Rabat, 21 February (ECA): The Social Development Policy Division (SDPD) of the UN Economic Commission for Africa is holding on 21-23 February 2017 in Rabat (Morocco), a capacity development workshop on the application and use of the African Social Development Index (ASDI) for policy formulation, with the participation of experts from the Moroccan statistics institute, the High Commission for Planning (HCP).
“This workshop aims to provide participants with the necessary knowledge to understand and apply the African Social Development Index, both at national and sub-national level, and adapt it to the context of Morocco. It strengthens the collaboration between ECA and the High Commission for Planning towards a better monitoring of social policies geared towards the reduction of exclusion, over time and across locations in Morocco”, said Takyiwaa Manuh, Director of the ECA Social Development Policy Division.
Experts from the Moroccan High Commission for Planning, drawing from regional delegations, research departments and the Division of Statistics, will take part in the training. The objective will be to build national capacities in the use of this index, among others, in monitoring the impact of social policies and welfare in Morocco.
The ASDI index measures human exclusion in six key dimensions of wellbeing throughout the life cycle, including survival, health, education, employment, means of subsistence and the capacity to live a decent life after the age of 60. This new tool will enable decision makers to measure human exclusion across social groups, gender, location, within and between regions and over time. By doing so, the ASDI index will facilitate the design and monitoring of more inclusive social policies across the African continent, in line with the aspirations of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The first African Social Development Index report on North Africa (Algeria, Egypt, Mauritania, Morocco, Sudan and Tunisia), which was launched in September 2016 in Tunis (Tunisia), has revealed that nearly all North African countries have witnessed a decrease in overall exclusion between 2000 and 2015 while infant mortality and youth unemployment remain a common issue in a significant number of countries. The report also revealed that the disconnect between education and youth unemployment is a critical factor of exclusion in Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia.
ASDI report on North Africa
Note to the editors
ECA is one of the five regional commissions of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). It aims to support development in Africa by helping countries formulate and implement policies and programs that support their economic and social transformation.
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