UNDP in Africa
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- Malawi
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- Niger
- Nigeria
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- Senegal
- Seychelles
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- South Africa
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Publications
UNDP Africa seeks to enhance understanding of development issues as they relate specifically to Sub-Saharan Africa. We conduct research and analysis to inform the design, implementation and monitoring of policies and strategies that can advance human development in the region.
Reports
Brochures and Factsheets
Working Papers
Issue Briefs
Commentary
Videos
- African Economic Outlook (2013)
Date: June 2012
Authors: UNDP, AfDB, OECD, UNECA
About: The yearly African Economic Outlook covers economic, social and political development in 51 of the continent’s 53 countries. It is published with financial support from the European Union and the Committee of African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP).
- Assessing Progress in Africa Toward the Millennium Development Goals (2013)
Date: May 2013
Authors: UNDP, AfDB, UNECA
About: "Assessing Progress in Africa Toward the Millennium Development Goals" (MDGs) presents an overview of the progress achieved and remaining to be made on the MDGs in the region.
- Assessing Progress in Africa Toward the Millennium Development Goals (2012)
Date: July 2012
Authors: UNDP, AfDB, UNECA
About: "Assessing Progress in Africa Toward the Millennium Development Goals" (MDGs) presents an overview of the progress achieved and remaining to be made on the MDGs in the region.
- African Economic Outlook 2012
Date: June 2012
Authors: UNDP, AfDB, OECD, UNECA
About: The yearly African Economic Outlook covers economic, social and political development in 51 of the continent’s 53 countries. It is published with financial support from the European Union and the Committee of African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP).
- Africa Human Development Report (2012) | Français
Date: May 2012
Authors: UNDP/RBA-commissioned
About: UNDP’s first Africa Human Development Report shows that food security and human development reinforce each other. The report looks at the importance of agricultural productivity, nutrition, resilience and empowerment as four essential elements for long-term food security and human development.
- Assessing Progress in Africa Toward the Millennium Development Goals (2011)
Date: July 2011
Authors: UNDP, AfDB, UNECA
About: "Assessing Progress in Africa Toward the Millennium Development Goals" (MDGs) presents an overview of the progress achieved and remaining to be made on the MDGs in the region.
- African Economic Outlook 2011
Date: June 2011
Authors: UNDP, AfDB, OECD, UNECA
About: The yearly African Economic Outlook covers economic, social and political development in 51 of the continent’s 53 countries. It is published with financial support from the European Union and the Committee of African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP).
- Assessing Progress in Africa Toward the Millennium Development Goals (2010)
Date: July 2010
Authors: UNDP, AfDB, UNECA
About: "Assessing Progress in Africa Toward the Millennium Development Goals" (MDGs) presents an overview of the progress achieved and remaining to be made on the MDGs in the region.
- Fast Facts: UNDP in Africa
Date: August 2012
Authors: UNDP/RBA
About: This factsheet provides an overview of UNDP's work in Sub-Saharan Africa.
- Fast Facts: UNDP's work on Crisis Prevention and Recovery in Africa
Date: July 2012
Authors: UNDP/RBA
About: This factsheet provides an overview of UNDP's work in the area of environment and energy, from climate change adaptation to providing access to electricity for the most disadvantaged.
- Fast Facts: UNDP's work on Environment and Energy in Africa
Date: July 2012
Authors: UNDP/RBA
About: This factsheet provides an overview of UNDP's work in the area of environment and energy, from climate change adaptation to providing access to electricity for the most disadvantaged.
- Fast Facts: UNDP and the Millennium Development Goals in Africa
Date: July 2012
Authors: UNDP/RBA
About: This factsheet provides an overview of UNDP's work on the Millennium Development Goals, from country-level monitoring to upscaling.
- Fast Facts: UNDP and Democratic Governance in Africa
Date: July 2012
Authors: UNDP/RBA
About: This factsheet provides an overview of UNDP's work in the area of democratic governance, from election management support to access to justice.
- Africa MDG Factsheet (2012)
Date: July 2012
Authors: UNDP/RBA
About: This booklet summarizes the findings of the yearly report titled "Assessing Progress in Africa Toward the Millennium Development Goals".
- Fostering Democratic Societies in Africa
Date: March 2012
Authors: UNDP/RBA
About: “Fostering Democratic Societies in Africa” details UNDP-supported country-level achievements in the area of governance in the region.
- Fast Facts: UNDP and Climate Change in Africa
Date: December 2011
Authors: UNDP/RBA
About: This factsheet provides an overview of UNDP's work on climate chage in Africa, from climate change adaptation to low-carbon development paths.
