Family Futures

[

] 65

dvancing

ocial

ntegration

and

ntergenerational

olidarity

many countries imposed a wide range of restrictive measures

in terms of access to land, water, forests and environmental

goods to which families formerly had communal access.

After independence, in the 1960s and 1970s, African coun-

tries introduced ambitious social development policies and

invested in the expansion of education and health services, and

in the provision of housing, water and food for families. During

these years countries started to experience increases in life

expectancy and improvements in infant and child mortality, but

fertility remained at high levels. However, the economic down-

turns that engulfed many countries as a result of policy reforms

introduced in the 1980s created immense hardships for African

families. These structural policy reforms included the removal

of subsidies, restrictions on wage increases, devaluation of the

national currencies, privatization of public enterprises and the

retrenchment of public workers. The reforms failed to achieve

their intended economic results. Consequently, family income

declined, and poverty and food insecurity increased. Most of

the social gains that were achieved after independence were lost

during the 1980s and 1990s.

Many other factors have also adversely affected the struc-

ture, survival and welfare of families in Africa, particularly in

rural areas where lack of resources such as land and livestock,

in addition to taxation and fiscal policies, affected the survival

and welfare of families. Foreign debt cumulated to unprec-

edented high levels, with adverse consequences for both social

and economic development. Corruption spread fast in many

countries. Poor governance, the scourge of HIV/AIDS, an

increasing number of orphans and a worsening disease envi-

ronment have adversely affected African families.

Hardships have generally affected African family structures

and weakened their adaptability and survival strategies. For

example, economic hardships drove many young males from

the poor countries to migrate for work in the rapidly urbanizing

and industrializing countries. The direct consequence of this

pattern was an increase in single-parent families and female-

headed households, and a decline in kinship ties. Women who

were left behind acquired more education and became less

willing to get married to men with lower levels of education.

The changes in family size that usually occur during the

development process are often associated with changes in

the demand for goods and services. Theories of moderniza-

tion and development stipulate that the development process

is often accompanied by a myriad of cultural and social

changes, from traditional extended families living in rural

areas to modern nuclear families living in urban areas. The

immediate impact of such changes is the rapid increase in the

per capita demand for resources such as housing, food and

energy. The direct consequences of failures to meet these high

demands will be increasing prevalence of poverty, homeless-

ness, and low access to social amenities such as water and

decent sanitary services. Such is the situation in many coun-

tries in Africa, particularly in urban areas where there is a

high, unmet demand for resources and amenities such as food,

housing and shelter, safe drinking water and sanitation. These

gaps reflect social and cultural changes in living arrangements

and conditions which are not equally matched with economic,

institutional and social developments in Africa. The gaps

necessitate policy actions that take into account the ramifica-

tions of changing family structure and dynamics.

The future prospects for the family in Africa will be shaped

by some megatrends in the continent. At the outset, since the

start of the twenty-first century the continent has sustained

an average economic growth rate of about 5.6 per cent. This

growth slowed down to 2.2 per cent in 2009 due to the finan-

cial crisis, but it quickly recovered to 4.6 per cent in 2010 and

Changes in per capita consumption of goods and services associated with family and household variables

Source: Hassan M. Yousif

Family and household typologies

Average size of

residential unit

Average size of

consuming unit

Per capita

consumption

Social

relationships

Rural areas

Extended families – high number of births; living in

compound residence

Large

Low

Strong

Nuclear family and young migrant relatives living together

Large

Medium

Low

Moderate

Nomadic families

Medium

Low

Strong

Displaced families

Medium

Small

Low

Weak

Urban areas

Nuclear families – declining births; living in small

residential unit

Small

High

Weak

Nuclear family and some close relatives

Medium

Small

High

Moderate

Families displaced as a result of conflict and war,

living in slums

Large

Small

Low

Weak