Report of First Meeting of the Committee On Sustainable Development
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
25 - 29 January 1999
Table Of Contents
A. ATTENDANCE AND ORGANIZATION OF WORK
1. The first meeting of the Committee on Sustainable Development (CSD) was held at the Conference Centre, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 25 to 29 January 1999. The CSD was created by the Conference of African Ministers responsible for Economic and Social Development and Planning in 1996 Resolution No. 826 (XXXII) to serve as a technical and legislative body of experts that provides advise, and a platform for advocacy, critical analysis, and recommendations to the ECA in the interlinked areas of food security, population, and the environment. The meeting was formally opened by Mr K. Y. Amoako, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa. Mr Jemal Ali, Representative of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia also made a statement.
2. The meeting was attended by representatives of the following member States of the Commission: Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Côte D'Ivoire, Congo (Rep. Dem.), Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Madagascar, Malawi, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tomé and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, United Republic of Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
3. The following United Nations bodies and specialized agencies were represented: International Labour Organization (ILO), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
4. The Organization of African Unity (OAU) and the African Development Bank (ADB) were also represented.
5. Observers were present from the following intergovernmental organizations: Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Institut de Formation et de Recherche Démographiques (IFORD), Regional Institute for Population Studies (RIPS), Union for African Population Studies (UAPS), United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
6. The following ECA Sub-Regional Development Centers (SRDCs) were also represented: SRDC-NA (Tangiers, Morocco), SRDC-SA (Lusaka, Zambia), SRDC-WA (Niamey, Niger), SRDC-EA (Kigali, Rwanda) and SRDC-CA (Yaounde, Cameroon).
7. The Committee elected the following officers:
| Chairperson : | Tanzania |
| First Vice-Chairperson : | Côte d'Ivoire |
| Second Vice-Chairperson : | South Africa |
| Rapporteur : | Cameroon |
8. The Committee adopted the following agenda:
1. Opening ceremony
2. Organizational Matters
Election of Chairpersons and Rapporteur
Adoption of the Agenda and Programme of Work3. Session 1: Special Event: Focus on ICPD+5
General introduction on what the ICPD+5 process is, what has taken place globally and how the ICPD+5 Africa Review of September 1998 fits into all these activities;
Overview of the process used to prepare the Africa Review of ICPD+5 in the context of the ECA/OAU/ADB Follow-up Committee;
Reproductive health and reproductive rights;
Advocacy and IEC strategies;
Gender equality, empowerment of women and male involvement;
Family, youth and adolescents;
Role of NGOs and the private sector in programme implementation;
Institutional mechanisms for implementation, monitoring, evaluation and co-ordination;
Population and development strategy;
Recommendations for the way forward on population and development in Africa for the 21st Century;
General Discussions and recommendations.
4. Session 2 (i): Methods and Tools for the Analysis and Management of the Nexus
Presentation of the Population, Environmental Development and Agriculture (PEDA) model
General Discussions and recommendations
5. Session 2(ii): Presentations on Other Work Relating to Nexus Tools and Methods
African Demographic, Environment and Agricultural Indicators
Regional activities of the SRDCs
Concepts and Methods of SAERP/DARDIS as a sustainable rural development strategy in Africa
General Discussions and recommendations
6. Session 3: Population - Agriculture - Environment Inter-linkages
The food security and development situation in Africa: Building on the Synergies between Population, Environment and Agriculture
Background paper on food security, population and the environment in Africa
General Discussions and recommendations
7. Session 4(i): Review and Appraisal of the Implementation in Africa of Plans of Action of:
United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (Agenda 21);
Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II);
World Food Summit;
8. Session 4(ii):
Presentation and discussions of the Cape Town Declaration on African Process for the Development and Protection of the Coastal and Marine environment
General Discussions
Report on activities of FSSDD (1996-1998) and the approved work programme for 1999
General Discussions
9. Adoption of report of the meeting
10. Closure of the Meeting
9. In his opening statement, Mr K. Y. Amoako, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa, called attention to the fact that in the African context, sustainable development is intricately linked to the dynamics of population, environment and agricultural development. He recalled that in the past three decades, the majority of African countries have had high population growth rates that are not matched by adequate food availability. The rapidly growing population and the pattern of agriculture production has contributed to the depletion of forests, erosion in soil fertility, and the decline in per capita food production. He called the attention of the meeting to the fact that between 1986 and 1997 food production per capita declined by about 8 percent and agricultural land per capita decreased by about 25 percent. Reversal of these trends constitutes a major challenge.
10. The Executive Secretary reminded the participants that many of these issues have been discussed in a number of international fora and that the central message that can be drawn from all these discussions is that public policies matter. Sustaining development in Africa requires advancements on several fronts: harmonization of population growth with the level of food production; sustained increases in agricultural productivity; better stewardship of the environment; better and equitable use of water; and utilization of science and technology as the foundation for productivity increases and international competitiveness.
11. The Executive Secretary noted that attaining slower and stable rates of population growth depends on policy actions and programmes that can facilitate the transition from high to low population growth rates; from low to high productivity agriculture; and from environmental degradation to better stewardship of the environment. There is a need to mainstream and integrate population, environment and agriculture concerns into national development plans and poverty alleviation frameworks and there is a need for a true partnership between all stakeholders.
12. The Executive Secretary also noted that ECA's programme focus in this area is to promote food security and sustainable development through: planning and implementing activities to raise policy-makers' awareness of the urgency of food, population and environmental concerns in development planning; encouraging member countries to fully develop and utilize science and technology in addressing the nexus issues; and providing policy analysis and disseminating best practices through workshops, training seminars, and technical advisory services.
13. He informed the participants that the last year has seen considerable efforts by the staff of the ECA to enhance knowledge of the complex issues involved in the nexus. These efforts were extended beyond the ECA to involve other stakeholders outside the ECA so as to ensure excellence and relevance, which is demonstrated by the High Level Panel of Experts who spent two days last December trying to evolve a continent-wide perspective on the key issues. He called on the CSD to build upon some of the work of that Panel.
14. In closing, the Executive Secretary emphasized the fact that the ECA considers the Committee on Sustainable Development as a precious resource and that he looked forward to benefiting from the outcome of its deliberations.
15. In his opening remarks, the representative of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia welcomed the participants to the meeting whose task is to find ways to grapple with the delicate balance between population growth, agricultural performance and environmental degradation in Africa. He called on the Committee to come up with a better understanding of the challenges facing the continent in addressing the problems of poverty, food insecurity and malnutrition.
16. The representative of Ethiopia informed the meeting that he was pleased with the focus of the ECA on the interrelated areas of population, food security and the environment. In Ethiopia as in many other countries, the key links are found in the traditional crop and livestock production practices, land tenure systems, women's responsibilities and methods of forest resource utilization. The traditional food insecure areas of Ethiopia are in the highlands which contain the highest concentrations of population, and where there exists scarcity of good quality farm land, severe land degradation and very few employment opportunities outside of agriculture. Farmers, who are in most cases resource-constrained, tend to over-exploit the renewable natural resources at their disposal to meet their basic daily food needs. The result has been soil erosion and deforestation in many areas.
17. The representative pointed out that Ethiopia recognizes the need for sustainable agricultural development and the protection and conservation of the nation's natural resources and is aware of the implication of these developments for the food security situation of the country. As a result of this awareness, a number of institutions have been charged with the responsibility of addressing the problems involved and some of these are collaborating with the ECA in a number of areas. He said that the deliberations of the Committee were of considerable interest to the Government of Ethiopia and to the institutions involved.
18. The representative regretted that African agencies and institutions dealing with the problems of food insecurity and sustainable development usually focus on different aspects of the problem preferring to work with the specific technical and academic disciplines of direct relevance to them. He drew attention to the emerging consensus on the urgent need to tackle the interlinked issues of population, environment and food security in a holistic and integrated way. He pointed to the fact that many African governments and their partners now believe that this is the most effective way of alleviating food insecurity and ensuring sustained and sustainable economic growth. He hoped that this consensus will lead to more cross-sectoral analysis and the development of strategies, programmes and actions which address the linkages and synergies among the different sectors involved.
19. In concluding, the representative of Ethiopia expressed his satisfaction over the fact that the ECA is in the forefront of efforts to increase the appreciation by African Governments of the critical linkages between population, food security and the environment. He said that he looked forward to specific recommendations on how Africa should go about addressing these critical linkages.
Discussion during the Special Session (Focus on the international Conference on Population and Development. Five year after the 1994 Conference (ICPD+5)
Overview of the Process Used in Reviewing Africa's Implementation of ICPD+5
20. The Committee had before it a document titled "Implementation of the Dakar/Ngor Declaration and the Programme of Action of the International Conference on population and Development: An Assessment of the African Experience" (FSSDD/ICPD/FC.3/98/51). The presentations were made by a secretariat team comprising UNFPA/CST-Addis Ababa, UNFPA Office in Ethiopia and staff of FSSDD. The presentations and discussions were coordinated by Ms. Were, the Director of the UNFPA/CST.
21. The meeting noted that a special session of the 54th General Assembly will take place from 30 June to 2 July 1999 to review the extent to which member States of the UN family have implemented the Plan of Action resulting from ICPD (ICPD-PA). The Executive Director of the UNFPA, who was the Secretary General of the Conference will present a report to this special Session of the General Assembly. To prepare this report, the UNFPA has worked closely with regional organizations in order to have their input into the report. In addition, Expert Round Tables and Special Events have been organized by different groups on specific topics. These reviews and events will culminate at an international forum in the Hague, Netherlands, scheduled for 8 - 12 February 1999 during which country level operational and programming experiences in the implementation of ICPD-PA will be synthesized.
22. The Africa region's contribution was coordinated by the Joint ECA/OAU/ADB Secretariat in liaison with the UNFPA and the various UN Regional Demographic Training and Research Institutes. A draft report of Africa's experiences in the implementation of the Dakar-NGOR Declaration (DND) and the ICPD-PA was submitted to the Third Follow-up Committee (FUC) that met in Addis Ababa from 23 to 25 September 1998 for its review and recommendations. Since representation at the FUC was limited to selected African Governments as established by the Third African Population Conference (1992), the revised draft report that was adopted by the FUC is being submitted to this first meeting of ECA's Committee on Sustainable Development, in which all African Governments are represented, for its consideration and ratification before it is submitted to the International Forum at the Hague as Africa's input into the ICPD+5 review process.
