An aerial view of Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. UN Photo/Basile Zoma
One of my highest priorities is to strengthen United Nations efforts in Africa. To reinforce this commitment, my first trip as Secretary-General was to attend the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa in January, where I met with the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat. In April, I convened in New York the first United Nations-African Union Annual Conference, where we pledged to strengthen and deepen cooperation and underscored the importance of the strategic partnership between the two organizations in efforts to promote sustainable development, peace and security and human rights on the continent.
Africa today, like other parts of the world, presents a dynamic yet contradictory picture of progress and challenges. On the one hand, economic growth in several African countries surpassed that in other parts of the globe, and the data encouragingly show that enrolment in primary education in sub-Saharan Africa improved dramatically from 52 per cent in 1990 to 80 per cent in 2015, while the reduction in child mortality rates has also been significant. Yet some parts of Africa face threats and challenges involving protracted violence and human insecurity that undermine development. Continued conflict has meant that three of the four countries currently facing severe threats of famine are located in Africa.
Economically, the continent remains highly commodity dependent, while, as a result of the volatility in global commodity prices, unstable export income in many African countries has significantly affected economic growth patterns. Future challenges also confront the continent. Projected population growth estimates show Africa as the fastest-growing region of the world (see figure IV), with a growing youth population that will reach about 60 per cent of the total population by 2050 (see figure V). These young people require education, jobs, housing and health care, thereby putting pressure on Governments to deliver.