Abstract
Human development indicators (HDIs) are used in measuring poverty and are diverse, ranging from income
distribution, nutritional, health and environmental variables to housing quality among others. This paper is concerned
with the spatial variation of selected HDIs in countries of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The temporal analysis is used in
determining the performance of each country, in terms of an improvement or a decline with respect to a particular
indicator of human development. For instance, in assessing the change in a countryís per capita Gross National Product
(GNP) over a period spanning twenty years, the trend in performance between 1980 - 1999 was analysed in a GIS
environment and mapped. The resultant patterns of different HDIs will be useful in determining the appropriate line of
action to take since these give better insight into the prevailing human development situations at both national and
regional levels. Such analysis will invariably be a valuable input into development planning, policy formulation and
execution by regional bodies such as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Southern African
Development Community (SADC) as well as the African Union (AU). A very crucial effort at developing Africa at this
instance is the initiative tagged ìNew Partnership for Africaís Developmentî (NEPAD) aimed at co-ordinating,
harmonising and rationalising the policies and strategies of all African member states for sustainable development.
Thus, this paper is an attempt to give a performance picture of various HDIs in SSA and to demonstrate the usefulness
of maps as crucial tools for better understanding of human development trend both at national and regional levels in the
sub-Saharan African region. In contrast to other regions of the world, SSA is confronted with poverty related problems
which are being aggravated by the inability to reposition favourably in the current globalisation process.
distribution, nutritional, health and environmental variables to housing quality among others. This paper is concerned
with the spatial variation of selected HDIs in countries of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The temporal analysis is used in
determining the performance of each country, in terms of an improvement or a decline with respect to a particular
indicator of human development. For instance, in assessing the change in a countryís per capita Gross National Product
(GNP) over a period spanning twenty years, the trend in performance between 1980 - 1999 was analysed in a GIS
environment and mapped. The resultant patterns of different HDIs will be useful in determining the appropriate line of
action to take since these give better insight into the prevailing human development situations at both national and
regional levels. Such analysis will invariably be a valuable input into development planning, policy formulation and
execution by regional bodies such as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Southern African
Development Community (SADC) as well as the African Union (AU). A very crucial effort at developing Africa at this
instance is the initiative tagged ìNew Partnership for Africaís Developmentî (NEPAD) aimed at co-ordinating,
harmonising and rationalising the policies and strategies of all African member states for sustainable development.
Thus, this paper is an attempt to give a performance picture of various HDIs in SSA and to demonstrate the usefulness
of maps as crucial tools for better understanding of human development trend both at national and regional levels in the
sub-Saharan African region. In contrast to other regions of the world, SSA is confronted with poverty related problems
which are being aggravated by the inability to reposition favourably in the current globalisation process.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages | 515-523 |
| Publication status | Published - 2003 |
| Event | International Cartographic Conference : Cartographic Renaissance - Durban, South Africa Duration: Aug 10 2003 → Aug 16 2003 Conference number: 21 |
Conference
| Conference | International Cartographic Conference |
|---|---|
| Abbreviated title | (ICC) |
| Country/Territory | South Africa |
| City | Durban |
| Period | 8/10/03 → 8/16/03 |
