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Millennium Development Goals in Togo

Togo faces an uphill struggle in tackling the challenge posed by its commitments to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Determined efforts to assemble reliable human development data during 2006 disclosed sluggish progress in poverty and health indicators whilst figures for primary school enrolment and availability of safe sanitation are moving backwards. Over 60% of the population survive below the poverty line and 14% experience acute malnutrition, about double the rate of neighbouring countries. Municipal authorities in the capital, Lomé, admit that there have been no repairs to the drinking water infrastructure since 1995 forcing most of the residents to use high risk sources. Access to safe water in the country overall is just over 50%. The high annual population growth rate of 2.5% compounds the challenge for poverty reduction.

Togolese in line for 2007 election © Joel Gbagba / United Nations' Integrated Regional Information Network

To a degree these hardships have been self-inflicted. For almost 15 years from 1993 Togo chose to ignore the conditions of its potentially largest donor, the European Union (EU). Under the Lomé IV Convention and Cotonou Convention, preferential trade agreements and aid links with the EU are subject to evidence of good governance, and action against corruption and illegal immigration into the EU. Failure to meet the governance condition in particular isolated Togo from the bulk of international aid opportunities, condemning the country to grapple with human development programmes with one hand tied behind its back, to the great detriment of its long-suffering people.

The dramatic transformation in participatory politics which began in 2006 and culminated in free and fair parliamentary elections in 2007 has uncorked the aid bottle. August 2006 saw the release of an initial tranche of EU funds followed in December 2007 by a formal announcement that normal cooperation has resumed. The wider aid community will respond accordingly although the IMF has already issued a painful assessment that the cost of getting back on track for the MDGs far exceeds any reasonable expectations of foreign aid.

Health and HIV/AIDS in Togo

Unfortunately these positive developments for aid funding have been offset by the decision of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS Tuberculosis and Malaria to suspend at least one of its Togo programmes due to reporting irregularities. This will impact the government’s ability to purchase antiretroviral treatment and there are reports of interrupted supplies for patients accustomed to receiving the treatment, themselves a small minority of the 24,000 in need.

Prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Togo is reported to be 3.2% but is believed by experts to be higher, aggravated by increasing volume of international trade through the port of Lomé and the Abidjan-Lagos corridor. Many civil society organisations are very active in the fight against HIV/AIDS and, working alongside people living with HIV, have been successful in lobbying for a bill against discrimination in the workplace to be passed by parliament.

Togolese child © UNICEF

The underfunded health sector suffers from creaking infrastructure and shortage of trained personnel - the number of doctors is reported to be only 4 per 100,000. Child and maternal mortality rates have improved little over the last 10 years. The main health problems include tuberculosis and especially malaria which claims 20-25% of all deaths occurring in the country, more even than AIDS. Due to the high cost of modern healthcare, there is a revival of traditional medicine, but this has been coupled with abuse, leading to a ban on advertisements from traditional healers on television and radio.
Politics in Togo

In 1963, Togo became the scene of the first coup d’état in the newly independent states in Africa, with the assassination of its first President, Sylvanus Olympio, who had been one of the fathers of independence in 1960. The man who at one time claimed to have fired the fatal shots, Gnassingbé Eyadema, himself became President in January 1967, remaining in power until his death in February 2005. Like many African leaders of similar longevity, Eyadema had a military background and sustained his rule through awarding a dominant role for his own ethnic group, the Kabye, from northern Togo.

Faure Gnassingbe © allAfrica.com

Eyadema was founder of Rassemblement du Peuple Togolais (RPT) which remained the sole political party until 1991. Although the 1992 constitution permitted opposition parties, genuine democracy failed to take root. Under increasing pressure in 2004 to restore relations with the EU, the Eyadema government made gestures towards democracy but the process whereby Eyadema’s son, Faure Gnassingbé, with backing from the army, declared himself President immediately on the death of his father shattered the illusion of democratic reform. Faure subsequently back-pedalled in reaction to the outrage of neighbouring African leaders and called an election in April 2005 - but at such short notice, and with such unflinching control over the media, that the result became a foregone conclusion. Protests over the conduct of the election prompted a resort to violence by the authorities, causing 400-500 deaths and forcing 40,000 people to flee to neighbouring Ghana and Benin.

