FortySouth

The contracted global economy is literary palpable with unemployment numbers going through the roof.

The World Bank recently projected that the global economy will shrink in 2009, with growth in the developing markets dropping from 4.4% to 2.1%. They also project that recovery will commence in 2010 albeit at a slowed pace.

What’s more interesting is that the recovery depends on where in the world you live:

A curious note is that the most substantial GDP growth is registered in the emerging markets, especially in Asia.

In this coming fiscal year, developing countries around the globe could potentially face a huge gap in financing which would in turn deal a blow to infrastructure development and poverty alleviation initiatives.

According to the World Bank,

Developing countries face a financing shortfall of $270-700 billion this year, as private sector creditors shun emerging markets, and only one quarter of the most vulnerable countries have the resources to prevent a rise in poverty

This is especially grim news for many African governments that rely on Direct Budgetary Support from the WB, IMF and other private donor institutions to run government programs and payroll. According to UNCTAD, it represents about 30% of central government spending in countries of Sub-Saharan Africa. Continue reading

It is reported that 249,856 out of 695,728 pupils that sat for the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education exam in November 2008 won’t find placement in High Schools in the country. At the same time, the World Bank’s Africa Development Indicators 2008/9 noted:

Youth make up 36.9% of the working-age population, but 59.5% of the total unemployed, which is much higher than the world’s average for 2005 (43.7%)

Since the placement shortfall is a trend that has been on for several years, I couldn’t help but notice the correlation between the two events – a lack of higher education greatly impedes ones ability to obtain gainful and progressive employment.

What is curious is that no definitive programs, such as vocational training etc., are provided for by the government to cater for these pupils that are left out. Perhaps they’re not vocal enough about any that may be in existence?

I think if we’re serious about eradicating poverty and mitigating crime, it should begin with providing more educational opportunities for this generation especially, even for those that may not have done as well as they could have in this single exam. My sense is that these statistics will only burgeon in the years to come, with more children taking advantage of free primary education.

Update:

Here’s the official breakdown of HS placement: