The World Bank‘s chief economist for the region, Andrew Dabalen, has identified deep-rooted inequalities as a significant obstacle to Africa’s economic progress.
In an interview on Citi TV’s The Point of View, he highlighted a lack of essential infrastructure and limited intra-African trade as key factors limiting growth.
Mr Dabalen noted that Africa’s growth rate in reducing poverty is only half as fast as the global average, with East Asia showing much higher rates. He attributed this disparity to what the report refers to as “structural inequalities.”
“There are many reasons why Africa’s growth is low, part of it is that we don’t have infrastructure in terms of energy, water and sanitation, and we don’t really trade a lot with each other.
“We have lots of shocks from either commodity prices, conflict or climate disasters. One of the important determinants of this low growth and this ability of low growth to convert to poverty reduction is inequality and structural inequality.
“They are inequalities because of circumstances an individual cannot control. You don’t have control over where you were born and who you were born to, your skin colour, or the fact that you are a man or a woman. These circumstances that you are born into account for almost 70% of all the differences you see between children’s access to education, health or nutrition.
“That is what we call structural, it’s not something you can change with your ability or something that the market can correct, it requires social policy action,” he told host Bernard Avle.
According to the World Bank’s Africa Pulse Report for April 2024, there are forecasts for Africa, including a projected slowdown in Ghana’s economic growth for the same year. This is despite expectations of increased economic activity.
Several African countries such as Cape Verde, Kenya, Chad, Sudan among others face water crisis due to various factors such as climate change, population growth, poor water management, and inadequate infrastructure.
Since gaining independence in 2011, South Sudan has been plagued by civil war, leading to widespread displacement, food insecurity, and humanitarian crises.
Nigeria has faced conflict, particularly in the northeast, where the Boko Haram insurgency has led to widespread displacement and humanitarian crises. Additionally, inter-communal violence and conflict in the Niger Delta region have also been significant challenges.