23. The report which has been prepared in the context of the 5-year review and appraisal of the implementation of the ICPD-PA as mandated by UN General Assembly Resolution 52/188 of 18th December 1997, is based on information from a number of sources including: an analysis of a country questionnaire for assessing national implementation of the DND and the ICPD-PA that was sent to ECA member States; the report of two field missions to 12 ECA member Sates to identify achievements and constraints associated with their efforts to implement the Plan of Action and the outcomes of a number of regional and sub-regional seminars and workshops which were organized in 1997 and 1998.
24. The report assesses the extent to which ECA member States have utilized the ICPD-PA in the formulation and implementation of their National Population Programmes (NPPs). The main themes of the report are that: the ICPD-PA marks a turning point in population policy development as an integral part of overall national development planning by ECA member States; major changes are taking place in the ways in which population policies are being developed particularly with respect to the reformulation and/or reorientation of such policies to include more sustainable development considerations; and the level of awareness and the recognition of the complex interrelationships between population, development, gender equity and environment has grown considerably particularly among central level policy makers.
African Experiences with the Implementation of the Recommendation of the DND and ICPD-PA
25. The presentations focused on reporting Africa's experiences with the implementation of the recommendations of the DND and the ICPD-PA. The discussions focused on a number of areas including: reproductive health and reproductive rights; gender equality, empowerment of women and male involvement; family, youth and adolescents; advocacy and IEC strategies; population and development strategies; NGOs, civil society and the private sector; and institutional mechanisms for coordination, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
Reproductive health and reproductive rights
26. The Committee noted that the International Conference on Population and Development is very significant in the sense that it introduces a new population and development paradigm that reaffirms the intricate linkages between population and development. In addition and more importantly, a consensus was reached by the 179 participating countries regarding the fact that population issues are not just about numbers and rates of growth of numbers, but also about meeting the needs of individual women and men and the promotion of human rights. Since every human being has a reproductive system, the ICPD called upon all countries to facilitate the improvement of the physical, mental and social well-being of all individuals in all matters relating to the reproductive system and to all its functions and processes. There was also agreement that reproductive health services should be provided in a comprehensive and integrated manner.
27. A number of achievements and best practices by African countries in the implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action in the area of reproductive health and reproductive rights were noted by the Committee including the fact that: a number of countries have been able to formulate reproductive health policies and standards as well as service-delivery protocols, and have started providing integrated services; the delivery of family planning services by community-based distribution channels has increased in a number of countries; fertility decline has been recorded in countries such as Kenya, Nigeria and Senegal; efforts have been made to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS especially in Uganda; and RH information and services have been expanded to meet the needs of adolescents, internally displaced people and refugees. Furthermore, laws have been enacted in countries such as Senegal, Uganda and Ghana to eliminate female genital mutilation and other harmful practices against women and the girl-child.
28. A number of constraints were also identified including: the compartmentalization of reproductive health services in many countries; non-functional referral systems; non-involvement of males in reproductive health activities; financial and human resources constraints as well as cultural inhibitions to the provision of services; concentration of services in urban areas; continuing unmet needs in the provision of services for adolescents and the disabled; and continuing civil strive and social unrest in many areas which impede the delivery and expansion of services.
Gender equality, empowerment of women and male involvement
29. The Committee identified the key achievements and best practices regarding gender equality and equity, empowerment of women, and male involvement. These included: ratification and implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW); increased opportunities for female employment; improved access to development resources; enactment of laws to abolish gender discrimination; establishment of institutional mechanisms to address gender issues; increased participation of women in decision-making; establishment of training centers; emergence of a prominent role and leadership of First Ladies; recognition of the economic contribution of women's work; establishment of female-friendly banks; establishment of programmes to improve girls' education; availability of gender sensitive data; formation of organized women's groups; and introduction of quotas for women in parliament; establishment of gender development centers; development of policies and action plans on gender equity and women empowerment; establishment of Gender Focal Points; provision of credit and technical advice to female entrepreneurs; promotion of female participation in the labor force; and increased recognition that men's participation is critical for the attainment of gender equality.
30. The constraints identified were: perpetuation of traditional stereotypes to justify gender division of labor; ad hoc development of gender programmes; difficulties in changing gender attitudes and behavior; unequal educational opportunities for men and women; lack of specialized gender experts; ineffective advocacy strategy for promoting women's rights; lack of clear guidelines for mainstreaming gender into population policies and programmes; inadequate staff in Departments and Ministries dealing with women's concerns; and lack of gender analysis skill.
Family, youth and adolescents
31. On the achievements and best practices relating to family, youth and adolescents, the Committee observed that African families have not received adequate attention although measures taken in Reproductive Health, gender and some other programme components have had some positive impact on them, such as the promotion of equal opportunities and protection of the girl-child. Legal measures have, however, been taken in a number of countries to increase the age of consent for sexual intercourse and the minimum age of marriage. A number of progressive legislative and policy measures relating to adolescents have also been instituted in sectoral programmes in virtually all member States. These include: allowing re-entry into schools by drop-outs due to premarital pregnancy; in and out-of-school provision of IEC and Reproductive and Sexual Health (RH/SH) services; and special scholarships to encourage girls to take science subjects.
32. The Committee was informed that, social and financial barriers to implementing innovative programmes continue to pose a major obstacle throughout Africa. While the need for conducting socio-cultural research on entrenched values and practices among different segments of the population is much talked about, there is little concerted effort in this direction.
Advocacy and Information, Education and Communication (IEC) strategies
33. The Committee was informed that the purpose of advocacy is to promote or reinforce a change in policy, programme or legislation. Advocacy also aims at winning support from others i.e. creating a supportive environment. The goal of IEC is to change knowledge base, attitudes, beliefs, values, behavior or norms within individuals or groups of individuals. Advocacy relies heavily on IEC strategies to accomplish its purpose and therefore the two work in concert.
34. The Committee noted that most member States have recognized the need to formulate and implement advocacy strategies. While some of them have developed IEC and advocacy strategies as one package, others have developed separate strategies for both. Those that have not developed any strategy are, nonetheless, implementing advocacy strategies within sectoral programmes through the creation of multi-sectoral coalitions, networks, alliances, and consortia. Some countries such as Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia have set up institutional structures for the design, implementation and co-ordination of advocacy and IEC programmes.
35. A number of constraints that should be addressed were identified. These include non participation of some stakeholders in advocacy activities, lack of well coordinated institutional mechanisms, non-involvement of beneficiaries and private sector in advocacy programmes, prohibitive cost of media production, inadequate dissemination of materials to stakeholders and partners and absence of socio-cultural research-based information.
Population and development strategies
36. The Committee reviewed the experiences of member States in their efforts to implement population and development strategies and highlighted the achievements and constraints.
37. With respect to achievements, the Committee was informed that in the new population policy environment, emphasis is increasingly being placed on sustainability consistent with the new holistic approach being advocated by the UN in all its conferences since the early 1990s. In this regard, most member states are: reorienting their population policy objectives and implementation strategies; getting men more actively involved in planning and implementing population activities; emphasizing the interrelationships between population, social and health dimensions and well-being; increasing the training of relevant staff mostly from Central Statistical Offices (CSOs) and Population Planning Units (PPUs); and establishing inter-ministerial bodies to monitor, coordinate and evaluate the implementation of National Population rogrammes (NPPs).
38. The constraints identified by the secretariat included: insufficient consultations with all stakeholders; the lack of clearly defined implementation strategies; the inadequate integration of population factors in the development planning process (IPDP) including inadequate emphasis on decentralized structures needed for such integration; political instability and the consequence of adjustment programmes with their concomitant effects on long term perspectives planning, which is a key prerequisite for the IPDP process.
NGOs, civil society and private sector
39. With respect to Africa's experiences in this area the Committee noted the importance of the involvement of NGOs, civil society and private sector in the implementation of population and development programmes. The justification for enhancing such involvement was because NGOs, civil society and the private sector were more participatory in their orientation and they usually pursued a bottom up development approach. There now exists a wide range of links between governments, NGOs, private sector and civil society in many member States who are increasingly being involved in discussions and decision-making related to population and other development issues. Governments are also increasingly willing to take actions related to concerns expressed by these entities.
40. However many constraints that have minimized the contribution of NGOs, civil society and private sector to the implementation of DND and the ICPD-PA were noted. These include lack of clarity in management structure; small scale intervention of African NGOs; lack of professional skill in project planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation; limited expansion of the roles and activities of the private sector due to uncertain and complex legal, fiscal and regulatory frameworks; diversity and complexity of civil society; absence of coordination of efforts by the different components of the civil society in their endeavor towards poverty reduction, women empowerment, protection of human rights.
Institutional mechanisms for coordination, implementation, monitoring and evaluation
41. A number of institutional mechanisms for implementing, monitoring, evaluating and coordinating ICPD activities were examined. Many member States have made efforts to put in place this mechanisms. For example, many member States have either established or designated National Population Commissions and/or inter-ministerial bodies to oversee and monitor implementation of the ICPD-PA. Training have been extended from Central Statistics Offices and Population Units to Sectoral Ministries Planning Units. Regional research and training institutes have revised their training and research curricula to respond adequately to emerging needs of member States.
42. However, a number of constraints still persist including: political instability, difficulties in decentralizing and coordinating the implementation of the National Population Programmes; problems with ensuring coordination and operational linkages; and difficulties in improving the quality of census and survey data, creating a national population database, launching relevant research to accommodate emerging needs.
Recommendation for the Way Forward on Population and Development in Africa during the 21st Century
43. A number of recommendations on what to do in the future with respect to the implementation of DND and ICPD-PA were made. The Committee was informed that these recommendations originated from the outcome of the Third meeting of the Follow-up Committee of the DND and the ICPD-PA, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 23 - 25 September 1998, which reviewed progress so far made in the African region.