- Africa MDG Factsheet (2011)
Date: July 2011
Authors: UNDP/RBA
About: This booklet summarizes the findings of the yearly report titled "Assessing Progress in Africa Toward the Millennium Development Goals".
- Children Returning Home after Civil War: The Consequences of Forced Displacement For Food Security, Nutrition and Poverty among Burundese Households
Date: March 2012
Reference: WP-2012-020
Authors: Philip Verwimp
Abstract: Civil wars often force people to leave their homes. Displaced populations run higher risk in terms of disease, hunger and death, something that is well-documented. They leave their land, cattle and other assets behind for an uncertain existence in a refugee camp or depend on relatives or friends. But what happens when they return back home?
- Children Malnutrition and Horizontal Inequalities in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Focus on Contrasting Domestic Trajectories
Date: March 2012
Reference: WP-2012-019
Authors: Viridiana Garcia
Abstract: This paper seeks to provide an accurate and nuanced view on the progress made with regards to child malnutrition and inequalities across Sub-Saharan Africa.
- GM Crops for Food Security in Africa – The Path Not Yet Taken
Date: February 2012
Reference: WP-2012-018
Authors: Sakiko Fukuda-Parr and Amy Orr
Abstract: Debates about agricultural biotechnology, and particularly GM crops, for food security in Sub-Saharan Africa needs to be re-centered on considering the potential of this technology in improving productivity of small scale, resource constrained farmers.
- Food Security and Public Investment in Rural Infrastructure: Some Political Economy Considerations
Date: January 2012
Reference: WP-2012-017
Authors: Robin Harding and Leonard Wantchekon
Abstract: This paper investigatse the political determinants of food security in West Africa. More specifically, it studies the relationship between political marginalization, public investment in transport infrastructure, and food security in Benin, Ghana, Mali and Senegal, in order to trace a potential mechanism by which political marginalization impacts upon food security.
- Food Security, Violent Conflict and Human Development: Causes and Consequences
Date: February 2012
Reference: WP-2012-016
Authors: Philip Verwimp
Abstract: This chapter argues that the effect of violent conflict on food security can best be understood by analysing how conflict affects the command over food of the average farm household.
- The Importance of ICTs in the Provision of Information for Improving Agricultural Productivity and Rural Incomes in Africa
Date: January 2012
Reference: WP-2012-015
Authors: Kwadwo Asenso-Okyere and Daniel Ayalew Mekonnen
Abstract: This paper looks at the evidence on the role of emerging ICTs in the agricultural sector in Africa with lessons from Asia with respect to farmers’ access to information and other services that would help improve agricultural productivity, practices, and farmer livelihoods.
- Analyzing Nuritional Impacts of Price and Income Related Shocks in Malawi and Uganda
Date: February 2012
Reference: WP-2012-014
Authors: Kenneth Harttgen and Stephan Klasen
Abstract: In this paper we analyze how changes in prices of specific food groups such as maize prices or prices for staple food as well as how negative short-term income shocks on household affect the calorie consumption of individuals and how these changes affect food poverty.
- Economic Growth and Child Undernutrition in Africa
Date: February 2012
Reference: WP-2012-013
Authors: Kenneth Harttgen, Stephan Klasen, and Sebastian Vollmer
Abstract: Despite recent improvements in economic performance, undernutrition rates in Africa appear to have improved much less and rather inconsistently across the continent. We examine to what extent there is an empirical linkage between income growth and reductions of child undernutrition in Africa.
- The Nutrition Challenge in Sub-Saharan Africa
Date: February 2012
Reference: WP-2012-012
Authors: Jessica Fanzo
Abstract: Despite these enormous challenges, some countries in Africa are making progress towards food and nutrition security and there has never been a better time to work towards improved human development that has nutrition as a goal.
- Food Production and Consumption Trends in Sub-Saharan Africa: Prospects for the Transformation of the Agricultural Sector
Date: February 2012
Reference: WP-2012-011
Authors: Nicolas Depetris Chauvin, Francis Mulangu and Guido Porto
Abstract: The objective of this paper is to contribute to the debate on the role of agriculture transformation in the development process and as an engine to reduce poverty and improve general wellbeing through better access to nutrients in Africa.
- Social Protection for Enhanced Food Security in Sub-Saharan Africa
Date: February 2012
Reference: WP-2012-010
Authors: Stephen Devereux
Abstract: This paper identifies several positive synergies between social protection programmes and food security outcomes. One function of social protection is to manage and reduce vulnerability, and several instruments are reviewed.
