In a New York Times article talking about Ghana as one of SAP success story in Sub Saharan Africa, the World Bank acknowledged that at its rate of recovery, it would take 40 years for the average Ghanian to have a standard of living equal to that of a Ghanian in the mid-70s. It doesn't sound or look like much of a success to me. A degraded environment is yet another resource whose destruction negatively impacts on women's livelihoods and productive capacities. As a result 3 out of 5 of the world's impoverished are women. And SAPs have not and are not helping women.
SAPs are a big part of the problem.
Women are demanding a voice at the policy making table. And with women at the table there would be a very different environment and very different priorities and emphasis on spending. In Africa, Asia, and Latin America, women, men, and children have been standing up to SAPs and here lies our hope and challenge. We must support their struggles for economic justice, for dignity, and for self determination. The legacy of SAPs was wrought by the debts owed to rich countries, to international banks, and to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund by impoverished countries.