General Discussions and Recommendations
44. In the ensuing discussion, the Committee congratulated the Secretariat for bringing together experts in the three inter-linked areas of Population, agriculture and environment to deliberate on experiences of member States in their efforts to implement the recommendations of the DND and the ICPD-PA. It hoped that by the end of deliberations, there would be a common understanding of what has gone on five years after the programme was put in place.
45. The Committee then made a number of observations with regards the presentation.
46. With respect to the process used to carry out Africa's Review of ICPD +5, the Committee observed that, given the diversity of situations in African countries, the results presented could be biased and country specific and that the achievements and constraints recorded may not reflect a regional picture. The Committee then suggested that the adoption of either sub-regional or culture specific grouping to describe different realities could be more useful.
47. On the issue of Reproductive Health and Reproductive Rights, the Committee pointed to the low documentation on the problems and issues surrounding HIV/AIDs, noting that even though this issue was not the subject of discussion during the DND conference, the seriousness of the associated problems could no longer be ignored when analyzing Africa's population problems. In this regard, the Committee wondered whether the secretariat had in fact factored in the problem of de-population in Africa due to HIV/AIDS in its analysis.
48. Regarding gender equality, empowerment of women and male involvement, the Committee noted a lack of clear definition of what constituted gender statistics and wondered whether measures were being taken to train personnel in compiling gender statistics. The Committee observed that the problems of the boy-child, and male involvement were often ignored and suggested that the goal of gender balance could be difficult if both women and men are not treated in a balanced way. Citing a number of examples of boy children who forego education in pursuit of various income generating activities including fishing, herding, hunting as well as boy soldiers, the Committee observed that such activities deprived the boy child from being empowered and becoming responsible family members.
49. Regarding family, youth and adolescents, the Committee noted the centrality of achieving family values as a basis for development. It, however, pointed to the extreme poverty which faces many families in Africa and which is making the achievement of reproductive health and reproductive rights difficult. The Committee called for women and adolescents to be provided with income-generating opportunities so that they can cope with poverty and hence be empowered to address issues of RH/SH. The programmes should promote bridging the communication barriers between parents and children on one hand, and between spouses on the other. The programmes should also strive to be multi-sectoral and involve all the relevant agencies. The Committee observed that many of the programmes often neglect special population groups such as forest, fishing and nomadic communities and that efforts should be made to mainstream them in RH and other social services, possibly through special programmes that take into account their marginalized circumstances.
50. The Committee appealed to UNFPA to direct its activities towards the African family and, in particular, to ensure that women and adolescents have income- generating activities and access to credit.
51. Regarding advocacy and IEC strategies, the Committee observed that the information provided in the report did not adequately reflect what had been done on IEC activities in member States. It raised two issues to buttress its argument here: Population and Family Life Education (POP/FLE) and sex education were not included in the main document as one of the post ICPD successes; and civil society are being more effectively involved in advocacy activities. The Committee suggested that since many countries such as Ethiopia and Tanzania have revised their school curricula to integrate POP/FLE, it is important that information about these activities be included in the revised documents by the Secretariat. Similarly, examples of civil society involvement in advocacy activities, such as the eradication of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in Kapchorwa district of Uganda, and the banning of the practice of sacrificing girls to religious shrines in Ghana, should also be mentioned in the revised document of the secretariat.
52. On the issue of population and development strategies, the Committee observed that there appears to have been no headway made on integration of population variables in development plans by member States. It observed that the secretariat did not make specific suggestions on how to overcome the difficulties of member countries that were presently facing in their efforts to integrate population variables, especially under conditions of short-term economic management, into long-term planning and called for practical remedies.
53. With respect to NGOs, civil society and private sector, the Committee suggested that meetings like this meeting of the CSD should seek the active participation of NGOs, civil society and the private sector. It then called for the participation of Civil Society in the next CSD meeting and suggested that even if NGOs and Civil Society were unable to attend these conferences, they should, at least, be consulted by Government participants in their home countries. Concerning the problems associated with the activities of NGOs in member Countries which are not in line with the development objectives of the countries involved, the Committee noted the need for recipient governments to insist on activities falling in their area of priority.
54. In discussing the problems of institutional mechanisms for coordination, monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of population programmes and activities, the issue of decentralization without appropriate capacity-building in human resources at both the national and sub-national levels was raised. It was observed that there was inadequate number of technically qualified personnel at all levels and the Committee called for both short-term and long-term training programmes for training such personnel. It also suggested that a variety of approaches, including advocacy/IEC, should be utilized to sensitize/train local leaders to better appreciate population issues and to know how to work and collaborate with population experts to meet their local population needs.
55. On the question of what kind of mechanisms should be used in consulting and working with NGOs, the civil society and the private sector, the committee suggested that when well organized and operational and institutional mechanisms are set up at all levels, it will become easier to work with all stakeholders including those from NGOs, civil society and private sector to implement population programmes.
56. During the discussions that followed the presentation of the recommendations for the way forward as adopted by the Third Follow-up Committee Meeting, the Committee suggested that, given the importance of the interrelations between population and environment, as highlighted in different regional and global conferences, the report should have contained recommendations on the key population-environment relationships in Africa. It suggested that to be precise the title of the document should be changed to read `Recommendations for the Beginning of the 21st Century'. However, the time frame for the implementation of the recommendations should be those indicated in DND and ICPD-PA. The Committee suggested that the issue of conflicts and political instability in the Continent should be given more prominence in the recommendations and that the report should also give more attention to the issue of aged in the population of African countries.
57. The Committee observed that the recommendations appear to be too many and this could jeopardize the prospects for implementing, monitoring and evaluating the DND and ICPD-PA. It then called for the recommendations to be reduced and focused only on those which were highly relevant.
58. The Committee noted explanations provided by Secretariat on the various observations and comments made. It first noted the clarifications provided by the Secretariat on the methodology used and took note of its responses to the issues raised.
59. On the issue of poor documentation of certain areas including HIV/AIDs, the Secretariat acknowledged the problem and informed the Committee that the UN Population Division in New York in collaboration with the UNFPA has taken HIV/AIDS into account in preparing the 1998 Population Project.
60. The Committee further noted that efforts were being made to improve the interpretation of gender desegregated data to ensure its responsiveness. In this regard, initiatives are being taken to provide training by the Statistics Division in New York. Concerning the issue of poverty, the Secretariat acknowledged the need for a multi-disciplinary and a multi-sectoral approach and informed the committee that all of its work is being reoriented in this direction.
61. The Committee took also note of the response of the secretariat to the effect that it had carried out considerable work in preparing manuals, guidelines and papers on how member countries should go about integrating of population variables into development planning. This it had done in collaboration with other partners and institutions. In some cases national workshops were conducted. Documentation could be obtained from the secretariat on work that has been done in the past in this area.
62. The Secretariat accepted that issues concerning population-environment relationships in Africa were of great interest and should be emphasized in the work and reports of the secretariat. It called upon the CSD to propose areas that should form part of future activities of the ECA in the area of sustainable development, including the agenda for the next meeting. It acknowledged the need to be more explicit on the issue of conflicts in general. Concerning the large number of recommendations, it suggested that this may reflect the great concerns and changes facing member States. It, however, suggested that each country will eventually have to select those recommendations that it considers as most useful for their situations.
63. The Committee adopted (with amendments) the report entitled "Implementation of the Dakar/NGOR Declaration and the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development an Assessment of the Experience"
Special Brainstorming and Consultation Session
64. At the request of some participants the Committee held a special session on the mandate, objectives, terms of reference, institutional arrangements, modalities of work, periodicity of meetings, the composition and attributes of the Bureau, funding of participation, relationships with other Committees and Bodies, and other matters related to the raison d'être of the Committee. A number of questions were directed to the secretariat concerning these issues.
65. The participants expressed their views on how the issues under consideration could be resolved. It then set up a sub-Committee comprising of Egypt (as chair), Uganda, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Côte d'Ivoire and Cameroon to be assisted by members of the joint ECA/OAU/ADB secretariat to address the issues raised and report back to the Committee.
66. The Meeting was informed that the CSD was created by the Conference of Ministers of the ECA - that is the African Ministers responsible for Planning and Economic and Social Development in 1996 by its Resolution No. 826 (XXXII) - and that it was up to the members of the Committee to decide how to operationalize its terms of reference as expressly agreed upon by the Conference of Ministers. The ECA secretariat is organizing this first meeting of the Committee as directed by the Conference of Ministers and the agenda it proposed for the meeting is in line with the guidelines provided by the Conference of Ministers.
67. It was recalled that the institutional context in which the CSD was created was influenced by the reform and restructuring process that was started by the Commission in 1996. This process put in place coordination mechanisms, including the joint ECA/OAU/ADB Secretariat, to ensure that the work and activities of the Commission were not duplicated and did not overlap with those of other partner organizations.
68. In response to the remarks of some members that invitations to CSD was not received by some members, and some got invitation letters late, or without the aide memoire which accompanied the invitations the Director of the Division of Food Security and Sustainable Development (FSSDD) that is hosting the meeting provided a detailed account of all the communications that were sent to: the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and other relevant Ministries, UNDP Offices, UNFPA Offices, relevant Intergovernmental Institutions and Embassies in Addis Ababa. The Director then called for suggestions as to how to move forward and expressed the willingness of the Secretariat to fully assist the CSD in all its work
Methods and Tools for the Analysis and Management of the Nexus
69. In her presentation during this session, the Chief of the Food Security and Sustainable Development Division first recalled some important trends in the areas of population, food production and the environment that interact in vital ways to threaten sustainable development. The Committee was then informed that the creation of the Division was prompted by a need to address this threat. The mission of the Division, therefore, is to address these strong interrelationships and the approach it follows is through advocacy and the creation of awareness among high level policy-makers in Africa. To this effect, the Division is spearheading the development of a powerful quantitative tool which it calls the Population, Environment, Development and Agriculture (PEDA) model.
70. The PEDA model is an interactive computer model demonstrating the long-term impacts of alternative national policies on the food security of the population. It is a population-based model that distinguishes between eight different sub-groups in the population based on three important individual characteristics: urban/rural place of residence, literacy status and food security status. The age and sex-distribution of the population is also considered within each of the sub-groups. These sub-groups also have different fertility and mortality levels.
