ECA celebrated the UN day and its
60th Anniversary in a colorful manner. All agencies
representatives and invited guests as well as diplomatic corps and the
staff were present. A discussion was organized by the Commission on
the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The operation of the United Nations mission to Ethiopia and
Eritrea (UNMEE) was also the focus of the day. Both ECA and
UNMEE had produced publications which were distributed to
the participants.
Among the news contained in the UNMEE publication was the arrival of the new Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General (DSRSG), Ambassador Azouz Ennifar, from Tunisia, who took up his office in Addis Ababa recently. He was also among the guest speakers of the day. Other speakers included Ms. Elizabeth Lwanga, UNRC on behalf of the Secretary-General and a representative of the Ethiopian Government. The moderator of the discussion was Ambassador Peter Robel.
The ECA report on the MDGs covers the progress in achieving the different goals and objectives. It indicates that some countries might very well meet the goals by 2015 while most are lagging behind. The points highlighted in the discussions and also included in the publication were the following: (1) The MDGs provide Africa with new impetus to reverse deterioration in human development. (2) The MDGS are not ‘one size fits all’ across-the-board solutions for all countries and all development challenges. (3) Primary education is the first step in an individual development and (4) MDGs have provided a rallying point for partnership at all levels. The main conclusion reached was that, provided existing and potential resources are appropriately managed by governments, private sector, civil society and development partners, Africa could achieve most of the MDGs targets.
One therefore can generally conclude from the discussions held and the different publications presented to the participants, that the United Nations has celebrated its 60th anniversary in the African continent with mixed feelings of hope and anticipation. Hope because provided that required resources are made available both internally and externally the MDGs could be achieved if not fully at least mostly by many countries on target. Hopelessness creeps in however, because the continent since the declaration of the MDGs experienced reverse progress in some areas. In Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), the number of people living in extreme poverty (on US$1 a day or less) rose from 217 million in 1990 to 290 million in 2000 when the MDGs were adopted by member States. During the same period, adult life expectancy declined from a little over 50 years to 46 years. Based on the trends of the last 15 years, SSA will not achieve the MDGs on time.
Another important fact is that from what we see in the field, the MDG’s targets are not known by the majority of Africans at the grass roots level. It is discussed at the top level of the policy makers and their development partners. We have also witnessed that for the last 60 years, the top down approach to development has not succeeded in achieving development goals. The African population in spite of HIV/AIDS and other killing diseases is going to increase significantly in the very near future. Until such time that the African people are involved in the decision making process concerning their destiny, development and progress of the continent will remain an unattainable goal.
Source: ECA publication on
The Millennium Development Goals in Africa,
August 2005.
