The main donor countries have declared Africa's new development programme "a bold and clear-sighted vision." They have pledged to provide greater support to the continent -- from aid and debt relief to trade and investment -- so that the New Partnership f
The main donor countries have declared Africa's new development programme "a bold and clear-sighted vision." They have pledged to provide greater support to the continent -- from aid and debt relief to trade and investment -- so that the New Partnership f
From Africa Renewal:
The world will be watching the leaders of the richest countries to see if they live up to the pledges they have made to Africa, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said at the close of the Group of Eight (G-8) summit in Kananaskis. A key test, he said, will come at the UN-sponsored World Summit for Sustainable Development in South Africa, "in the heart of a region acutely affected by poverty, by the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and now also affected by a terrible drought, with a serious threat of famine in several countries." He urged all the G-8 leaders to attend the summit, to be held 26 August - 4 September in Johannesburg.Reducing global poverty and meeting sustainable development goals face the "toughest challenge" in Africa, Mr. Annan stated in a letter to the G-8 before his departure for Kananaskis. And it is "in Africa that their achievement will depend most crucially on international solidarity."President Mbeki, the Johannesburg summit host, also stressed the importance of ensuring that it leads to implementation of the pledges made ten years ago at the UN Conference on Environment and Development (the Rio "Earth Summit"). Among those commitments was a significant rise in the incomes and opportunities of poor people, since poverty has been a key factor in overfarming, tree-clearing and other environmentally damaging practices in Africa and other developing regions."People continue to die of hunger," President Mbeki said on the eve of the G-8 summit. "Babies get born, grow up and die without being able to read or write. Many fellow humans do not have clean water to drink. And people die of curable diseases. The gulf between rich and poor members of the human race widens as we speak."The responsibility for changing these conditions rests first and foremost with the leaders of Africa and other developing regions, Mr. Annan said in his letter to the G-8. Progress has been made in establishing democratic systems in most African countries, and Africa's NEPAD programme rests on improved governance, respect for human rights and public accountability. Yet even Africans' best efforts will be insufficient unless they receive greater international support. Mr. Annan recommended a series of concrete steps:
- Open Northern markets to more exports from poor developing countries
- Increase official development assistance by an additional $50 bn a year globally
- Provide greater and speedier debt relief
- Ensure that primary education becomes available to all children
- Help stem the spread of killer diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.
Nowhere, Mr. Annan said, are such steps more urgently needed than in Africa.
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