April 1995 Case Study: Effect of Structural Adjustment Programmes on African Families
Abstract
During 1994, two significant events occurred that focused attention on the family as the center of human society. The first was the commemoration by the United Nations of the "International Year of the Family" (IYF). The theme of the IYF was "Family: Resources and Responsibilities in a Changing World." The United Nations described the family as "the smallest democracy at the heart of society." The second event was the assembly of the African Synod. The bishops gathered in Rome for the Synod found the family as being central both to African civil society and to the African Church. One of the theological and pastoral gifts of the Synod was the focus on family as "model of Church."
Description
The impact of African poverty, international debt and of the Structural Adjustment Programmes is felt first and foremost within the home. Our family ministry demands that we speak out for the poorest and voiceless families in our society. They have to face the burden of escalating food prices and cutbacks in jobs, wages, health and educational facilities. The church needs to take the side of poor families, particularly of the women and children within Africa to ensure that they are not left to shoulder an unjust proportion of the burden of adjustment. The burden should be shared byn for example, decreasing the military budget and rooting out corruption and economic mismanagement.