- A Human Development and Capability Approach to Food Security: Conceptual Framework and Informational Basis
Date: February 2012
Reference: WP-2012-009
Authors: Francesco Burchi and Pasquale De Muro
Abstract: This paper has a twofold objective: (a) to make a comprehensive review of different approaches to food security; (b) to develop a human development and capability approach to food security following the pioneering works of Amartya Sen and Jean Dréze.
- Food Security, Land Degradation, Water Depletion, and Sustainable Farming in Sub-Saharan Africa: Linkages and Opportunities
Date: January 2012
Reference: WP-2012-008
Authors: Jean-Claude Bidogeza
Abstract: This paper has a twofold objective: (a) to make a comprehensive review of different approaches to food security; (b) to develop a human development and capability approach to food security following the pioneering works of Amartya Sen and Jean Dréze.
- Learning From Others: Increasing Agricultural Productivity for Human Development in Sub-Saharan Africa
Date: January 2012
Reference: WP-2012-007
Authors: Michael Lipton
Abstract: This paper looks at the condition and progress of SSA's agriculture as central to growth, poverty reduction, access to employment income, and food security. Agriculture also greatly affects other major components of SSA’s human development.
- Lutte Contre l’insécurité Alimentaire au Niger: Une Solution par la Micro Assurance Agricole
Date: February 2012
Reference: WP-2012-006
Authors: Ali Hadizatou Bongo
Abstract: Le Niger a été confronté à deux crises alimentaires (2005 et 2010) en cinq ans. A travers cette analyse nous avons essayé d’analyser la possibilité du développement d’un produit de micro assurance agricole à l’intention des populations.
- Information Technology and Farm Households in Niger
Date: February 2012
Reference: WP-2012-005
Authors: Jenny Aker and Christopher Ksoll
Abstract:This technical report seeks to understand the impact of improved access to information technology on farmers’ agricultural production and marketing practices in sub-Saharan Africa, with a specific focus on Niger.
- The Political Economy of Large-Scale Agricultural Land Acquisitions: Implications for Food Security and Livelihoods/Employment Creation in Rural Mozambique
Date: January 2012
Reference: WP-2012-004
Authors: Ellen Aabø and Thomas Kring
Abstract: This paper will provide a brief assessment of the impacts of investments on food security and rural livelihoods/ employment creation in Mozambique. Based on the lessons learned from the Mozambican experience the paper will discuss the potential role of large-scale land acquisitions in promoting food security and reducing poverty.
- Demographic Change, the IMPACT Model, and Food Security in Sub-Saharan Africa
Date: February 2012
Reference: WP-2012-003
Authors: Kevin J.A. Thomas and Tukufu Zuberi
Abstract: In this paper, the implications of demographic processes for future changes in the demand and access to food are evaluated. Given the fact that population growth is a major influence on the consumption and availability of food, particular attention is given to the ways in which sub-Saharan Africa’s exceptionally high growth rates are likely to affect prospects for achieving food security.
- Food Price Volatility over the Last Decade in Niger and Malawi: Extent, Sources and Impact on Child Malnutrition
Date: February 2012
Reference: WP-2012-002
Authors: Giovanni Andrea Cornia, Laura Deotti and Maria Sassi
Abstract: This paper focuses on the relative weight of the long term impact of agricultural policies, huge and persistent seasonal variation in domestic food prices, and the impact of famines in explaining child malnutrition in Malawi and Niger. The analysis shows that the drivers of domestic food staple prices have to be found mainly in the impact of agricultural policies on food production.
- Demographic Projections, the Environment and Food Security in Sub-Saharan Africa
Date: February 2012
Reference: WP-2012-001
Authors: Tukufu Zuberi and Kevin J.A. Thomas
Abstract: Given above-average population growth, feeding sub-Saharan Africa’s future population is an important challenge. This paper considers what we know about the relationship between population and food security and what population projections suggest will be the case over the next half century.
- The Food Price Spikes of 2008/09 and 2010/11: Impacts and Policies in African Countries
Date: December 2011
Reference: WP-2011-003
Authors: Pedro Conceição, Sebastian Levine and Zuzana Brixiova
Abstract:This paper explores the varied impacts during the two spikes in food prices in 2007/08 and 2010/11 and the differences in the policy responses among African countries. It first links changes in international food prices, the impact on domestic prices, and the range of responses available to national policy makers.
- Managing Natural Resources for Human Development in Low-Income Countries
Date: December 2011
Reference: WP-2001-002
Authors: UNDP/RBA
Abstract: Managing natural resources is challenging. Yet, some countries have been able to effectively manage natural resources to advance their development. This paper outlines general principles that indicate how countries can avoid, or mitigate, the resource curse.