Updating Togo's electoral roll, April 2005 © United Nations' Integrated Regional Information Network

By August 2006 economic impoverishment compelled the ruling party to agree to establish a national government of unity pending parliamentary elections in 2007. An opposition leader was appointed interim prime minister and Gilchrist Olympio, son of the country’s first president, returned from exile to lead the Union of Forces for Change party (UFC). These actions satisfied the international community and prompted many of the refugees to return home. The October 2007 election was deemed free and fair by international observers with a high turnout of 85%. Although the RPT was returned to power with 50 out of 81 seats, presidential appointments of the cabinet and prime minister, Komlan Mally, were made after consultation with the opposition. A presidential election is due in 2010.
Human Rights in Togo

Togolese refugees crossing to Benin © United Nations' Integrated Regional Information Network

The UN team sent to investigate allegations of abuse by the Togolese security forces in the aftermath of the April 2005 election concluded that the state security apparatus was indeed responsible for the killings and for the use of torture. Many survivors of the violence, together with family members of those killed, have documented events in the hope that prosecutions will follow. This move was the outcome of a 2006 visit by Amnesty International, permitted to enter Togo for the first time since 1999. However, it remains unclear whether those responsible for the violence will be brought to account.

The other main human rights concern is the trafficking of children, in cross-border slavery to Benin, Nigeria and Gabon. One estimate suggests that one in eight children in Togo has left home to work abroad. Togo has long been regarded as negligent of the problem to the extent that in July 2005 the US State Department threatened sanctions. In consequence, the government hastily introduced a law which for the first time imposes punishment on child traffickers.

Despite a more relaxed political environment and the existence of numerous private printed press, radio and TV media, Togo continues to attract sustained criticism from monitors of freedom of expression for its suppression of views opposing the ruling party or President. In 2006, the head of the media regulator, the High Council for Broadcasting and Communication (HAAC), was replaced, alongside promises of reform, but suspensions of newspapers have continued and the signs are that professional life for journalists in Togo is still far from comfortable, compared with neighboring countries.
The Economy in Togo

Starved of aid, Togo’s economy has suffered long term decline. Average income per capita has fallen for the last 25 years, the level of foreign debt is unsustainable, the road system is in decay and electricity capacity meets only about 25% of needs. The Togo economy is essentially based on agriculture - cotton, cocoa and coffee – as well as mineral exports, particularly phosphates which at one time were the country’s financial lifeline. 70% of the working population is rural and makes its life out of the soil with only 20%-30% of farm output available for export.

Now back in favour with international financial institutions, the government is engaged in stabilising public finances with a view to qualifying for much-needed debt relief under both the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) and Multilateral Debt Relief Initiatives. Many inefficient state-owned enterprises are likely to be restructured, especially those involved in the phosphate and cotton sectors.
The Environment in Togo

The environment suffers greatly in Togo although young people especially are prepared to show interest in global issues and the country’s first World Heritage site has been declared at the Koutammakou cultural landscape

The north of the country is threatened by desertification owing to slash-and-burn agriculture and the extensive use of wood for fuel. Other problems include the increasing levels of water and air pollution in urban areas due in part to the large number of “Zemidjan” or taxi-motos. Waste management has also proved a big problem for municipal authorities, and all efforts made by environmental associations, mainly operated by youth, have not been able to overcome its negative effects on health. Despite work on the water supply system, many households do not have drinking water, and are obliged to buy water at high cost, some of it untreated or polluted during transportation.



The OneWorld Togo Guide was first published in this format in October 2005 with a text written by Volunteer Editor Gisèle Dovi

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