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African Population Studies/Etude de la Population Africaine, Vol. 12, No. 1, March/mars 1997 Editorial A Fresh Invitation to Studies in African Population Orieji CHIMERE-DAN Deputy Chief Editor Code Number: ep97001 The first issue of African Population Studies appeared ten years ago with the aim of disseminating work done on African population by the international community of population researchers. As the official scientific publication of the Union for African Population Studies, African Population Studies has made good contributions to the dissemination of research on African population. In fact, the basic mission of the journal to is disseminate dependable and timely information emanating from original scholarly research on African population. African Population Studies has maintained a bilingual identity, thereby reaching a wider audience of professionals and policy makers. The success of bilingual publishing has gone beyond the published pages to break communication and other artificial barriers between Anglophone and Francophone researchers. In 1996 the current UAPS Council reviewed the editorial and administrative processes of African Population Studies to ensure that the journal is of a high international standard in its contents, production and circulation. This resulted in an expansion of the editorial office to include a deputy editor entrusted with the responsibility of processing articles submitted in English. The administrative office of UAPS was strengthened with more clearly defined functions relating to the journal. The editorial advisory board was expanded from a pool of international scholars in the population field. This first issue in 1997 is a good opportunity to express our gratitude to past and present officers of the Union for African Population Studies, contributors, reviewers, donors and all who, over these years, have contributed in various capacities to 10 years of life for the journal. Special thanks go to the premier UAPS council under the presidency of Sidiki Coulibaly, the second council under the presidency of Adepoju Aderanti and especially to Cheikh Mbacké, the first Chief Editor, for their pioneering roles in the history of the journal. This is equally an appropriate time to extend a fresh invitation to studies in the ever- exciting field of African population. The issues at stake in the Second African Population Conference in the year of birth of the journal remain largely unresolved while new research problems have emerged. To population scientists in general and researchers of African population, the need for more work is obvious in the traditional domains of population studies including fertility and nuptiality, mortality and morbidity, migration and urbanization, contraceptive behaviour, family planning and population programmes. New areas are presenting fresh challenges to research on African population. Two related problems at the top of the list are reproductive health and the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Together, these two issues are testing with ruthless impatience the conceptual and methodological framework of population studies in Africa. One of the greatest challenges to population researchers in the region is to develop innovative conceptual and methodological tools for intervention in resolving reproductive health and HIV/AIDS problems in Africa. This need has placed population research high on the agenda of policy makers, governments, bilateral institutions, multilateral development agencies and foundations. On their part, researchers of African population are responding to this challenge at the individual, institutional and national levels. However, the scale of research needs in the area of reproductive health and HIV/AIDS should not overshadow many equally important issues and areas necessitating research on African population. Nor should the emergency situation generated by these demographic and health problems pressure us into doing sub-standard and dubious research on African population. We need to extend research to a range of issues that are not easily seen as priorities by others in different professions. At least four areas call for attention here. First, the theoretical base of population research in Africa should be subject to assessments in relation to contemporary problems of development in Africa. Secondly, for too long, studies on African population have focussed disproportionately on the level of fertility and how to destabilize it, sometimes at the expense of improved knowledge of several other equally important issues in the demography of the region. Thirdly, there is a poor geographical spread of population research activities in Africa. Lastly, perennial and emerging data needs threaten progress in our knowledge of many aspects of the African population. Theoretical orientations We would like to see more work that revisit the dominant theoretical orientations and presuppositions in most of the works African population. Theories of progress were in vogue at a critical period in the history of population research. Not surprisingly, the theory of demographic transition developed at the time it did and has ever since been the main departure point for most research on population despite its serious weaknesses. Most approaches to African population situate very much within the framework of transition from a primitive to a modern society, and are thus preoccupied with looking for how African societies can move toward preferred demographic patterns that are sufficiently ‘modern’. For too long, the theory of demographic transition received little fundamental challenge especially as it applies to Africa and other less developed regions of the world. Other theoretical positions on development and transition are not given sufficient consideration in studies on African population. This theoretical reductionism is part of the historical baggage inherited by demography from the intellectual climate of the 1940s and 1950s, a feature that a growing body of researchers now sees as an impediment to good scientific work on population. As regards the descriptive and explanatory powers of the transition theory, the experience of our colleagues working on European population is instructive. Results from the European Fertility Project indicate, among other things, that the ideas articulated in the theory of demographic transition, though useful, could not have constituted the theory of demographic change. The assumptions that