|
FOURTH MEETING OF THE FOLLOW UP COMMITTEE ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DND/ICPD, 28-31
JANUARY 2002, Background In recent years two population and development frameworks are in use in African countries i.e. the Dakar/Ngor Declaration on Population, Family and Sustainable Development (DND) and the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD-PA). The DND which resulted from the Third African Population Conference (APC.3) held in Dakar, Senegal, in December 1992, formed the basis of the African Common Position submitted to the ICPD. The DND and the accompanying resolution invited the Executive Secretary of ECA to establish a follow-up mechanism of member States to be responsible for monitoring the implementation of the recommendations of the APC.3. Accordingly, the Follow-up Committee on the implementation of the DND was Officially established in 1993 at the 19th meeting of the ECA Conference of Ministers. It is as an open-ended committee of member States with the Bureau of the APC.3 as core (Senegal, Rwanda, Egypt, Kenya, and Namibia) and with a Joint ECA/OUA/ADB secretariat. The mandate of the Follow-up Committee was latter extended to monitoring the implementation of the ICPD-PA. The Follow-up Committee is to meet at least once every two years to provide a forum for national experts, African and non-African NGOs, United Nations system and Donors to exchange views and ideas on the modalities, progress and constraints in the implementation of the DND and the ICPD-PA. The Working Group which assists the Follow-up Committee in its activities is composed of the following core members of the Preparatory Committee of the third African Population Conference: ECA, OAU, ADB, UNFPA, IDEP, IFORD, RIPS, CERPOD, UAPS. The Working Group is to meet at least once a year, to set up programme priorities for the future. It has to report to the biennial meetings of the Follow-up Committee. Assessment of Actions The tradition for assessing the extent of implementation of the recommendations of the DND and the ICPD-PA has been predicated on the need for member States to learn from success stories and identify, early on, the problems and constraints that impede progress. Post-Cairo follow-up activities that have been undertaken at the regional level by ECA in collaboration with OUA, ADB and UNFPA, the Organizations that were mandated to co-operate with ECA in the activities of the work of the Follow-up Committee are the following: (i) Organisation and servicing of a Workshop of Experts and NGOs (Abidjan, 1995) to advise member States on the implementation of modalities for achieving the objectives of the DND and the ICPD-PA; (ii) Preparation and dissemination of Guidelines for the implementation of the DND and the ICPD-PA; (iii) Preparation of periodical progress reports on the implementation process at the national, regional and global levels and of studies and evaluation reports assessing factors and issues contributing to, or affecting the implementation of the two population and development frameworks; (iv) Organization and servicing of the subsequent meetings of the Follow-up Committee (Addis Ababa, 1995, 1997, 1998) and the Working Group Dakar, 1999, 2000) ; (v) Overall coordination and preparation of the Africa region's processes towards the preparation of the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on ICPD+5 (UNGASS) The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), hitherto known as the New African Initiative (NAI), "is a pledge by African leaders, based on a common vision and a firm and shared conviction, that they have a pressing duty to eradicate poverty and to place their countries, both individually and collectively, on a path of sustainable growth and development, and at the same time to participate actively in the world economy and body politic. The Programme is anchored on the determination of Africans to extricate themselves and the continent from the malaise of underdevelopment and exclusion in a globalising world". The Priority Areas in the NEPAD are : (i) Bridging the Infrastructure Gap; (ii) The Human Resource Development Initiative including reversing the Brain Drain; (iii) agriculture; (iv) The Environment Initiative; (v) Culture; (vi) Science and Technology Platforms; (vii) The Capital Flows Initiative; (viii) The Market Access Initiative; ( ix) Establishing a new relationship with industrialised countries and multilateral organisations. In the NEPAD, the population concerns focus on health, education and skills development. The Initiative advocates for investing in people to expand their choices and empower them, as well as to enable them to enjoy long, healthy and creative lives. It calls for increased investment by both African governments and development partners in education, health, the provision of clean water and energy, and the expansion of income-earning opportunities for the poor. All these are aimed at reducing the burden of poverty; the incidence of diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria; the incidence of food insecurity and poor nutrition; and the prevalence of illiteracy and poor access to education specially for women. ECA is fully committed to the NEPAD and has been alocated an important role in its implementation. ECA has been commissioned by the African Heads of States "to prepare special reports on ecah of the prioritised areas for considearion by the Steering Committee appointed by the Heads of States Implementation Committee. Purpose of Fourth Meeting of the Follow-up Committee The Fourth Meeting of the Follow-up Committee on the implementation of the DND and ICPD-PA will be held from 28-31 January 2002 in Yaounde, Cameroon. The theme of the Meeting is «Population Perspectives in the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD). The Meeting will be attended by national Experts, African and non-African NGOs and institutions who deal with population and development policies and programmes, in addition to implementing the DND and the ICPD-PA. The purpose of the meeting is : (i) To monitor country implementation of the key actions needed to accelerate progress and adopted at the United Nations General Assembly special session on the five-year review and appraisal of ICPD; (ii) To present successes and challenges in policy and programme interventions facilitating socio-economic change and demographic transition in African countries; (iii) To discuss the population perspectives in the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) in order to provide guidance that would facilitate the preparation of an explicit and well defined population and development component for submission to the consideration of the NEPAD Secretariat; (iv) To review and endorse proposals on the modalities and processes for the preparation of the 10-year review and appraisal of ICPD in Africa region, including the themes to be covered by the review, the issues to be addressed in each thematic area, the type of evaluation to be used and the partnership. |