71. PEDA projects these 8 sub-populations into the future. The main purpose is to study whether the proportion of the food-insecure population increases or decreases over time. This is done with the aid of multi-state population projection methods. The movements between the food-secure and the food-insecure groups are determined by food production and food distribution functions. This results in 8 sub-populations projected independently. Assumptions are made for each of the sub-populations regarding: levels of age-specific fertility rates summarized in the TFR; levels of age-specific mortality rates for men and women summarized in life expectancy at birth; age- and sex-specific educational transition rates; and age- and sex-specific transition rates from rural to urban areas. The model carries out simultaneous projections of all 8 sub-populations, making it one of the most powerful in the market. Its strength lies on its ability in projecting future human capital by education, place of residence and even food security status. Food security status is not a scenario variable but determined by food availability and distribution.
72. Land as a factor of production is treated in the model as an index that combines both quantity and quality as compared to the conditions in the starting year. This index can be changed by two forces: first, by the logic of the vicious cycle model in PEDA which is that an increase in the size of the food-insecure, illiterate, rural population drives land degradation. The user can also apply a land degradation impact factor to scale this effect to specific conditions; and second, by a scenario variable called new land that can cover the impact of clearing of additional agricultural land or natural land recovery (if greater than 1.0) or other negative impacts (if smaller than 1.0). The land index combines these effects and describes the net effect of changes in land quantity and quality on agricultural production. Water is also treated in index form giving the combined net effect of two aspects: total water availability as a possible limiting factor and irrigation as a production enhancing factor. In PEDA, the water factor is applied as an enhancing or diminishing factor applied to the total output. It can cover improvements due to irrigation (if greater than 1.0) or water shortages due to periodic droughts or even climate change (if less than 1.0). The possible impacts of food loss, food imports and food exports are considered as an exogenous set of scenario variables. The total amount of available food is assumed to be distributed proportionally to urban and rural areas. However, an urban bias factor can also be specified as a model parameter. Within the urban and rural areas, food is distributed according to a non-linear distribution function, i.e. some people get more than the average and others get below the average.
73. The Committee was informed that at this stage only a prototype of PEDA has been developed. For demonstration purposes, preliminary data for 3 countries have been installed based on internationally available data sources and a huge number of tentative estimations. As an illustration, the results of the model as applied to Burkina Faso were presented to the participants.
74. During the ensuing discussions, the participants thanked the ECA for its attempt to tackle the complex factors affecting food security in Africa. The Committee pointed out that a model can not be perfect and is incapable of faithfully considering all relevant variables. A number of questions relating to what the model can or cannot do were posed: Is it flexible enough to accommodate other assumptions; has it been validated, is it available, what is the nature of the relationships included in it , what is the interdependence between its variables and, is it dynamic enough? The presenter responded to the questions and highlighted the fact that the model should be considered as a development tool to sensitize African policy makers to the numerous interrelationships and synergies involving policy options impacting on food security and sustainable development. ECA's plan is to see the application of the model in every member State . To this effect, the Commission proposes to organize a training seminar on PEDA in June 1999.
75. In conclusion, the chairperson of the session observed that the model had raised a lot of interest and that it should be made available over the Internet so that member States can have easier access to it and eventually customize it for their own need.
Second Plenary Session (continued)
Presentations on Other Work on Nexus Tools and Methods
76. Under this agenda item the Committee considered Documents ECA/FSSD/CSD/99/2 and ECA/FSSD/CSD/99/4. ECA's Sub-regional Development Centres also made brief presentations to the Committee on their regional activities involving the nexus issues.
African Demographic, Environmental and Agricultural Indictors.
77. The representative of the secretariat focused his presentation on the goal constraints and possibilities for extension of the work on demographic, environmental and agricultural indicators in the future. He informed the meeting that the aim of the Division in carrying out this work was to gather, for all ECA member States, and in an easily accessible and surveyable way, data that come under its mandate. Hence, the publication under consideration contained data on population, agricultural, and environmental issues.
78. The attention of the Committee was drawn to the data sources used in the analysis. Among the most important sources were the United Nations Statistical Division (UNSD); the United Nations Population Division (UNPD); the World Health Organisation (WHO); United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO); the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO); the United Nations Environmental programme (UNEP); the World Resources Institute (WRI); the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Bank (BIRD).
79. The Secretariat informed the Committee that the data on the environment were, in spite of all efforts, often incomplete and of doubtful quality. This is one of the areas of data collection where there is still a lot of work to be done. It hoped that future versions of the document would contain more comprehensive data on the environment. Other suggested additions to future versions of the indicators included: some graphics and illustrations representing the major tendencies in the areas covered; one or more indicators on the food security status of the African population; projections of the proportion of the population that is food secure and food insecure in conjunction with the PEDA-model; and one or two examples of the necessary data sets to run simulations with the PEDA model.
80. The Committee was informed hat the aim of the Division was to make the publication under consideration a quantitative reference for all those involved in nexus related policies and in the monitoring of developments in the areas of population, agriculture and the environment.
Activities of the SRDC-North Africa on Nexus Issues
81. The representative of the SRDC-NA informed the Committee that the North Africa Sub-regional Development Centre has been promoting the nexus concept through its activities in the areas of: water management; environmental preservation; food production and security; fisheries and irrigation technologies; land and soil management; sound population policies; and the rational application of science and technology to ensure sustainable development and avert man-made catastrophies. The Committee was informed that the SRDC-NA had organised a high level sub-regional seminar on the nexus issues as a way of alerting its member States on the need to adopt appropriate policy frameworks that will ensure sustainable development.
The Committee was informed that during the fourteenth meeting of its Intergovernmental Committee of Experts held in June 1998, the Centre devoted two days to the issues of the nexus and presented a series of papers. These papers have now been published in a book entitled, `The Nexus of Food Security, Population and Environment in North Africa.' The papers which were prepared by consultants and members of the SRDC staff, were fully discussed at the seminar. The comments and suggestions were incorporated in the final versions published. The main outcome of the seminar was the proposed `Sub-Regional Policy Framework', which has been presented to the committee as a background document.
82. The representative of the SRDC-NA also informed the committee that the centre is seeking financial support to organise a `Sub-Regional Seminar on Irrigation'. The government of Egypt has agreed to cover the local expenses for the meeting but additional funding is being sought for the travel expenses of the participants. The meeting will analyse policies, strategies and technologies being utilised to promote appropriate irrigation in the member states of the region with a view to increasing food production while ensuring sustainable development. The use of drip and micro-irrigation technologies will be emphasized at the seminar.
83. The Committee was also informed that the centre , in collaboration with the FAO, is also preparing a study on `Non-Wood Forest Products for Food Security. This study will be a substantive input to the meeting of the Fifteenth Intergovernmental Committee of Experts.
Activities of the SRDC-South Africa
84. The representative of the southern African SRDC outlined the goals of his Centre as including the following: the promotion of regional co-operation and integration in Southern Africa through the provision of effective technical support to regional economic communities (REC's) and mechanisms for regional co-operation and integration; the facilitation of networking and information exchange among the public sector, civil society and the private sector; providing advisory services to member States in the sub-region; collaborating closely with the United Nations Resident Co-ordinator system; and performing an effective outreach function for the ECA-headquarters. The representative further highlighted the major activities of the SRDC-SA for the 1997-98 biennium and expected future activities.
85. The Committee noted that the Centre organized a Symposium on `Food Security - Recipe for Survival' in Pretoria, in March 1997 that provided a forum for the main stakeholders to discuss and address critical issues of food security in Eastern and Southern Africa and formulate relevant strategies and policies. The High Level Policy Seminar on Gender Equity, Social and Economic Empowerment of Women which took place in Lusaka; in April 1998, also provided a forum for policy makers and the main stakeholders to discuss gender equity and social and economic empowerment of women under the theme of `Women's Access to, and Control of Productive Resources.' In addition, the seminar sought to build alliances and partnerships and establish a gender network among national institutions responsible for gender issues. An Ad-Hoc Expert Group Meeting on Managing the Nexus Issues of Population, Food Security and Environment also took place in Lusaka in September 1998. The objective was to formulate a regional policy framework to assist member states to integrate population, food security and environmental issues in their overall national development strategies and programmes. The SRDC-SA further participated in a number of nexus-related activities in the framework of the United Nations Resident Co-ordinator System, as well as in a number of other activities which have been summarized in the background document that was presented to the Committee.
86. The Committee felt that the SRDC-SA should continue to assist member states in the implementation of the Regional Policy Frameworks on the Nexus issues and support the work of the secretariat on the PEDA model in its region. The centre also continue to work on the follow-up of the implementation of the DND, ICPD-PA and the World Food Summit.
87. Finally, the representative of the SRDC-SA reviewed related activities in the sub-region, particularly those by the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC). These are also summarised in the paper that was presented to the committee as a background document.
Concepts and Methods of SAERP/DARDIS as a sustainable rural development strategy in Africa
88. The Committee examined the SAERP/DARDIS programme (ECA's field programme in sustainable food security) and noted its structure as one designed to rehabilitate and develop African Agriculture using the rural people as the main actors.
89. The SAERP (Sustainable Agriculture and Environmental Rehabilitation Programme) addresses issues of development in the arid and semi-arid areas of Africa. Its primary focus is on developing and intensifying the use of water resources, using water conservation methods, building river diversions and water harvesting schemes to overcome moisture scarcity in African agriculture. It was noted that over 45 per cent of Africa's rural population earn their living in the arid and semi-arid lands of Africa. These areas have remained without effective policy and programme support for a long time.
90. The Committee was informed that the DARDIS (District Agriculture and Rural Development Integrated Services) has developed concepts and methods for addressing the wider dimensions of African agriculture through the application of a community-based Participatory Extension System (PES). The importance of developing country-specific PES has been recognised for sometime; but has not yet been operationalised. The PES as developed by UNECA, has two major institutional instruments: the use of para-professionals (animators); and the involvement of communities through their commitments to provide matching funds.
