2005 Conference of Ministers to discuss MDGs

This May, the ECA will hold its Conference of African Finance, Planning and Economic Development Ministers in Abuja, Nigeria, where participants will aim to discuss the problems limiting Africa’s ability to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The Conference is an annual event which provides a legislative mandate for the Commission’s work. It is ECA’s main vehicle for reporting back to the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) under whose umbrella the Commission falls. The Conference also endorses ECA’s work programme and serves as a forum for articulating African positions on key development issues.

Each year, the meeting revolves around a theme, and this one – the 38th such gathering – will discuss the pertinent topic of the MDGs ahead of the UN’s global review of progress towards meeting the goals in New York next September. Most sub-Saharan African countries are not on track to meet the goals by the due date of 2015 and indications are that if current trends continue, it will take over 100 years.

The Abuja conference (14-15 May) will look at why African countries are so far behind and how growth can be boosted to reduce poverty and increase employment.

The outcome of the meeting - which also includes UN and regional representatives, economic experts and research institutes - will feed into the UN General Assembly session in September.

The Conference acts as ECA’s central policy-making organ, providing impetus and guidance. Over the years, it has evolved into an issues-based discussion forum and attendance has grown significantly.

The meetings have contributed to regional policies and programmes such as the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). The 2001 meeting in Algiers helped bring together parallel regional initiatives which culminated in NEPAD. And the following year, the conference in Johannesburg gave African finance ministers an opportunity to consider the operational implications of the NEPAD framework (such as the peer review mechanism).

It is hoped that this year’s meeting will result in commitments to strengthen policy reforms already underway in many countries so that Africa can accelerate progress towards achieving the MDGs.