Statement by
Josué Dioné
Director, Sustainable Development
Division
United Nations Economic Commission
for Africa (ECA)
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
07
December, 2005
Chairperson,
Honorable Ministers
Your Excellency, Mme Rosebud Kurwijila, Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture of the African Union Commission,
Excellencies, Ambassadors and members of the Diplomatic Community,
Representatives of Regional Economic Communities and UN Agencies,
Distinguished Participants,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
First of all, I wish to convey to you warm greetings from the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Mr. Abdoulie Janneh, who sends his regrets for not being able to be here in person. On his behalf, I thank the African Union Commission for inviting ECA to participate in this first African Union Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction: Building the Resilience of African Nations and Communities to Disasters. Indeed, we are pleased to be effectively associated with this important meeting and to be given the opportunity to say a few words at the opening of the event.
No doubt, we in Africa face daunting challenges of improving policies, building institutions and investing in productive, social and services sectors to reach and sustain the 7 percent annual GDP growth rate required to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Yet, we are severely constrained in our pursuit of the MDGs by disasters of several orders, which time and again take many African countries back to square one in their efforts at paving a cumulative path to getting their people out of poverty and to a state of sustainable economic, social and environmental development.
We all know too well how severe and recurrent droughts not only constitute imminent threats to the very lives of millions of Africans every year, but also jeopardize the productive capacities and the agriculture-based livelihoods of millions of African households. Evidence from research shows that, in the absence of effective insurance and credit systems, it may take farm households up to 3-5 years to recover their initial productive capital and capacity following a severe drought. Similar hardships and setbacks result from other natural hazards such as floods and tropical storms, which frequently strike different countries of the continent.
Compounding the disastrous impact of natural hazards is that of the HIV/AIDS pandemic which, estimates show, could reduce by 0.4 to 1.5 percent the GDP growth rate of African economies. And the arithmetic of disasters gets even more complex when we add the fact that crises resulting from man-made disasters, i.e. conflicts, can easily cut another few percentage points from GDP growth rates in the countries that are directly affected as well as their neighbors and, sometimes, a whole sub-region. The implications for progress on the MDG front of any combinations of disasters from natural causes, HIV/AIDS and conflicts - as it often happens in many African countries -- are obviously dramatic.
Chairperson,
Excellencies,
These are strong reasons why we, at ECA, attach particular importance to addressing disaster risk as an integral part of policies, strategies and programs for poverty reduction and sustainable development in Africa. As we deploy increasing energies for mobilizing the levels of public and private investments needed to develop human resources, build infrastructure, transform agriculture, and expand industries and services, we must also face up to the multiple disasters that frequently wipe out the modest gains we make and prevent us from acceding a cumulative process of wealth creation and social well being.
It is in this regard that, in the framework of our work program for the 2004-2005 Biennium, we planned and implemented some policy work on Sub-regional Strategies for Preventing and Managing Disaster-related Food Crisis. The central message from this work is one of advocacy for a comprehensive approach to mainstreaming disaster risk reduction into development policies, strategies and plans, within a framework of stronger and effective regional integration.
In an integrated manner, this approach proposes a set of complementary actions to provide for preparedness, insurance and relief in preventing - ideally -- and managing risks of food crises resulting from disasters on a structural and sustainable basis. It calls for crafting pragmatic public-private partnerships at local, national and regional levels for facing up to the double challenge of getting African agriculture moving to feed the growing population of the continent and of taking collective action to deal with the risk of disaster-related food crises.
We are in the process of completing a policy paper to share with all of you on this subject, hoping that it would be a useful extension and input to the commendable work carried out under the leadership of the African Union for the preparation, adoption and implementation of the Africa Regional Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction.
Excellencies,
Distinguished Participants,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
This is just to indicate that ECA is fully committed to contribute to devising strategies and implementing action programs with a view to reducing disaster risks on the continent. And just as we have engaged in a strong partnership with the AU Commission and the African Development Bank on a major initiative on land issues and policies, we stand ready to deliver our share of labor in the challenging task of tackling disaster risks, which stand in Africa's way to achieving the MDGs.
In that spirit, and in line with our new Executive Secretary's firm commitment to ensure that a seamless relationship is developed between ECA and the African Union Commission, I wish to kindly request that ECA be included in the list of active partners for taking forward the agenda of Disaster Risk Reduction in Africa. We stand ready to avail, in an effective partnership with the AU Commission and the ADB, our full support to the Program of Action for the Implementation of the African Regional Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction.
I wish you fruitful deliberations and thank you for your kind attention.