91. The four objectives which serve as the general guides for SAERP/DARDIS were described and highlighted at the meeting. These objectives include: the need to achieve production results as quickly as possible and to reflect this important necessity in the design and evaluation framework of SAERP/DARDIS; the need to consider integrating environment issues in food security plans and programmes of SAERP/DARDIS; the need to consider seriously the importance of capacity in SAERP/DARDIS plans and programmes, addressing the issues to involve beneficiaries at the grassroots level and supporting government and/or semi-government staff; and, involving beneficiaries right from the inception of the programme all the way up to implementation in SAERP/DARDIS activities. These highly inter-related objectives have been crucial for the implementation processes as observed in Ethiopia where SAERP/DARDIS has been intensively and successfully applied.
92. The meeting was also informed about the programme components of SAERP and DARDIS. Programme components of SAERP include addressing: issues for developing integrated small scale irrigation at the community level; design and construction; watershed management including sub-components of anti-sedimentation and anti-salination measures; environmental hazard assessment, including sub-components of malaria and other parasites control; irrigation infrastructures; irrigation agronomy; livestock development, population and technology parameters; and, water resources administration and management by beneficiaries. The DARDIS involves the intensive identification of resource potentials at the grassroots level and designing a PES involving agriculture, livestock, environment and socio-economic programme activities. Both the SAERP and DARDIS programme formulation involve the examination, analysis and application of nexus issues by all parties concerned: the beneficiaries at the grassroots level and the development workers at their own respective levels.
General discussions and recommendations
93. In the ensuing discussions the Committee indicated that the report of the SRDC-NA was too negative, and that a number of the achievements and problems of Tunisia were not adequately reflected in the presentation. The representative of the SRDC-NA responded that most of these issues were covered in the book that had been provided as a background document to the Committee.
94. The Committee remarked that most of the analyses given by the representatives of the SRDCs were only valid on the regional level and that they did not always reflect country specific situations. It called for recommendations that take account of country specific characteristics and needs.
95. On the work of the indicators, the Committee noted the importance of accurate and precise data and called for member States and international organisations to invest in efforts aimed at achieving these goals.
96. With regard to the presentation of the SAERP/DARDIS programme, the Committee remarked that capacity building should be seen in a broad sense, and should also include institutions, incentives for governments, etc. The representative of SAERP/DARDIS acknowledged this point, but added that this suggestion steps over the mandate and objectives of the project.
97. In his closing remarks, the chairperson pointed to the enormous amount of information that has been presented to the committee for evaluation. For future meetings the secretariat should consider selecting only that information which is most relevant to be discussed during the meetings and present other documents as background information. This suggestion would also enable the committee to limit the duration of its deliberations.
Special Plenary Session on the Report of the Sub-Committee
98. The Chairperson of the Committee reported on its work to the plenary session. The report contained two parts: background to the CSD and operational guidelines. The first part outlined the Resolutions creating the ECA and the CSD and their terms of reference and mandates. The second part outlined a work programme for the CSD.
99. On the substance of the report, participants noted that the mandate and terms of reference of the Committee were already defined, at least to a large extent, by the resolution creating the CSD. It pointed out that the first part of the report contains information that was not new. The Committee was, however, pleased with the suggestions of the sub-committee concerning the need to outline the operational activities of the CSD. It was, nonetheless, concerned that the focus of report of the sub-committee was on "what" the CSD should do at the expense "of how" it should go about doing it. The Committee underlined the fact that the part of the report dealing with the practical modalities for operationalizing CSD needs to be further developed.
100. The Committee then called for further elaboration on issues relating to the composition, election, mandate and duration of the work of the Bureau; focal points of member States to be invited to the meetings; status of the invited institutions (particularly the civil society); funding of participation and activities, coordination with other relevant institutions in order to avoid duplication/conflict, etc. The Committee also called for the need to establish a theme for each of its regular meetings.
101. A discussion followed on how the Committee should move forward in addressing these, but it was decided that the sub-committee should continue to work on the issues. Namibia and Zambia were requested to join the enlarged sub-committee.
The Food Security and Development Situation in Africa: Building on the synergies between Population, Environment and Agriculture (agenda item 3)
102. Under this agenda item, the Committee considered document ECA/FSSDD/CSD/99/1 entitled "Issues Paper on Food Security, Population and Environment in Africa". The Committee noted the challenges facing Africa in the inter-related areas of agriculture, population and environment and the need to propose strategies to address them. The document under consideration forms part of the basis for the work programme of the Food Security and Sustainable Development Division (FSSDD) of the ECA.
103. The Committee took note of the negative synergies arising from rapid population growth, environmental degradation and decreased agricultural productivity, which have worsened the food security situation in Africa. This situation is compounded by the unequal opportunities for and lack of access to productive resources by women, poor utilization of appropriate technology, poor macro-economic performance, neglect of rural development, armed conflicts and civil strife, and inadequate land tenure. The Committee noted emerging consensus that African governments need to understand and focus on the nexus issues and their interlinkages at the conceptual and operational levels in order to enhance food security in Africa. The Committee also took note of the constraints faced by member States in their efforts to translate this consensus into actions for: increasing agricultural productivity, slowing down human population growth, protecting the environment, building women's capacity to perform and easing their time constraints, and utilizing appropriate technologies .
104. The Committee further noted that the FSSDD has launched an inter-disciplinary effort aimed at meeting the critical challenges of supporting the transition from low to high agricultural productivity, facilitating the demographic transition from larger to smaller and healthier families, and promoting the transition from degradation to rehabilitation and sustainable use of natural resources. The Committee welcomed the fact that the Division is focusing its work on how best to harnessing Science and Technology for food security and sustainable development is also addressing women's concerns as they relate to food security and sustainable development.
General discussions and recommendations
105. In the ensuing discussions, the Committee observed that the proposed strategies under consideration were biased towards agricultural production, environment protection and human population growth and that, with this bias the scope for using the Population, Environment, Development and Agriculture (PEDA) Model developed by the Division to address the poverty and food insecurity problems of the continent, was limited. Issues regarding policy and politics of land tenure, currency devaluation, credit, enterprise development, basic infrastructure, trade, external debt, self-sufficiency and comparative advantage also needed to be fully addressed.
106. The Committee observed that nutritional aspects of food security particularly with regard to balanced diets did not feature in the proposed strategies and requested that they should be. The need to clearly address the water issues facing Africa was also emphasized.
107. The issue of the appropriate use of fertilizer was also discussed by the Committee. It noted the low level of utilization of fertilizer in Africa and the prevalence of rain-fed agricultural production systems. The secretariat was urged to reflect on these issues and to analize how fertilizer can be more efficiently used under rain-fed conditions. The need to improve the traditional techniques and other cultural practices currently used by the majority of African farmers was also emphasized. The secretariat was called upon pay some attention on this issue in its future work plans.
Review and Appraisal of the Implementation in Africa of Global Plans of Action.
108. The Committee reviewed and appraised the progress made in the implementation of global agreements and Plans of Action in Africa relating to food security and sustainable development. To facilitate its consideration of this agenda item, the Committee had before it Document ECA/FSSD/CSD/99/4 titled "Rapport intérimaire de mise en oeuvre du programme pour l'habitat en Afrique"; Document ECA/FSSD/CSD/99/5 titled "Progress Report on the Implementation of the World Food Summit Plan of Action" and Document ECA/FSSD/CSD/99/7 titled "Progress Report on the Implementation of Agenda 21". The focus of the presentation was on Agenda 21 of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) which was held in Brazil in 1992, the Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), held in Istanbul in 1996 and the World Food Summit which was convened in Rome in 1996.
109. The Committee noted the movement towards a "global village" era and the need for joint action to solve common problems of sustainable development. The Committee noted that there was now an emerging consensus in Africa on the need to address poverty and its relationship to population, environment and development in an integrated and holistic way. In this regard, governments had made commitments in many international fora to carry out the necessary institutional reforms and reorganization and to adopt policies and legislative frameworks that promote interdependent actions. African Governments had also expressed their commitment to move towards self-sufficiency and to mobilize the resources that are required to accomplish this goal.
110. The Committee also noted that Agenda 21 was conceived as a global sustainable development programme package to lead the world into the 21st century. Since its adoption African Governments had taken a number of measures aimed at implementing its strategies and recommendations including the creation of: National Agenda 21s, National Sustainable Development Commissions/Committees and National Environmental Action plans dealing with all the forty chapters of the agenda. At the sub-regional level, IGOs had established mechanisms for the monitoring and evaluation of the progress in implementing Agenda 21. NGOs, civil society and, to a lesser extent, the private sector had also been actively involved in this implementation process at the local, national, subregional and regional levels. The Committee noted that the most important agreement arising from Agenda 21 in which Africa had played a leading role was the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. Nearly all African countries had ratified this Convention and some of the sub-regions already have programmes of action. Other UNCED-related global agreements that were being implemented by most African countries are the Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC) and the Convention on Biological Diversity. A number of constraints to the implementation of these conventions were, however, noted including difficulties in adapting global standards to national situations and mobilizing financial resources. The Committee noted that addressing these constraints required governments to clearly define their national environmental interests and priorities as well as establish national environmental funds and other financial mechanisms.
111. With regards to the second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), the Committee noted that its major objectives were to promote: adequate shelter for all; sustainable human settlements development; capacity building and institutional development; and international cooperation and coordination. African countries had initiated a number of policies and mechanisms to achieve these objectives including: shelter delivery particularly to vulnerable groups; development and use of shelter indicators; sustainable urban land use patterns and planning; promoting equal and fair access to services; improving the quality of rural settlements; ensuing effective decentralization; and promoting government partnership with the civil society, the private sector and international bodies. A number of constraints working against the successful implementation of the recommendations of the conference were also identified including: economic and financial constraints; technical and institutional limitations; poorly coordinated actions among government departments, NGOS, the civil society, the private sector and external partners; and inadequate political will related to the use of available human and institutional capacity.
112. Concerning the World Food Summit, the Committee noted that its main objective was to reduce by 50 per cent, the number of hungry people in the world by the year 2015. The basic plan for achieving this objective are: intergovernmental collective action; poverty eradication; sharing/transfer of food security technologies; increased investment in food security programmes; and support from the international community. The Committee noted that the World Food Summit Plan of Action was being implemented at the national and multi-national levels within on-going programmes and activities related to food security and sustainable development. Actions taken so far in many countries include the review of policies for ensuring food security through poverty alleviation; the adoption of a number of sustainable agricultural practices; reorientation of trade policies; and promotion of private investment.
