Situation of women in the east African sub-region : with specific focus on: participation of women in decision making economic empowerment of women for poverty reduction women's legal and human rights, a synthesis paper

Abstract

The East African sub-region, like the rest of Africa, has severely affected by the economic decline and recession which characterised most of the 1980s and 1990s. Of the 12 countries which make up the East African sub-region 11 are classified as Least Developed Countries (LDCs), representing a significant proportion of the i3 LDCs in Africa. The social and economic situation in these countries is reported to have inclined significantly in the 1990s as the countries have recorded a marked decline in GDP and a corresponding decline in per capita income2/. In addition, the majority of these countries have not only been implementing structural adjustment programmes which have resulted in severe social consequences due to government cut-backs and withdrawal from investment in the public sector, retrenchment of public-sector employees, and disinvestment in social services, they also have a heavy debt burden and heavy debt overhang.