Mr. Chairman
Honourable and Distinguished Participants
Ladies and Gentlemen

It is a great pleasure and honour for me and my delegation from the Organization of the African Unity to participate in this Second World Assembly on Ageing and to share with you the perspective of the Organization of African Unity (OAU). I do so on behalf of the OAU Secretary General, Mr Amara Essy. I bring to you his warm greetings and his hope that this meeting will achieve its purpose.

Since I am taking the floor for the first time, I will like to take this opportunity to congratulate you, Mr. Chairman, and other members of your bureau for your well-deserved election and for the efficient way you have been piloting this Assembly. We are gathered here today to ensure the creation of better conditions of living for Senior Citizens of the World. On this occasion, I render homage to the United Nations whose work in service of humankind is a significant expression on the hope that all nations have placed in it.

I will like at this point to underscore that Africa attaches considerable importance to this Assembly. This is especially the case given the fact that the problems of ageing are high in the agenda of development issues before African countries as they attempt to find durable solutions to the problems of sustainable development. There is a strong link between ageing and sustainable development in Africa. It is hoped that the debate and outcome of this Assembly will find more expression in the forthcoming World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa, in August 2002.

Mr. Chairman, I will like to draw attention to the relevant data in this connection. People aged over 60 years and over account for 4.5% of the population in Africa. The data from WHO study in 1997 shows that Africans 60 years and over will increase from 22.9 million in 1980 to 101.9 million in 2025. This could result in major constraint on African economies if proportionate increase in the working labour force does not occur. Besides, it is relevant to note that the movement in this direction could be hard to come by if the negative effects of HIV/AIDS on adolescents, women and elderly, in many countries in the continent, are not halted and reversed. The majority of older persons, most of which are women live in the rural areas. In contrast to the situation in some countries, there is no social security system to address the needs of older persons in Africa.

At the global level, it is important to emphasize that the Beijing Platform notes that the risk of falling into poverty is greater for women than for men, particularly in old age, where social security systems are based on the principle of continuous remunerated employment. It also notes that older women face greater obstacles labour market re-entry. In this regard, it proposes, among others, the creation of social security systems where they do not exist, or review them with a view to placing individual women and men on an equal footing, at every stage of their lives.

Thus, Africa's perception of this problem had led to a number of initiatives that have complemented past international community actions on older peoples. In this connection we would like to state that African countries have adopted the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, the Dakar Platform for Action on Women, the Kilimanjaro Program of Action for African Population and Self-reliant Development in 1984. All these have sought to address disequilibrium in population development and the concerns of older people, their rights and advancement to old age in dignity. However, the most recent continental program had expression in the OAU Policy Framework and Plan of Action on Ageing that was prepared with the support of HelpAge International, and with the collaboration of African countries, intergovernmental organizations, civil society and the private sector.

The OAU Policy Framework and Plan of Action on Ageing is unique among the regions in the world. It is providing a common framework for the development of national action plans on ageing for African countries. The Policy Framework, among other things underscores the centrality of the family in the care support and welfare of old people. It emphasizes the need to address chronic poverty and recognizes the importance of all stakeholders in addressing issues affecting older persons. Beyond this, our organization has further noted the need to adequately address the problems of old age and demographic imbalances in the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) and African Union (AU). These important regional actions have been taken against the background and inspirations of related global conferences, in particular the United Nations International Action on Ageing 1982, United Nations Principles for Older Persons 1991, and the United Nations International Year for Older Persons 1999.

Mr. Chairman, the commitment of our continent to problems of Ageing and the need to find appropriate solutions have energized us to be part of this process and to have high expectations on the outcome of the Assembly. We see this Assembly as part of the process for the attainment of the United Nations. Millenium development goals that among other things include the halving of poverty in developing countries. The international community has, without doubt, made substantial progress in mapping out the draft International Plan of Action on Ageing 2002" and the draft Political Declaration. We commend the huge efforts that led to the preparation of these important documents.

However, as we work on their finalization, we would urge the international community to explicitly provide policy actions that would effectively address the critical issues of ageing in our development process. For example, emergencies created by natural disasters are important to Africa. However, beyond this, we should pay equal attention to the problems of older persons in those countries experiencing and emerging from conflict.

Mr. Chairman, I will like to reiterate that the outcome to this Assembly would be meaningful to older persons if there is appropriate and effective mechanism for the implementation of agreed actions and initiatives. In this regard, we will again point out that many African countries will need to be empowered in order to be able to carry out their obligations. In the spirit of the Monterrey Conference on Financing for Development, there is a need for additional official development assistance (ODA) to enable countries address policy and institutional development on ageing matters. Efforts should be made by those countries that have not done so to attain the target of 0.7 per cent of gross national product (GNP) of ODA flow to developing countries. Also, in the framework of the agreements reached at the WTO Ministerial meeting in Doha, in 2001, the development partners should speedily grant market access to the exports of developing countries, especially those in Africa. Furthermore, more action would be required from the development partners, in particular the creditors, to relieve African countries of debt burdens in order to release resources to address the concerns of ageing.

I thank you for your attention.