Maternal Mortality: 398 per 100 000 live births

 

So like the curate’s egg, this is good in places but it is really great to be able to get these statistics and have them to hand for use in our work.  The survey highlights a reduction in family size, increased use of family planning and a reduction in child mortality, all of which is encouraging.