Migiro calls for international cooperation to boost Africa’s development

United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro today urged all countries to come together in support of development initiatives for Africa.

“What is needed most now is to translate the current consensus on meeting the special needs of Africa into concrete and actionable sets of measures which would help transform people’s lives in the short and long term,” she said in an address to the 8th Regional Consultation Meeting of UN Agencies and Organizations working in Africa in support of the African Union and NEPAD, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, a strategic framework for the continent’s renewal adopted in 2001.

Appealing for a “positive spirit of inter-agency collaboration and partnership in support of the African Union and NEPAD,” she said all possible resources must be galvanized to support Africa’s development.

“When our many assets are brought into an integrated and more effective whole, the United Nations can better support post-conflict reconstruction efforts as well as the efforts of African States to achieve durable peace, sustainable development and human rights for all their people,” Ms. Migiro said.

She hailed the meeting’s theme – “Post-conflict reconstruction: UN coordination efforts in Southern Sudan, Burundi and Sierra Leone” – pointing out that rebuilding is key to stability.

“To prevent a relapse into conflict, it is crucial that the affected populations experience a real ‘peace dividend,’ that people’s living conditions be improved, that national capacities be strengthened at all levels,” she said.

Many African States have made good progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), she said, while cautioning that the continent is not on track to reach the anti-poverty targets, which were adopted at a 2000 summit with a completion date of 2015.

“Achieving the Goals requires a strengthened global partnership. It demands shared responsibility, including on the part of the United Nations system,” she said, calling for developed and developing countries alike to make good on their commitments.