Social Conditions in Sub-Saharan Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa is at the centre of the debate about development. However, much of the argument is based on very poor data, so that we actually know very little. Much of what is presented is based on extrapolation from World Bank data on economic growth. The purpose of this book is to present a critical examination of the data which is available to comment upon the state of human welfare. In the first part of the book the author demonstrates the importance of first defining the components of human welfare independently of economic growth. The second part of the book is constituted by an examination of the data that is available. Separate chapters consider food, fuel and water, health and education, and then three cross-cutting issues: urbanization, women and human rights. The final part of the book considers the problem of developing a system of social statistics which will reflect the state of human and social welfare.