1. The global wealth of nations has multiplied sevenfold in the past 50 years. Increased human mobility enhanced communications, greatly increased trade and capital flows, and technological developments, opens new opportunities for sustained economic growth and development of the world economy, particularly in developing countries. Nations also share experiences and learn from one another’s achievements and difficulties, promoting cross-fertilization of ideals, cultural values and aspirations. At the same time, global transformation of the world economy is profoundly changing the parameters of social development in all countries. It is encouraging to note that the continent was able to show signs of recovery in terms of growth performance over the period since the Social Summit. In 1997, 53 countries regularly monitored by ECA show all but three countries registered positive economic growth. This is to be contrasted with the 6 countries that had negative growth rates in 1995, the year of the Summit and the 12 countries that did not grow at all in 1994. Also in 1997, 31 out of 53 countries registered rates of growth in excess of their population growth rate resulting in an increased per capita income. Thirteen of these 31 countries achieved GDP growth of at least 5 per cent, the threshold required for sustained poverty reduction in Africa.

2. Unfortunately this is accompanied by an expansion of poverty for others. The most recent available evidence on Africa shows that poverty has been increasing over the recent past. Intensified poverty, unemployment and social disintegration have accompanied the rapid processes of change and adjustment. Threats to human well being, such as environmental risks, have also been globalized. This glaring contradiction is unacceptable and needs to be corrected through urgent actions. Far too many people are vulnerable to stress and deprivation. Poverty, unemployment and social disintegration too often result in isolation, marginalisation and violence. The insecurity that many vulnerable people face about the future is intensifying. Within many societies, both in developed and developing countries, the gap between rich and poor has increased. Furthermore, despite the fact that some developing countries are growing rapidly, the gap between developed and many developing countries, particularly the least developed countries, has widened. More than one billion people in the world live in abject poverty, most of whom go hungry everyday. A large proportion, the majority of whom are women, have very limited access to income, resources, education, health care or nutrition, particularly in Africa and the least developed countries.

3. The challenge is how to manage these processes and threats so as to enhance their benefits and mitigate their negative effects upon people. The goals and objectives of social development require continuous efforts to reduce and eliminate major sources of social distress and instability for the family and for society. We pledge to place particular focus on and give priority attention to the fight against the worldwide conditions that pose severe threats to the health, safety, peace, security and well being of our people. Among these conditions are chronic hunger; malnutrition; illicit drug problems organized crime; corruption; foreign occupation; armed conflicts; illicit arms trafficking, terrorism, intolerance and incitement to racial, ethnic, religious and other hatreds; xenophobia; and endemic, communicable and chronic diseases.

4. To this end, co-ordination and co-operation at the national level and especially at the regional and international levels should be further strengthened. In this context, the negative impact on development of excessive military expenditures, the arms trade, and investment for arms production must be addressed. Equally important are the prevention, treatment and control of these diseases, covering a spectrum, from tuberculosis and malaria to the human immunodeficiency virus/ acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS), must be given the highest priority. Poverty, lack of productive employment and social disintegration are an offence to human dignity. Our challenge is to establish a people-centered framework for social development to guide us now and in the future, to build a culture of co-operation and partnership, and to respond to the immediate needs of those who are most affected by human distress.

5. It is these concerns and recognition of the significance of the social dimension in sustainable development prompted the United Nations General Assembly to adopt Resolution 47/92 of 16 December 1992. It called for convening a World Summit for Social Development at the level of Heads of State or Government to tackle the critical problems of poverty, unemployment and social disintegration.

6. The Declaration and Programme of Action of the WSSD represent a new consensus on the need to put people at the center of development and the conquest of poverty, the goal of full employment and the fostering of stable, safe and just societies their overriding objectives. The achievement of this lofty vision would consider the operationalization of the following development objectives:

1. Eradicate absolute poverty by a target date to be set by each country and support full employment as a basic policy goal;
2. Promote social integration based on the enhancement and protection of all human rights; and achieve equality and equity between women and men;
3. Strengthen co-operation for social development through the UN to accelerate the development of Africa and the least developed countries;
4. Create "an economic, political, social, cultural and legal environment that will enable people to achieve social development" to increase resources allocated to social development to attain universal and equitable access to education and primary health care; and ensure that structural adjustment programmes include social development goals.

7. The primary responsibility for implementing the Summit agreements will be at the national level, where the UN and its development agencies are providing support for that effort. At the international level, the Summit strongly endorsed the leadership role of the UN in social development, assigning specific responsibility to several UN institutions. It also called for closer links between the Bretton Woods international financial institutions and the UN system.

