Family Futures

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dvancing

ocial

ntegration

and

ntergenerational

olidarity

5 per cent in 2012. Currently, the economic growth rate stands

at about 4.2 per cent. Twenty-six countries are currently clas-

sified as lower-middle and upper-middle income.

By 2040

most of the countries in Africa will be in these two categories,

while some will definitely graduate to high income level.

With this impressive development, the African economies

are likely to be highly competitive, more industrialized and

urbanized. The scale of the economies will expand, and the

continent will experience significant progress in infrastruc-

ture, energy, food production, peace and security, all of which

will impact on the structure and composition of the family.

This will provide financial space for governments to set their

national development priorities and strategies for the future,

and to decide more freely on how to partner with the private

sector, non-governmental organizations, agencies and donors.

Rapid urbanization is another important megatrend that

will undoubtedly impact on the structure and composition

of the family in Africa, and on social and intergenerational

relationships. Though Africa is the least urbanized conti-

nent, its rate of urbanization is the fastest in the world. The

urban population grew from 33 million people in 1950 to 414

million in 2011. They will reach 471 million in 2015 and 744

million in 2030. The share of urban inhabitants in the total

population increased from 14.4 per cent in 1950 to 39.6 per

cent in 2011, and will reach 47.7 per cent by 2030. These

increasing numbers show high urban growth rates of above

3 per cent per year, which produces a doubling of the urban

population in only 24 years, through 2025.

These megatrends and their accompanying social changes

make it necessary for development planning in Africa to give

priority to the family and its changing and evolving struc-

tures. In particular, the family should be prioritized when

establishing policies and priorities for economic and social

development, and when planning programmatic interventions

aimed at social groups such as women, children, orphans and

the elderly. The family must be pivotal for social and economic

policies which directly and indirectly affect the welfare of its

members and its integrity and structure as a unit of society.

Therefore development policies should integrate and stream-

line the family and its changing structure and roles in the

design and implementation of economic and social activities.

Moreover, the impacts of development activities on the family

should be part and parcel of the monitoring and evaluation

of socioeconomic and development impacts. Family-sensitive

development policies and activities are important for develop-

ment transformation and for the social integration of societies

and communities in Africa.

Today’s urban communities celebrate marriage with lavish and expensive ceremonies such as this one in the Sudan

Image: Hassan M. Yousif

Intergenerational linkages are clear as young and old meet at a wedding to

provide support and blessings

Image: Hassan M. Yousif