Migiro: Africa's Anti-Poverty Goals in Peril
Africa’s efforts to meet the global anti-poverty targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/) by their 2015 deadline are threatened by the impact of the global financial crisis on the continent’s economies, said Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro.
“Despite some
notable achievements, progress is off track across the
continent,” she told the Regional Coordination Mechanism
(RCM) meeting in the Ethiopian capital, Addis
Ababa.
Ms. Migiro noted that between 2000 and 2008,
Africa achieved impressive economic growth that averaged
more than five per cent per year.
“But that good
news is in peril. The economic crisis, for which Africa
bears no responsibility, has drastically reversed recent
trends,” she said at the meeting, hosted by the Economic
Commission for Africa (http://www.uneca.org/).
She
noted that Africa’s growth for 2009 is projected to hit a
paltry 1.7 per cent. Many people are losing their jobs and
falling back into poverty.
“Progress towards the
Millennium Development Goals is likely to be adversely
affected. The food and energy crises, as well as climate
change, will also complicate our work.”
Ms. Migiro
urged the participants – who are examining how the various
United Nations departments, agencies and other components
work more effectively together – to implement the
recommendations issued in July 2008 by the MDG Africa
Steering Group.
Chaired by Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon, the Group called for a number of measures in such
areas as agriculture, education, health and infrastructure
to speed up Africa’s progress towards reaching the
Goals.
Regarding agriculture, the Group called for the
international community to mobilize over $750 million to
help the continent meet short-term needs that have arisen
due to soaring food prices. It also urged African
governments to work with global partners to launch a Green
Revolution on the continent.
Ms. Migiro also invited
participants to take part in the meeting planned for 23
November in New York of the MDG Africa Working Group to
identify areas where action should be
intensified.
Today’s gathering in Addis Ababa
follows a similar regional coordination meeting convened in
Beirut by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western
Asia (http://www.escwa.un.org/), which was also attended by
the Deputy
Secretary-General.
ENDS