113. The Committee noted that although African countries were making efforts to achieve the objectives of the various Plans of Action and Conventions, they were encountering a number of constraints including difficulties with defining priorities, particularly those aimed at defining packages that can enhance the benefits of globalization accruing to the people. Programme development problems relating to difficulties in adapting global strategies to local priorities and in coordinating programme development, monitoring and evaluation, were also identified. Other problem areas identified included those associated with data base development and information networking and poor coordination of national, sub-regional and regional efforts aimed at developing and sharing capacities.
114. The Committee was informed about ECA's assistance to member States in their preparation for a number of global meetings including: the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED, 1992), the second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), and the World Food Summit (WFS, 1996). ECA also actively participated in all the regional and sub-regional conferences that were organized to adopt various African Common Positions on Environment and Development, Human Settlements, and Food Security that were presented at the meeting. ECA has also been providing assistance to member States in the development of implementation strategies, in the monitoring and evaluation of the progress of the implementation of the strategies and plans, and in the establishment of database and networking.
General Discussions and recommendations
115. In the ensuing discussions, the Committee noted with appreciation the comprehensiveness of the Secretariat's presentation. The Committee then made a number of recommendations including: the need for national implementation coordination bodies and mechanisms, backed by adequate data management tools; the need for member States to strengthen the capacity of national institutions to handle the additional tasks imposed by these global agreements; the need to promote institution twinning at the national and multi-national levels for sharing the benefits from the science and technology; the need to strengthen national financial mechanisms that facilitate the implementation of global agendas and participation in related global fora; better utilization of the opportunities available for using global funds and financial mechanisms; and the development of human resources that focus on capacity-building for cross-sectoral programming and resource mobilization.
Session Four (Continued )
The Cape Town Declaration on the African Process for the Development and Protection of the Coastal and Marine Environment
116. The Committee listened to a presentation made by representative of the South African Government on the Cape Town Declaration on an African Process for the Development and Protection of the Coastal and Marine Environment particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa
117. The meeting was informed that the Declaration adopted by African Ministers for the Environment was a continuing effort to integrate the Pan-African Conference on Sustainable Integrated Coastal Management (Maputo, July 1998) and the Cape Town Conference (Cape Town, December 1998) into a single process for the sustainable development of coastal and marine environment in Africa. This process would lead to a concerted and coordinated implementation of the Abidjan and Nairobi Conventions. For this purpose, joint implementation and other mechanisms were established. A proposal for the establishment of a continent-wide Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) to integrate and coordinate all sustainable development issues and conventions in Africa was also made. The Ministers also established a Preparatory Committee to organize the Partnership Conference in 2000 in close consultation with African countries, the donor community, regional and international financial institutions, the United Nations system, the civil society and others. The South African government was requested to chair the Preparatory Committee.
118. The meeting was informed that the Ministers present at the Cape Town meeting had requested the Organization of African Unity (OAU) to hold consultations with all stakeholders on the need for the rationalization and harmonization of existing regional programmes and institutional mechanisms.
119. The meeting was informed that the Ministers had decided to submit the Cape Town Declaration and resolutions to the governments of all African countries, the Euro-African Summit in 2000, the donor community, the OAU Summit (June, 1999), the UNEP Governing Council (February 1999), the AMCEN session (1999), the Conferences of Parties to the Abidjan, Nairobi, Jeddah and Barcelona Conventions, the seventh session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (April 1999), the UNESCO General Conference (November 1999), and the Second London Oceans Workshop (1998).
120. The meeting was informed that the preparatory process was underway. As Chairman of the Preparatory Committee, South Africa had already held talks with 20 potential donors to prepare the donor community for the Partnership Conference. The OAU was involved with the preparatory process.
121. The Representative sought inputs from the Committee on the proposal to establish a regional Commission on Sustainable Development in the face of the existence of a number of subregional and regional institutions dealing with sustainable development in Africa.
General Discussions
122. In the ensuing discussions, the Committee sounded a note of caution on the danger of creating a large number of institutions with superseding mandates. The Committee also agreed that while consolidation and rationalization of numerous committees were necessary, a distinction should be made between specialized committees focusing on specific mandates and general committees receiving inputs from the different specialized committees.
123. The Committee noted a plea from the secretariat for a more thorough debate of the questions raised by the presenter in connection with the creation of a Regional Commission on Sustainable Development, namely; Should there be another Commission? how does the present Committee on Sustainable Development relate to AMCEN? Are efforts not being duplicated? How does CSD relate to other sub-regional organizations such as ECOWAS, SADC, COMESA etc.
124. The Committee took note of the presentation with appreciation and agreed to consider the matter further at its next agenda in which the functions of the CSD would be discussed.
Session Four (Continued)
Report on Activities of the Food Security and Sustainable Development Division in 1996-98
125. The Committee considered document No. ECA/FSSDD/CSD/99/6 and took note of the number of activities that had been carried out by the FSSDD in the areas of food security and sustainable development over the years 1996-1998. It also noted the focus of the Division on three thematic areas, population, agriculture and natural resources (including science and technology) with the goal or poverty alleviation as a global objective.
126. The Committee acknowledged ECA's collaboration with institutions such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Environment Programmes (UNEP), the Regional Institute for Population Studies (RIPS) and the Institute de formation et de recherce demographique (IFORD). The Committee noted that the principal mission of the division was the alleviation of poverty through strategies aimed at tackling the inter-linked issues population, agriculture and the environment and building up the requisite capacities for analyzing the interrelationships involved. The Committee noted the modalities for realizing the Division's mission, which included: the raising of awareness, the carrying out research studies, the identification of and compilation of best practices, and the provision of assistance in the implementation of specific programmes of action such as the "Earth Summit", the Dakar/Ngor declaration and the World Food Summit Plan of Action, The Committee noted that following its establishment early in 1997, the Division organized its activities under the four thematic areas of: management of nexus issues, policies and approaches ; building capacity for sustainable development; strengthening the development of inter-state lake and river basins; and science and technology for sustainable growth.
127. The Committee noted that, since its inception, the Division has carried out several activities including research on best practices, preparation of policy papers, and organization of seminars and workshops. In this context, efforts were made to foster fruitful collaboration with organizations within and outside the UN system such as the FAO, UNDP, UNEP, UNFPA and the World Bank.
128. The Committee further noted that the preparatory activities carried out by the division in 1998 paved the way for the refinement of the PEDA model as an advocacy tool. The fundamental thesis underlying the model was the vicious circle of high population growth leading to environmental degradation, reduced agricultural production, and increased food insecurity. Other activities performed included the establishment of advisory boards in science and technology as well as in agriculture and environment and the organization of a seminar on integrated water resources management. The Committee underscored the need for a rational utilization of water resources such as those of the Nile and Zambesi basins. It observed that the Division's Regional Advisers were also working in the nexus areas and that they were available to provide advisory services to member States on the subject on request. The Committee noted with satisfaction that issues of gender constituted a major component of the Division's activities and appreciated its focus on the plight of women.
General Discussions and Recommendations
129. The Committee expressed its appreciation for the efforts made by the Division to develop the PEDA model and called for detailed information on the model to be made available in the form of a document or diskette for practical application in the member countries. The Committee, however, expressed fears that the Division may not be in a position to build up the needed capabilities in science and technology given that this would necessitate much larger resources in terms of qualified manpower and institutional mechanisms. The Committee also sought clarifications on the issue of sustainability and wondered whether it could be applied to the population problems of Africa. The Committee felt that dynamism may be a better concept for dealing with population issues in Africa and that globalization provided a good vehicle for attaining prosperity provided that it was properly used. The Committee expressed his appreciation of the measures taken by the ECA to integrate different sectoral activities in the work of the Division. It called upon the Division to undertake more promotional and sensitization activities including networking. The Committee wondered why it had taken the ECA so long to organize the CSD meeting. It also wondered whether the Division could contribute significantly towards the alleviation of poverty in Africa by focusing only on the interlinked areas of population, agriculture, the environment, and science and technology. It felt that poverty alleviation is contingent upon the tackling of the other broader issues such as debt, AIDS and investment. Recalling an earlier diagram that was considered by the Committee that portrayed declining land availability and galloping population growth, it questioned the validity of the data employed and the techniques used for computing them.
130. The Committee asked if it was possible for the Division to establish branch offices of the Division at the national or subregional levels so as to bring its activities closer to its beneficiaries. Also the Committee wished to know why the table on indicators referred to in the document was missing. It also wanted to be informed of developments in the areas of food security and sustainable development in the subregions under ECA's SRDCs.
131. The Committee noted the response of the secretariat to its various interventions. These included explanations that: the PEDA Model was still a prototype and is still being developed and, therefore, could not be passed on to member countries for practical application in its present form; that a major training programme was envisaged for the period 6-20 June 1999 and that experts from the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), will provide training on the computer and quantitative aspects of the Model and that member States could benefit from this training by sending qualified trainees to the training. The Committee noted that preparation was under way to have the Model validated. As soon as this exercise is finalized, detailed information on the Model would be relayed on the Internet.
132. Concerning capacity building in science and technology, the committee acknowledged that this should not necessarily always require a large manpower or a huge institutional set-up. High-level expert groups and advisory boards could be called upon to help do the job.
133. The Committee noted that transformation and dynamism were essential elements in any development effort. This fact, notwithstanding, the issue of sustainable development in the context of population growth was intended to assure a better life for the population of African countries. The Committee then noted the various activities already undertaken by the Division in the area of science and technology. Resources had been mobilized for carrying out these activities from a number of sources including donors such as the Carnegie Corporation. A science and technology compendium has also been compiled and advisory board meetings convened on various aspects of science and technology.
134. Concerning the delay in convening the CSD meeting, the Committee was informed that these were due to the reform measures embarked upon earlier by ECA and the need for preparatory activities preceding the creation of the Divisions. Some logistical bottlenecks also prevented an earlier convening of the first meeting of the CSD. With regards the need for a broader sectoral approach to poverty alleviation, the Committee noted that the whole of ECA was involved in this endeavour and that the work of the FSSDD constituted only a segment of the ECA's activities in this area.