derive from our myopic theoretical orientation have played a more important, though subtle, role in shaping the research directions and methodologies in African population. Consider some of the key concepts that are emphasized in population research and programmes, especially after the 1994 Cairo conference. Concepts like reproductive choice, women’s empowerment, individual reproductive and family size decision-making, fertility preferences, individual demand for contraception and fertility control have one thing in common with reference to population research and programmes . They make sense only with the assumption of contemporary Western democracy as the societal (if not political) precondition, context or goal. Without this assumption, or if it is denied, population research, as practised in much of Africa and other less developed regions of the world, would encounter conceptual turbulence. Need we assume fixed universal characteristics for these fundamental concepts in the study of population? Yet research in population has not seriously questioned the validity of working with such concepts (as individual right, freedom of choice, self-determination, etc) in many societies that are far from being democratic in the western sense. Although aspects of the problems raised in this regard are more easily appreciated by population programme managers, the fact that the lack of compatibility between contexts and concepts in population programmes has not received priority in population research in Africa and other less developed regions remains an enigma and is certainly a weakness of our discipline. Similarly, assumptions about the relative importance of ideational factors on one hand and qualitative change in social and economic conditions on the other, have received little critical attention in Africa. For instance, a subtle interpretation of the role of ideational change in the African context appears to project widespread use of contraception as an end in itself rather than as one of the various means to the broad goal of development. In the light of emerging evidence from outside and within the region, we need to continually revisit assumptions about the place of key demographic concepts in the wider issues pertaining to African development. As this is not meant to be an exhaustive profile of research and research needs in Africa, a number of other important issues and areas that call for attention are not raised. The role of national and international agencies in shaping the direction of research on African population, the utilization of various censuses and other existing large-scale survey data in research, triangulation in large-scale studies, cross-national collaboration, research infrastructure and organization are critical matters that bear upon studies on African population, and will remain on the agenda of advancing population research in the continent. Broadening research areas Research on African population has focussed disproportionately on fertility and its determinants with an explicit interest in the search for props for high fertility and how these could be counteracted. Although work has been done in other areas such as mortality and migration, these are the exceptions rather than the norms. Besides, research in other areas tend to be justified to the extent that they make demonstrable contributions to the overarching goal of fertility reduction. Hence, studies on mortality are linked to the relationship between fertility and mortality with the assumption that a decline in infant and child mortality will encourage African parents to have a small number of children. In a good number of cases migration is studied to examine its relationship with change in sexual and reproductive behaviour. Studies on marriage (age and patterns), marital instability, breast-feeding, contraception, post-partum abstinence, and the minor proximate determinants such as abortion and coital frequency have been oriented towards quantifying and clarifying their effects on fertility. The emergence of HIV/AIDS and the incorporation of family planning into the newly accepted framework of reproductive health are reinforcing the concentration of areas of active research on African population. Other areas that call for serious research attention in Africa include the social position of women, the family, education, human capital development, culture and demographic behaviour, the demography of vulnerable sub-groups, poverty, population and the environment and rapid urbanization. To emphasize the need for more research into these and other aspects of the relationship between population and development in Africa is a restatement of the obvious. African historical demography Who is interested in African historical demography or population history of Africa? Demographers, especially those working on non-African data appear to have given up hope on African historical demography or demographic history. To many, the concerns of the moment around issues like high fertility and HIV/AIDs are considered big enough to occupy researchers. And in any case there seems to be no immediate policy relevance of work on the demographic history of Africa. Others take a more pragmatic stance, citing the extremely poor quality of the current data, lack of a history of numerical record keeping and a host of other reasons for not engaging in research on African population history. We know that these problems notwithstanding, the scientific enterprise thrives on challenges. There is no scientific basis for outright dismissal of works that attempt to understand how African populations have evolved into their present structures and trends. Works in this area may not immediately match the sophistication of the designs used by the Cambridge Group or Princeton studies in historical demography but are worth trying. None of the reasons given for discouraging serious work on the demographic history of Africa arises from concrete evidence of an attempt that failed to produce worthwhile results. Population, economic and political developments The tendency for many demographic studies to assume stable Western democracy in non-Western societies has been pointed out in an earlier section. New studies should challenge work that de-links the population factor from the wider socio-economic policy and political environments of which it is an inseparable part. The economic and political contexts of population programmes in Africa, and newer issues about rationales and programme orientations in the face of