Millennium Goals unlikely for Africa
Source: World Bank Press Review. Published on Wed, 2004-12-01 16:38
Sub-Saharan Africa is struggling to redress the extreme poverty plaguing the region, leaving little hope of reaching the millennium development goal (MDG) of halving world poverty by 2015, the South African Press Association reports. Southern African Development Community executive secretary Prega Ramsamy told journalists at the World Economic Forum Africa summit there had been few success stories in Africa. Hilde Frafjord Johnson, Norway's minister for international development, said corruption and mismanagement, HIV/Aids and conflicts were the "three cancers" undermining the millennium goals. She also suggested that rich nations should be watched to ensure they kept their promises of aid and other assistance to the poor. "It is not only about words, so on the MDGs the UNDP and the World Bank will work on monitoring each and every country's own progress in achieving the goals. "Now we are working on the donor side, on the rich country side... they are being analyzed, being looked over and being monitored on not only aid, but trade and other policies. "We can have a peer pressure mechanism also for the rich countries, and then, I think, it is more realistic to reach these goals." The developed nations would be embarrassed for not living up to their commitment, she said. United Nations Children's Fund director Carol Bellamy said the goals would never be achieved if countries continued with "business as usual". Source: World Bank Press Review, June 13, 2003 Tags: |