135. The Committee noted the activities that were being proposed by the Division in the coming years . They were grouped under two periods. The first of these composed those planned for implementation in 1999 in the context of the approved work programme for the current biennium. The others were envisaged for the biennium 2000/2001 and had not yet been approved. The activities planned for 1999 embraced two broad categories. The first of these pertained to: undertaking policy analysis of food security, population and environment dynamics and the second on science and technology for sustainable development. During 1999 activities initiated in 1998 would be continued, elaborated and completed along with the PEDA model and other related activities. To this end several activities would be carried out including: training workshops on natural resources accounting for high-level stakeholders; workshop on the PEDA model for east and southern Africa, seminars on water management issues for execution jointly with RCID; organization of a working group to discuss guidelines for the effective application of the PEDA model; and the convening of a workshop for research agencies on reproductive health and food production. With regards science and technology the proposal is to introduce: visiting-scholar scheme in the near future. A meeting of the advisory board on science and technology would also be convened shortly. Further work on the ECA Science and Technology Network would be continued. The first meeting of the committee on Natural Resources and Science and Technology would also be convened.
136. The Committee noted the activities proposed for implementation by the Division during the 2000/2001 biennium. The Division's work programme during this period would be carried out under the two sub-programmes referred to earlier. Under the first sub-programme, the PEDA advocacy initiatives would continue; a Training workshop for each of the SRDCs would also be organized; and efforts would be made to integrate the PEDA model into the training modules of regional/national training institutions. Attempts would also be made to integrate the PEDA model into the training programmes of partners organizations such as the World Bank. The meetings of the advisory boards of the Division in the relevant nexus areas would also be convened. Under the second sub-programme, most of the activities planned for 1999 would be follow-up vigorously. These would be complemented by activities to be carried out jointly with UNCTAD on the transfer of environment-friendly technologies.
137. The Committee noted that the meeting of the eminent scholars constituting the two advisory boards on science and technology and on population/agriculture/ environment interrelationships are composed of scholars who are providing their services at no charge. ECA was only financing their travel and accommodation expenses.
138. The Committee argued that member countries were not fairly represented on the advisory boards in terms of geographical locations and wanted to know about the criteria employed for selecting the board members. A representative suggested that the ESTNET should not only include research and development institutions but also policy-making bodies.
139. In response to these additional interventions, the Committee learnt that efforts had been made to ensure that the composition of the board was as fair and balanced as possible. For example, the members of the boards come from all the subregions of Africa including Central Africa. The Committee noted that board members participation is voluntary and were selected from experts who had previously participated in ad hoc expert meetings.
Session Four (Continued)
The Special Session on the Constitution and Functions of CSD
140. The Committee reviewed the report of the sub-committee it had set up to draw up a proposal relating to the constitution and functions of the CSD as shown in the Annex.
141. A number of comments and suggestions were made on the draft report. These comments and amendments have been reflected in the final version of the sub-committee's report which is attached to this report as an annex.
CSD's Proposal on its Constitution and Functions
I. Background
The United Nations General Assembly during its Twelfth Ordinary Session adopted Resolution 1155 (XIII) of 26 November, 1957, recommending that the Economic and Social Council, at its next session, give prompt and favorable consideration to the establishment of an Economic Commission for Africa.
The Economic and Social Council, having considered General Assembly resolution 1155 (XII) of November 1957, recommending the need to give effective aid to the countries and territories of Africa in accordance with Article 68 of the Charter of the United Nations, established the Economic Commission for Africa by its resolution 671 (XXV) adopted on 29 April, 1958.
Among the major terms of reference of the Commission are:
The Commission may establish such liaison as it deems appropriate with inter-governmental organizations in Africa operating in the same field;
The Commission shall adopt its own rules of procedure, including the method of selecting its chairman and other officers;
The administrative budget of the Commission shall be financed from the funds of the United Nations;
The Secretary General of the United Nations shall appoint the Executive Secretary of the Commission;
The Commission shall submit to the Economic and Social Council once a year a full report on its activities and plans, including those of any subsidiary bodies;
The headquarters of the Commission and its Secretariat shall be located in Africa. The Commission may in due course also establish such sub-regional offices as it may find necessary;
The first session of the Commission shall be called by the Secretary General as soon as practicable, but not later than the end of 1958;
The Economic and Social Council shall, from time to time make special reviews of the work of the Commission.
It is from these two forgoing pertinent resolutions that the Commission's legislative mandate is derived.
The Conference of African Ministers responsible for Economic and Social Development and Planning adopted Resolution No. 826 (XXXII) in April 1996, through which the Ministers structured new Organs to deal with overall development issues facing the continent. Among these organs and subsidiary bodies (pare "B-3") the Ministers established the "Committee on Sustainable Development" as follows:
"This Committee would serve as a forum of experts that will provide advice to ECA in the interlinked areas of food security, population, environment and human settlements. In this regard, it will provide a platform for advocacy and the assessment of follow-up activities by African Governments to regional and global plans of action, namely the African Common Position on Environment and Development, the African Common Position for Habitat II, the Dakar/Ngor Declaration on Population, Family and Sustainable Development, Agenda 21, the Habitat Agenda, the Cairo Programme of Action on Population and Development and the Programme of Action of the World Food Summit and their implementation".
It would address specific measures to promote the protection and regeneration of the environment, enhance food security in Africa, sustainable human settlements and issues arising from increased population growth. This, Committee will meet once every two years. The Terms of Reference of this Committee are as follows:
Undertake periodic review of the implementation of regional and global programmes of action such as Agenda 21, the Cairo Programme of Action on Population and Development, the Habitat Agenda and Food Security;
Consider and make recommendations on a multidisciplinary approach to the implementation of the relevant programmes of action;
Promote the formulation of policies and measures for environment protection, food security, improved human settlements and integration of population variables in development planning;
Provide advice to the Commission in the formulation of activities for supporting member States in the interrelated areas of food security, population, environment and human settlements.
II. Operational guidelines
The Committee on Sustainable Development (CSD) will:
Undertake in-depth analysis of the burning issues on sustainable Development particularly from the perspectives of ECA's new approach of the nexus of population, agriculture, and environment;
Make related policy recommendations on these issues for use by African policy makers and their counterparts in the development co-operation community;
Review progress made in the implementation of the global plans of action mentioned above and recommend further actions based on the experiences of member States; and
Provide guidance to the work of ECA by reviewing the Division's existing programme of work and examining proposed programmes and priorities.
Monitor activities of member States in the above mentioned area through national reports submitted to the ECA Secretariat;
Consider special Sustainable Development concerns of member States in all sectors and recommended measures to be undertaken in this regard.
III. Recommendations
Since the CSD will work in collaboration with other relevant agencies, the Committee, at its first meeting recommended the following, to be considered by the Conference of the Ministers;
1. Relationship of the Committee with the UN Commission on SD
The African Committee on SD would serve as Africa's regional forum of experts that deals with all the fields mandated by the UN General Assembly to the UN Commission on SD;
It would also serve as the regional advisory arm of the Commission on Sustainable Development on cross-sectoral activities in Africa as well as on proposed activities and follow-up actions in the implementation of international programmes;
The periodic reporting of CSD follow the established procedures and practices of the UN Commission on SD.
2. Relationship between CSD and other institutions
The CSD recognizes the existence of similar sustainable development committees in the other ECOSOC related regional commissions and will liaise with them to enhance cooperation in the global field of sustainable development.
The CSD also recognizes the need to collaborate with the other six technical committees under the auspices of the ECA will promote regular liaison and communication with these committees.
3. Modalities
Membership
All Governments of member States of ECA shall be members of the CSD. ECA will serve as the Secretariat of the CSD.
The Bureau The Bureau will be composed of:
Five members representing the 5 sub-regions. The Bureau will comprise members nominated by each respective sub-region and will be elected by the Committee at the first session of each biannual CSD meeting.
The 5 Bureau members shall elect among themselves, the Chairman, 3 Vice Chairmen and the Rapporteur.
A Bureau was elected in accordance with this proposal and the Committee seeks retrospective approval for the following countries to serve the next CSD meeting. These are Tanzania as Chairperson, Côte d'Ivoire as First Vice President, South Africa as Second Vice President, Egypt as third Vice President and Cameroon as Rapporteurs.
Duration
The Bureau shall serve for one regular session of the Committee. The Bureau will serve until the election of the new Bureau.
The Bureau, in consultation with the ECA Secretariat, may hold inter-sessional meetings as deemed necessary.
Venue of meetings
The meetings of the CSD may be held in any member State, upon invitation by the Government. In the absence of any offer to host the meeting, the meeting shall be held at ECA Headquarters.e. Funding
Funding of all CSD activities will be secured by the FSSDD through the ECA existing structures. However, participation of members at subsequent meetings will be borne by member States. This arrangement does not preclude member countries from seeking financial assistance of donor country.Coordination at the national level
Each member State shall establish a national committee on Sustainable Development as called for in the Agenda 21 and shall identify a national focal point.Monitoring and Reporting
Each member State shall submit a progress report of its activities to the Secretariat 2 months before the next meeting of the Committee. The reports will follow the ECA format.Observers
It is recommended that in view of the important role that the UN and other international agencies play in the process of sustainable development they should be invited to attend meetings of the CSD as observers.
