|
Ministerial statement
-
We, African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, meeting in Addis Ababa 2-3 April 2007, under the auspices of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), reaffirm our commitment to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which together with other internationally agreed goals, have become our shared framework for development and global partnership. We reiterate that the MDGs constitute the minimum targets for sustainable economic growth and development, as well as for reducing poverty and inequality.
-
We recall our statement following our conference on the theme "Achieving the MDGs in Africa", held in Abuja in 2005, which critically reviewed progress and obstacles encountered towards meeting the MDGs. We further recall the 2000 Millennium Declaration; the 2002 United Nations Conference on Financing for Development in Monterrey; the 2005 World Summit; the 2005 United Nations High-Level Dialogue on Financing for Development; the 2005 G8 Summit in Gleneagles; the 2006 African Ministers of Finance meeting in Nigeria; the 2006 African Plenary on Poverty Reduction Strategies held in Cairo; and the 2005 African Union (AU) Summit of Heads of State and Government in Sirte, Libya. In this context, we acknowledge that some progress has been made in implementing these commitments and urge that implementation be accelerated.
-
We reaffirm the importance of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) as the framework for Africa's development and support the decision made by the Summit of the NEPAD Heads of State and Government Implementation Committee in Algiers, Algeria, in March 2007 to establish a NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Authority and further support its subsequent integration into the AU structure. We commend the role of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in coordinating the efforts of United Nations agencies in support of the implementation of NEPAD and the revitalization of the cluster system.
-
We welcome ECA's support to African countries to track the progress in implementing the commitments emanating from regional and global conferences and summits, including the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) and the Brussels Programme of Action on the Least Developed Countries (LDCs). On the basis of the reports prepared by ECA, we note with concern that many African countries are not on track towards meeting the agreed goals and targets.
Sustaining high economic growth and achieving the MDGs
-
We note with satisfaction the strong overall growth performance in Africa, but remain concerned about the high within-region variation, the low impact on employment creation, and the fact that the majority of African countries are off-track to meeting the MDGs by 2015. As we approach the mid-point for the MDGs in 2007, our governments must act urgently to scale up public sector investments in infrastructure, agriculture, health and education, which are the foundation for private-sector-led growth. We urge our countries, in keeping with the commitment made in the Abuja Declaration on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and other related infectious diseases to allocate 15 per cent of their budgets to health. We note the efforts of our countries to increase domestic resource mobilization but recognize that closing the substantial funding gaps will necessitate external resources.
-
We reaffirm that efforts to end conflicts are necessary to accelerate progress towards achieving development across Africa. In this regard, we urge our governments to sustain and enhance security and stability across the continent in order to enable effective scaling-up of investments to achieve the MDGs. We commend the efforts of the AU in the promotion of peace, security and stability and call upon it to enhance its role in the exercise, particularly through its Peace and Security Council.
-
Recalling the solemn commitment made at the Millennium Summit to respect human rights and promote the rule of law, we consider that juridical safeguards, respect for human rights and enhancement of the foundations of the rule of law and democracy constitute a necessary and even obligatory environment for achieving the MDGs.
-
We further note with concern the effects of climate change across the continent. They increase our countries' vulnerability to natural disasters, threaten future economic growth and development, and pose a major challenge to reducing poverty in Africa. We note with appreciation the outcomes of the 12 th Conference of Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP12), held in November 2006 and the January 2007, AU Summit on the theme of science and technology and climate change.
-
We applaud the remarkable progress that some of our countries have made in raising agricultural productivity, increasing primary school enrolment, increasing access to water supply, controlling malaria, and other quick-impact initiatives. We also take note of the results achieved by the Millennium Villages to show how the MDGs can be achieved in poor communities. These successes demonstrate the feasibility of achieving the MDGs. They underscore that the Goals can be met if sound policies and practical strategies for scaling-up investments in agriculture, infrastructure, science and technology, gender equality, education, health, and other vital areas are backed-up with adequate financing.
Planning and framework for action
-
We reiterate our strong commitment to align our comprehensive national development strategies including the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) with the MDGs and other internationally agreed goals. We commend the strong partnership between ECA, the African Development Bank (AfDB), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in supporting the preparation and implementation of strategies to achieve the MDGs across Africa and their effective support for capacity building around MDG-based planning and scaling-up of investments. We also support the collaboration among ECA, AUC, AfDB and UNDP in monitoring and evaluating the attainment of the MDGs.
-
We also commend ECA, AUC, and the regional economic communities (RECs) for their support to Africa's regional integration and economic development. However, we note with concern the slow pace of implementing existing regional integration programmes in Africa and underscore the importance of scaling-up investments in Africa's regional infrastructure and other regional public goods to increase intra-African trade as an essential component for achieving higher growth, meeting the MDGs, and long-term development.
-
We are concerned by the wide disparity between the growing demand for high-quality statistics on the one hand and the weakness of statistical systems on the other. In particular, inadequate human and financial capacity, coupled with poor compliance with international standards, contribute to unsatisfactory data on the MDGs and other key socio-economic variables in most countries. In this context, we commend ECA for strengthening its focus on statistics and statistical capacity by setting-up the African Centre for Statistics (ACS) and note with satisfaction the tremendous progress made by member States in assembling data under the International Comparison Programme (ICP).
|
|
Related documents
- 37Kb < 1min (5 pages)
