In West Africa, for example, the coastal countries are thought to have absorbed about 8 million people in the last three decades. In several countries, migrants are not only pulled towards cities by the prospect of jobs and higher incomes, they are also pushed out of rural areas by such factors as poverty, lack of land, declining returns from agricultural commodities, war, and famine. Migration is also often part of a complex household survival strategy, in which families minimize risk by placing family members in different labour markets. Africa still needs to improve in the areas of education and health. Since the promise of the 1990 Jomtien Conference on Education for All, slow but steady progress is being made in most regions of the world.
Repetition rates are excessive, retention is poor, and the gender gap is high.
The health situation in Africa is cause for some satisfaction, in that life spans have increased significantly, in part from the impacts of concerted health initiatives. Conflict arising from political instability has been a primary impediment to development in a number of African countries. The social, economic, and environmental impacts can be immense, as demonstrated in the recent armed conflicts that resulted in massive displacements and loss of human life. The causes for these outbreaks have been largely internal to the countries in question. Some conflicts and social unrest were the result not only of political instability but also of ethnic tensions, food insecurity, poverty, limited access to resources, and land pressures.