LIST OF DOCUMENTS
| 1. ECA/FSSD/CSD/99/Inf.1 | Programme of Work |
| 2. ECA/FSSD/CSD/99/Inf.2 | Agenda |
3. ECA/FSSD/CSD/99/Inf.3 |
Annotated Agenda |
4. ECA/FSSD/CSD/99/Inf.4 |
List of Documents |
| 5. ECA/FSSD/CSD/99/Inf.5 | List of Participants |
6. ECA/FSSD/CSD/98/1 |
Issues Paper on Food Security, Population and Environment in Africa |
7. ECA/FSSD/CSD/99/2 |
Africa: Demographic, Environmental and Agricultural Indicators |
| 8. ECA/FSSD/CSD/99/3 | Concepts and Methods of SAERP/DARDIS as a Substantial Rural Development Strategy in Africa |
| 9. ECA/FSSD/CSD/99/4 | Rapport intérimaire de mise en euvre programme pour l'habitat en Afrique |
| 10. ECA/FSSD/CSD/99/5 | Progress Report on the Implementation of the World Food Summit Plan of Action in Africa |
11. ECA/FSSD/CSD/99/6 |
Report on the Activity of the FSSDD 1996-1998 and the Approved Work Programme for 1999 |
| 12. ECA/FSSD/CSD/99/7 | Progress Report on the Implementation of Agenda 21 |
| 13. ECA/ FSSDD/ICPD/FC.3/98/5 | Implementation of the Dakar/Ngor Declaration and the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development: An Assessment |
List of Participants/ Liste des Participants
| ALGERIA | H.E. Chergui Smail Ambassador Algeria Embassy Addis Ababa Mr. Naim S. Chaibout Naim Mr. Boukrif Hamid |
| ANGOLA | Ms.
Maria Isabel Resende |
| BENIN | Mme
Dossou Bernadette |
| BOTSWANA | Mr.
Diabi Jacob Mmualefe Ms. Edith B. Modisane |
| BURKINA FASO | Mr. Leonard Simpore Second Counseller Burkina Faso Embassy Addis Ababa Tel.: (251-1) 61 58 63 to 65 Fax: (251-1) 61 20 94 |
| BURUNDI | Mr. Salvator Kadobeye First Counsellor Burundi Embassy Addis Ababa Tel.: (251-1) 65 13 00 Fax.: (251-1) 65 02 99 |
| CAMEROON | Mr.
Jean S. Ndjemba Endezoumou |
Mr.
Pascal Kengne |
|
Mr.
Wenceslas de Bohême Ndimba |
|
Mr.
Mbassi Menye |
|
Mr.
Samuel Roger Zang |
|
| COTE D'IVOIRE | M.
Brou Jean Marie Akpoue |
M.
Boua Arsène Laurent Gnebehi |
|
| CONGO (Rep. Demo.) | Mr.
Marcel Tshidimba Mulumba |
| DJIBOUTI | Mr.
Dini Abdallah Omar |
Mr.
Amin Mohamed Robleh |
|
| EGYPT | H.E. Mr. Marawan Badr Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt Addis Ababa |
Mr.
Abdelghafar Eldib |
|
Mr.
Ashraf El-Moafi |
|
Mr.
Khaled El-Bakly |
|
Dr.
Hassan Hussein El Guebaly |
|
Dr.
Rashed Ahmed Abou El Einein |
|
Dr.
Mahmoud Mansour |
|
| ERITREA | H.E.
Girma Asmerom |
| ETHIOPIA | Mr. Tesfaye Taye Director Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ethiopia Addis Ababa |
Mr.
Yoseph Kassaye |
|
| GUINEE | M.
Sidibe Moussa |
| Dr. Aboubacar Sidiki Yattara Chef de Section chargé du financement et des projets à la Direction nationale de la Recherche Scientifique et Technique (DNRST) BP 2201 Conakry Tel. (224) 41 19 02/41 19 05 Fax: (224) 45 32 17 |
|
Mme.
Idiatou Camara |
|
M. Ibrahima Sory Sangare |
|
Mr. Boubacar Biro Diallo |
|
Mme. Kadiatou Diallo |
|
| KENYA | Mr.
Moses K. Kanagi |
Mr.
Protus C. Sigei |
|
Mr.
Abdishakur S. Hussein |
|
| LESOTHO | Ms.
Moliehi Matabane |
| LIBYAN ARAB JAMAHIRIYA | Mr.
Mohamed M. Hattab |
Mr.
Mohamed Esmail |
|
| MADAGASCAR | Ms. V. J. Rahelivololona Director of Population Ministry of Population Antananarivo Tel.: (261-20) 22 357 42/22 235 32 Fax: (261-20) 22 235 32 or 22 303 79 |
| MALAWI | Mr.
L.M. Kachikopa |
Mrs.
Andrina Frances Mchiela |
|
Mr.
Joy Sebastian Ndalama |
|
Mr.
Robert Ngaiyaye |
|
MOROCCO
Mr. Ahmed Laaziz |
|
| MOZAMBIQUE | Mr.
Francisca Antonio Torcida Reino |
| Ms. Albertina M.D. Mac Donald c/o. Embassy of Mozambique P.O. Box 5671 Addis Ababa Tel.:(251-1) 71 25 88 |
|
NAMIBIA
Mr. Simeon S. Kanyemba |
|
Mr.
Sitwala Mapenzi |
|
Mr.
Manfred Menjengua |
|
NIGERIA
Mr. O. Osagie |
|
Dr.
I.L. Sulaiman |
|
Mr.
A.A. Bolaji |
|
Mr.
Frank Isoh Tel.: (251-1) 55 06 44 |
|
| RWANDA | Mr.
Vincent Ntambabazi |
SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE |
Mr. Helder Costa d'Alva Assesseur dans le Domaine Démographique et Social Institut National de la Statistique (INE) B.P. 256 Sao Tomé & Principe Tel.: (239-12) 21 113/21982 Fax: (239-12) 21924/21982 |
| SENEGAL | Mr.
Bassirou Sene |
| SIERRA LEONE | H.E.
Mr. Ibrahim M. Kamara |
Mr.
Pat Willie Bonglo |
|
| SOUTH AFRICA | Ms.
Khungeka Njobe |
Ms.
Linda Shongwe |
|
Mr.
Willem Bosman |
|
Ms.
Margaret Ramabenyane |
|
Mr.
Werner Obermeyer |
|
Dr.
J.A. Shaw |
|
| SUDAN | Mr.
Mohamed Elamin A. Rahman |
Dr.
Nadir Mohamed Awad |
|
Mr.
Mohamed Elkarib |
|
| SWAZILAND | Ms.
Thandi Dlamini |
| TANZANIA | Mr.
S.B. Buberwa |
Mr.
George Mwanjabala |
|
| TCHAD | Mr.
Adoum Brahim |
| TOGO | Mr.
Abbékoé Dodzi Doevi |
Mr.
Koumaï BANG'NA |
|
TUNISIA
M. Khaled Zghidi |
|
Mr.
Mohamed Ali Ben Abid |
|
Mr.
Kamel Kilani |
|
| UGANDA | Dr.
Jotham Musinguzi |
| ZAMBIA | Dr. Wilson N.M. Mwenya Director of Science and Technology Ministry of Science, Technology and Vocational Training Lusaka Tel.: ++260-1-25 19 53 Fax.: ++ 260-1-25 20 89 E-mail dst@zamnet.zm |
Mr.
Lukwesa Kaemba |
|
Mr.
Wilson K. Mazimba |
|
| ZIMBABWE | Mr.
Ozias E.M Hove |
| ORGANIZATIONS/INSTITUTIONS | |
| AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK (ADB) | Dr. Prosper Poukouta
Population Expert, Environment and Sustainable Development Unit African Development Bank Côte d'Ivoire Tel.: (225) 20 42 33 Fax: (225) 20 50 33 E-mail: P.Poukouta@AFDB.ORG |
| FAO | Ms.
Anthony V. Obeng |
| ILO | Mr. Urgessa Bedada ILO-EAMAT Programme Research Assistant Addis Ababa Tel.: (251-1) 517320 Fax: (251-1) 51 36 33 |
| ILRI | Dr.
Hugo Li Pun |
Dr.
Mohamed Saleem Fax: (251-1) 611892 |
|
Mr.
M.A. Jabbak |
|
| INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH CENTRE (IDRC) | Dr.
Calvin Nhira |
INSTITUT DE FORMATION DE DE RECHERCHE DEMOGRAPHIQUES (IFORD) |
Mr. Aka Kouamé Research Coordinator IFORD Yaounde Tel.: (237) 22 24 71 Fax: (237) 22 67 93 E-mail: akakouame@iccnet.cm |
| ORGANIZATION OF AFRICAN UNITY (OAU) | Dr.
Edward G. Howard-Clinton |
Dr.
Osman Salama |
|
Mr.
Foday Bojang |
|
Mr.
Atef Ghabrial |
|
Mrs.
Theresa Obeng |
|
Mr.
Abdellatif Benhadi |
|
| UAPS | Mr.
Endalkachew Alamnew |
| UNICEF | Ms.
Fatima Bhari |
REGIONAL INSTITUTE FOR POPULATION STUDIES (RIPS) |
Mr. E.O. Tawiah, OIC RIPS , University of Ghana P.O. Box 96 Legon, Ghana Tel.:233 21 501070 Fax:233 21 500273 |
| UNITED NATIONS POPULATION FUND (UNFPA) | Mr.
Sidiki Coulibaly |
Mr.
Duah Owusu-Sarfo |
|
Ms.
Mulu Gojjam Assaye |
|
| UNFPA/CST | Ms.
Miriam K. Were |
Mr.
Israel Sembajwe |
|
Ms.
Margaret Thuo |
|
Prof.
Mere Kisekka |
|
Ms.
Miriam Jato |
|
| USAID | Dr.
Ayana Yeneabat |
ECA SECRETARIAT |
Prof.
P. K. Makinwa-Adebusoye Mr. I. Ekanem Mr. Don Oben Mr. Ousmane Laye Mr. George Abalu Mr. Daniel M. Sala-Diakanda Mr. S.M.D. Donkor Mr. Mulugeta Bezabeh Mr. A. Lamine Gueye Mr. Sarim Kol Mr. K. Abassa Mr. J. Hamel Mr. Maurice Tankou Ms. J. Sendi Mr. Fidèle Byiringiro Mr. Assefa Belai Mr. Han Chol O Mr. Georges Reniers |
| ECA/SRDC, LUSAKA | Mr.
Z.W. Kazeze |
| ECA/SRDC, NIAMEY | Mr.
Lucas T. Tandap |
| ECA/SRDC, TANGIERS | Mr.
S. Jugessur |
| ECA/SRDC, YAOUNDE | Mr.
A. Niang |
| ECA/SRDC, KIGALI | Mr.
H. Ouedraogo |
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