8. The Declaration on Social Development recognizes the significance of social development and human well being for all and to give to these goals the highest priority both now and into the twenty-first century. It goes further to address both their underlying and structural causes and their distressing consequences in order to reduce uncertainty and insecurity in the life of people. The declaration further acknowledged that societies must respond more effectively to their material and spiritual needs, underpinning the fact that democracy and transparent and accountable governance in all sectors of society are indispensable foundation for the realization of social and people centered sustainable development. It asserts further that social development and social justice are indispensable for the achievement and maintenance of peace and security within and among nations.

9. The declaration brings to light the conviction that economic development, social development and environmental protection are interdependent and mutually reinforcing components of sustainable development. This is the framework to achieve a higher quality of life for all people; because, the most productive policies and investments are those that empower people to maximize their capacities, resources and opportunities. In the WSSD, States committed themselves, to enhancing social development so that all men and women may exercise the rights, utilize the resources and share the responsibilities that enable them to lead satisfying lives and to contribute to the well-being of their families, their communities and humankind.

10. The Declaration and Programme of Action of the WSSD commits states to a political, economic, ethical and spiritual vision for social development. It asserts that development must be based on human dignity, human rights, equality, respect, peace, democracy, mutual responsibility and co-operation, and full respect for the various religious and ethical values and cultural backgrounds of people. Highest priority is accorded to national, regional and international policies and actions to the promotion of social progress, justice and the betterment of the human condition, based on full participation by all. To this end, states commit to:

1. Recognize the family as the basic unit of society and create a framework for action to place people at the center of development and fulfil our responsibility for present and future generations by ensuring equity among generations. The support for refugees, prisoners of war, persons missing in action and hostages must also be looked as a paramount goal;
2. Integrate economic, cultural and social policies so that they become mutually supportive, and acknowledge the interdependence of public and private spheres of activity, recognize that the achievement of sustained social development, requires sound, broadly based economic policies, technologies and new approaches;
3. Promote democracy, human dignity (universal respect for, and observance and protection of, all human rights and the right of self-determination of all peoples), social justice (equitable distribution of income and greater access to resources) and solidarity at the national, regional and international levels; ensure tolerance, non-violence, pluralism and non-discrimination, with full respect for diversity within and among societies. The importance of transparent and accountable governance and administration in all public and private national and international institutions must also be underlined;
4. While the state has the primary responsibility to attain these goals, we also acknowledge that these goals cannot be achieved by State alone. The international community, the United Nations, the multilateral financial institutions, all regional organizations and local authorities, and all actors of civil society need to positively contribute their own share of efforts and resources.

11. Recognizing that the issue of poverty is related to the lack of productive employment, the Social Summit placed great emphasis on, and countries committed themselves to, implementation of policies and strategies for the expansion of productive employment and the reduction of unemployment. One of the profound challenges facing African countries today is creating sufficient employment opportunities for the increasing labor force and reducing unemployment and underemployment. Although employment data tend to be incomplete and unreliable in most African countries, available evidence suggests that productive employment has not kept pace with increased labor supply. The average labor force is growing at about 3 per cent per annum and there are declining and stagnating levels of wage employment, decreasing real wages and deteriorating working and living conditions. Recent data for most countries estimated urban unemployment rates to be in the 20-30 per cent range, underemployment rates in the 25-40 per cent range, youth unemployment rates in 25-40 per cent range, and women’s unemployment range at twice the national average.

12. It is now three years since the Summit was held, enough time at least, to allow for a review of the progress made by African States. The major objective of the Follow-up Conference is to take stock of the progress made since Copenhagen in the most important areas of social development identified by the Social Summit. It is noted that due to the short time that has elapsed since March 1995 a full-fledged evaluation of policy measures undertaken by various member States will not be feasible. As such, therefore, the major objective of the sub-regional Conferences is understood as one of monitoring rather than one of evaluation. The specific objectives of the Follow-up Conference include:

1. Monitoring progress in the area of poverty reduction;
2. Monitoring progress in employment creation;
3. Monitoring progress in the area of public spending on social sectors, especially in education and health with a view at identifying good practices and highlighting implementation problems and constraints; and
4. Monitoring progress on establishing enabling socio-political environments (with emphasis on good governance) that could mobilize the energies of the citizens to achieve desired development goals and objectives.

13. Though there exist more than 127 indicators identified by the UN System to gauge socio-economic progress, for the purposes of the Sub-Regional Conference it is proposed to use quantitative and dated objectives of the UN Summits held during the 1990s. We note in this respect that the date for poverty eradication objective was left for the country to determine. All other objectives have dates starting with the year 2000. The key goals for the year 2000 and the monitoring indicators are:

1. Reach life expectancy at birth in all countries of not less than 60 years by 2000, increasing to greater than 70 years by 2005 and greater than 75 years by 2015.
2. Reduce under-five child mortality by one-third from the 1990 level by 2000, or to 70 per 1,000 live births, whichever is less; and by 2015, by another half.
3. Reduce maternal morality by half from the 1990 level by 2000 and by 2015 by another half.
4. Reduce severe and moderate malnutrition among children under five by half from the 1990 level, addressing especially the gender gap in nutrition.
5. Achieve universal access to high-quality and affordable primary health care by 2000, removing all programme-related barriers to use of family planning by 2005. Eliminate polio, guinea worm disease, and iodine deficiency disorders and vitamin A deficiency.
6. Achieve universal access to basic education and the completion of primary education by at least 80% of primary school-age children by 2000. By 2015, achieve universal primary education.
7. Reduce adult illiteracy by at least half from the 1990 level by 2000, close the gender gap in primary and secondary school education by 2005, and, reduce female illiteracy by at least half from its 1990 level by 2020.