globalization, remain marginalised in research activities on African population. It is hardly surprising that many studies have not been quick to address the demographic consequences or precedents of developments in Africa such as violent political transition, authoritarian leadership, military states, economic crises and national administrative infrastructure. In many studies, the role of the State in national demography tends to be reduced to the narrow question of how it can or should implement fertility and reproductive health policies. The coping strategies of African populations in the face of endogenous and exogenous problems that have demographic correlates call for careful research attention. We are still to see major empirical demographic projects on population displacement around Africa due to wars, political upheavals and socio-economic instability. Geographical spread of research Geographical distribution of demographic research in Africa remains skewed in favour of few countries in the Eastern, Western and Southern sub-regions. Could it be that individual researchers find it more convenient intellectually or logistically to operate in well-beaten geographic grounds? Or could this be a function of funding sources and priorities? Whatever the reasons, from the point of view of good research, the side effects of the unbalanced geographic spread of population research in Africa are less than desirable. It is often the case that one sees a research report with a bold title on Africa only to be disappointed that the work is based on a couple of countries, or on one or even a locality of a country in Africa. Without making a case for complete diversity in the demographic features of African countries, an assumption of uniformity in the countries of Africa that reflects in such studies whether or not intended, could be irritating to cautious observers. Perennial and emerging data needs The problem of data in Africa has not been a traditionally exciting area of population research. The scarcity of stable demographic information and the poor quality of available data sets remain major impediments to good demographic work in Africa. As far back as the 1950s, pioneers of African demographic research encountered data that had a poor quality. This problem subsequently encouraged and contributed to the development of standard indirect demographic estimation techniques. After the admirable work done by the first team of demographers who pointed to the poor quality of demographic data in Africa in the 1960s and 1970s, this field has been abandoned by many while others downgrade it under the pretext of occasional cautions about data quality in research reports. It is regrettable that today, decades after the work of pioneers of African demographic research, indirect methods are still necessary for the estimation of what should be straightforward demographic parameters such as fertility and mortality levels in Africa. The consequences of our poor effort in research on data quality remain with us. Both researchers and policy makers often face the embarrassments of poor data. Often, researchers are dispirited on seeing that their important conclusions and pet hypotheses were in fact based on fundamentally flawed data. African Population researchers on are quite familiar with debates about the extent to which observed levels and trends in key demographic variables such as fertility and mortality are due to data error. Frequently, policies have been based on demographic information that turn out to be erroneous. Investigations into ways of improving the quality of demographic information in Africa should constitute a priority area in African population studies. In addition to the perennial problems of data quality, research in this area could explore the implications of technological advancement for the nature, quality and mode of dissemination of demographic information in African countries. Several sets of important demographic information are today available on the Internet. Although only few Africa-based researchers presently have full access to such facilities, we certainly will see an increase in access in the coming years. Large-scale cross-national programmes of research such as the Contraceptive Prevalence Surveys, the World Fertility Survey and the Demographic and Health Survey have made useful contributions to our understanding of demographic patterns in Africa and other less developed countries of the world. However, we need studies of more complex designs that will be able to handle the range of problems encountered in contemporary African societies. Though such studies are quite expensive, we are encouraged to see a rising interest among researchers and donors in longitudinal and small-area multi-purpose demographic and health studies in Africa. Conclusion We invite contributions from researchers on the many burning issues concerning African population. The African population, like the populations of other regions of the world, stands to make major contributions to our understanding of population dynamics, their correlates and consequences. Perhaps some hypothetical questions will drive home the points raised here about the current narrow focus of interest in population research in Africa. Will the achievement of a below replacement total fertility rate in Africa mark the end of population studies in the region? What will be the major themes in African population studies in many years to come when the total fertility rate would have declined to a very low level in all African countries? Whatever the subsidiary demands and expectations on us as researchers of African population, we are required to subscribe to the basic principles of good scientific research, observing the highest levels of rigour and ethical standards. Although some policy makers do not always make maximum use of products of good science, we believe that good policies and programmes cannot come from bad studies on the African population. We have to manage delicately the pressure from those who want quick-fix results from our research. While we accommodate comfortably external demands on our work, the history of science demonstrates that several breakthroughs that have changed the course of humanity in various fields were made by researchers who first pursued the ideals of science with patience, diligence, objectivity and boundless stretch of scientific imagination. Orieji
CHIMERE-DAN Copyright 1997 - Union for African Population Studies. |
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