- The African Moment: on the Brink of a Development Breakthrough
Date: June 2011
Reference: WP-2011-001
Authors: UNDP/RBA
Abstract: The Afro-pessimism of the 1990s has clearly been replaced by a much more realistic and confident outlook. This paper presents some of the evidence that underlies the recent change in perceptions on African development and we discuss some of the key challenges facing the continent going forward.
- Transparency and Accountability in Africa
Date: November 2012
Authors: UNDP/RBA
Abstract: How important are transparency and accountability for Africa? How do African countries perform in this area? How can transparency and accountability be strengthened in African countries?
- The Conflict in Cote d'Ivoire and its Effect on West African Countries: a Perspective from the Ground
Date: July 2011
Authors: UNDP/RBA
Abstract: While the post-electoral violence is waning, the instability in the country will leave a legacy of negative economic and developmental consequences in the West African region for some time to come. This note identifies the transmision channels through which this conflict impacts on West African countries.
- Exploring the Role of Social Protection in Enhancing Food Security in Africa
Date: March 2011
Authors: UNDP/RBA
Abstract: In spite of remarkable economic and social progress in the region, food security remains challenging in many parts of Sub-Saharan Africa. West Africa’s Sahel region has proven particularly vulnerable, having experienced two severe food crises less than five years apart (in 2005 and 2010).
- Toward Resilient, Inclusive and Sustainable Development in Southern Sudan
Date: March 2011
Authors: UNDP/RBA
Abstract: This note outlines elements for the establishment of a long term strategy to promote a transition from post-conflict recovery and towards resilient, inclusive, and sustainable development in Southern Sudan.
- Rwanda: preparing for disaster is key to development
Date: August 2012
Author: Auke Lootsma, UNDP Country Director in Rwanda
Abstract: Across the world, both the number of disasters and their human and economic impact have been on the rise. In 2011, natural disasters killed more than 30,000 people and affected 244 million. That same year, resulting economic losses totaled USD 366 billion, the highest ever recorded.
- South Sudan: Reflections on one year after independence
Date: July 2012
Author: Lise Grande, Resident Representative for South Sudan in Juba.
Abstract: During this first year of statehood, the UN agencies have been working hard, standing with the world’s newest nation as it puts in place the building blocks of statehood.
- How can Africa achieve food security?
Date: May 2012
Authors: Tegegnework Gettu, Director, UNDP Regional Bureau for Africa
Abstract: Sub-Saharan Africa can extricate itself from pervasive food insecurity by enhancing agricultural productivity of smallholder farmers; putting in place more effective nutrition policies, especially for children; helping communities and households to cope with shocks; and promoting wider popular participation and empowerment, especially of women and the rural poor.
- Breaking the food crisis cycle in Africa's Sahel
Date: February 2012
Authors: Tegegnework Gettu, Director, UNDP Regional Bureau for Africa
Abstract: We know what is needed to break the cycle of hunger in the Sahel. By investing in the long-term, Sahelian countries and their partners will be in a position to prevent the recurring cycle of hunger in the region.
- Turning the Challenges of Sustainable Development into Opportunity
Date: December 2011
Authors: Tegegnework Gettu, Director, UNDP Regional Bureau for Africa
Abstract: Making human development sustainable is critical for people everywhere. But, as the documents prepared for this preparatory conference show, there are compelling reasons for why this agenda is particularly important for Africa.
- Global South Key to African Economies
Date: August 2011
Authors: UNDP/RBA, OECD, AfDB, UNECA
Abstract: Africa's new partnerships with emerging economies like Brazil, China, India, Korea, Turkey and Indonesia offer immense opportunities. They present a broad range of policy ideas to inform such a growth process.
- Social Protection Key to Strong and Inclusive Growth
Date: November 2010
Authors: UNDP/RBA
Abstract: when properly designed and implemented, social protection not only protects the vulnerable. It is also an investment in future growth and prosperity. In this light, the aftermath of the global crisis provides an opportunity to improve on social protection programs where they already exist, and create new or expand programs where they are absent.
- Leo Heileman, Head of UNDP Equatorial Guinea on the shift from infrastructure to social services
Date: July 2012
- Ruby Sandhu-Rojon, Head of UNDP Ghana on follow-up activities to Rio+20
Date: July 2012
- Ndolamb Ngokwey, Head of UNDP Cote d'Ivoire on the post-crisis situation
Date: July 2012
- Kanni Wignaraja, Head of UNDP Zambia on follow-up initiatives to Rio+20
Date: July 2012
- Alberic Kacou, Head of UNDP Tanzania on access to energy and sustianable development
Date: July 2012
- Dominic Sam, UNDP Country Director in Liberia, on the country's transition
Date: July 2012
- Thomas Gurtner, Head of UNDP in Chad, on the current development situation
Date: July 2012

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