14. Without prejudice to member States, or to international conventions and charters, it should be noted that a number of governance indicators to monitor progress in creating the requisite enabling socio-political environment could be used. Such indicators could include, among others, the existence and frequency of local and national elections; the state of transition out of conflicts; legislation passed to strengthen the rule of law and the sanctity of contracts; and, the existence and independence of human rights commissions. For this Conference, however, it is expected that the thematic Report on Governance will make use of the results reported to the various Governance Forums that were held during the past two years in the context of SIA activities alluded to in paragraph 8 above.

15. The Central and Western African Sub-Regional Follow-up Conference to the Social Summit is planned as collaborative effort between various UN agencies in such a way that the relevant agencies will be assigned for preparation and presentation of the background documents on the major themes of the Conference. The themes chosen for the African Sub-Regional Conferences are as follows:

1. Progress in poverty reduction and sustainable livelihoods: these include elements of livelihoods and food security, natural resources management and off-farm incomes and cross cutting issues of policy development and management, gender, the HIV challenge.
2. Progress in entrepreneurship development and employment creation: these include productive employment, credit and capital markets, and impact of adjustments and globalization on employment.
3. Progress in governance and democratic development: these include the rule of law, administrative accountability and bureaucratic consistency, mechanisms for anti corruption campaigns, political participation and political contestation.

16. The format of the Conference will feature plenary sessions and thematic groups. Background papers and country statements will be presented to the plenary sessions while facilitators will present discussion points to the thematic groups.

17. Member States and civil society participants will present case studies on the progress made since 1995 in the context of regional groups giving their country level perspectives, plans and aspirations. Country statements are suggested to be no more than 15 pages long with the following structure:

1. Introduction: (maximum of one page giving background to the country’s involvement in the Social Summit including level of participation);
2. Initial Conditions at the Social Summit: (maximum of two pages: giving the base-line indicators in 1995);
3. Progress Since the Social Summit: (maximum of two pages per theme giving quantitative (if any) as well as qualitative indications of progress made since 1995 inclusive of policy measures initiated and institutional changes made);
4. Problems and Prospects: (maximum of three pages explaining the constraints faced in meeting the obligations entered into in the context of the social summit and the future prospects for relaxing such constraints); and
5. Renewed Commitment: (maximum of two pages to summarize the government’s position regarding the attainment of the set goals under each theme).

09:00 – 10:30 Session 1: Opening

• Welcoming Address by Executive Secretary of ECA
• Welcoming Address by UNDP Representative
• Welcoming Address by the Government of Burkina Faso

10:30 – 11:00 Coffee/Tea Break

11:00 – 13:00 Session 2: Background Reports

• Progress in Poverty Reduction and Sustainable Livelihoods in Africa - UNDP
• Progress in Employment Generation - ILO
• Progress in Social Sectors - UNICEF
• Progress in Governance - ECA

13:00 – 14:30 Lunch Break

14:30 – 16:00 Break-out Sessions on Thematic Issues:

• Group A: Progress in Poverty Reduction (Facilitator: UNDP)
• Group B: Progress in Employment Creation (Facilitator: ILO)
• Group C: Progress in Achieving Social Sector Objectives (Facilitators: UNICEF, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank)
• Group D: Progress in Governance (Facilitators: DESA, ECA and OAU)

16:00 – 16:30 Coffee/Tea Break

16:30 – 18:00 Break-out Groups on Thematic Issues (Continuation):

• Group A:Poverty
• Group B:Employment
• Group C:Social Sectors
• Group D:Governance

09:00 – 10:30 Country Presentations:

10:30 – 11:00 Coffee/Tea Break

11:00 – 13:00 Country Presentations

13:00 – 14:30 Lunch Break

14:30 – 16:30 Country Presentations

16:30 –17:00 Coffee/Tea Break

17:00 – 18:30 General Discussion on issues raised in the country statements

09:00 – 10:30 Civil Society Forum: Panel Discussion (Panelists to be selected)

10:30 – 11:00 Coffee/Teak Break

• Report of break-out sessions
• General discussions

• Presentation
• Discussion

17:00 –17:30 Coffee/Tea Break

17:30 – 18:30 Adoption of Conference Report and Closing