Studies of the African Development Bank

The mission of the African Development Bank (AfDB) is to help reduce poverty, improve living conditions and mobilize resources for Africa’s economic and social development. With this public-interest objective in mind, the aim is to assist African countries – individually and collectively – in their efforts to achieve sustainable economic development and social progress by granting loans and offering technical assistance.

To assess and improve the performance of African states in governance practice, the AfDB in 2002 introduced a diagnostic tool called Country Governance Profile (CGP). These reports assess governance and map other donor interventions in this area. Perhaps most importantly, the CGPs serve as an instrument to decide on the bank’s own country strategies and its operational programming. The rationale is that only where good governance and human rights standards are met, investments will be sustainable. At the same time, the CGPs are also valuable for information about the human rights situation in the countries under scrutiny.

The CGPs already published can be found online: www.afdb.org/en/documents/project-operations/country-governance-profiles/

Moreover, the AfDB regularly compiles a ranking which is called Country Performance Assessment (CPA). The CPA shall ensure that donor resources are channelled to those countries that are able to use them most effectively. The CPA is based on analysis of current policies and institutions in the field of economic management; structural policies; social inclusion and equity policies. It measures the quality and sustainability of a country’s policies and programmes in their impact on reducing poverty. This of course includes programmes related to human rights.

The most recent CPA rankings can be downloaded from www.afdb.org/en/documents/project-operations/country-performance-assessment-cpa/

Last change: 04.05.10 - 09:35