| UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER |
UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME INITIATES HIGH-LEVEL REVIEW OF AFRICA'S DEVELOPMENT NEEDS
New York, 1 February 1999 -- The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is undertaking a six-day review of Africa's development needs this week.
UNDP Resident Representatives in 45 African countries will gather in Cotonou, Benin from 1 - 6 to discuss development needs in Africa in the new millennium. The meeting will be led by UNDP Administrator James Gustave Speth and the Organization's new Associate Administrator Zéphirin Diabré.
Also participating, will be the President of Benin, the Prime Minister of Cote d'Ivoire, government ministers from several other African countries, representatives of United Nations agencies, and other development partners, including the European Union and the World Bank. The Organization of African Unity the Economic Commission for Africa and the African Development Bank will also be represented.
Ms. Thelma Awori, Director of the UNDP Bureau for Africa said the meeting marked a turning point, not only for Africa, but also for the rest of the world. "It will permit dialogue between Headquarters where policies are decided, and programme managers in the field who are in contact with the everyday realities of the populations served by UNDP," she said. "As we approach the new millennium, the bold economic policies which Africa has pursued for the past 10 years have helped to more clearly identify the problems that plague the continent's economies and continue to undermine its development efforts. Low incomes, high levels of current expenditure, the debt burden, budget deficits and inflation have been among the principal obstacles to development in Africa. In addition, however, a number of other situations constitute a drain on the continent's resources, most notably today's conflicts between Africans, which threaten the region's prospects for the future."
Next week's meeting will consider the need for structural reform of the role of the State in African economies. It will also discuss the role of the private sector in restoring the continent's growth.
UNDP and Africa's other partners will discuss ways of offering Africans economic security based on remunerative employment, health services that are accessible to all, greater environmental security through conservation of the natural habitat and greater personal security through an environment that is favourable to democracy and peace.
Africa has never been as close to economic growth and human development as it is today," said Ms. Awori. "Unfortunately, however, it is also true that it has never been so gripped by bloody conflicts. At the dawn of a new millennium, we face the challenge of ensuring human security in all its dimensions."
For further information please contact: New York: Sylvana Nzirorera: tel (212) 906-5746 or Obi Emekekwue: tel (212) 906-5322. After 30 January in Cotonou: Sylvana Nzirorera, Obi Emekekwue or Karim Okanla: tel (229) 31 30 45/46; fax (229) 31 56 87 or 31 39 94.
[ENDS]
Date: Wed, 03 Feb 1999 11:23:49 From: IRIN - West Africa <irin-wa@wa.ocha.unon.org> Subject: AFRICA: UNDP news release on development needs 1999.2.3
Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
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