Harnessing Civil Society Potential Critical for Achieving MDGs

24 March 2007

“How Africa fares in reaching the Millennium Development Goals is a matter of life and death for millions of Africans,” said UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon in a message to the African Civil Society Forum, which commenced at the UN Conference Centre in the Ethiopia capital, Addis Ababa, on 22 March.

The message, read by UN Under-Secretary-General and ECA Executive Secretary, Abdoulie Janneh, emphasized that this is also a test of the ability of the United Nations to work with Africa's Governments and peoples to meet the 2015 deadline. “It will be one of my highest priorities to ensure that we meet that test,” said Mr. Ban.

Approximately 200 Civil Society representatives from across Africa attended the Forum, whose theme, “Democratizing Governance at regional and global level to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)” resonates with ECA's forthcoming Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development to be held in Addis Ababa on 2-3 April 2007.

Janneh underscored that Civil Society Organizations ( CSOs) have an increasingly important role in service delivery, especially in the social sector where government resources and capacities are stretched to the utmost. “CSO involvement in supporting governments to articulate and fashion appropriate strategies for scaling-up efforts to achieve the MDGs cannot be over emphasized.”

He assured the forum of ECA's commitment to deepening its engagement with CSOs through the work of its Governance and Public Administration Division (GPAD) saying, “ECA has a dual role as the regional arm of the United Nations and a close partnership and collaboration with the African Union Commission (AUC) and the NEPAD and APRM secretariats”.

He also called for active involvement by CSOs in the APRM process and urged them to lend support to countries that have acceded to the process and also encourage those who have not yet subscribed to join the mechanism.

On his part, AUC Deputy Chairperson Patrick Mazimhaka warned, “W e can no longer pretend that all is well and continue with our business-as-usual approach to our problems.” He said that the Forum should address the need for the adoption of integrated, time-tested and fast track approaches that have the potential of translating the UN Millennium Declaration into concrete and sustainable projects.

Mazimhaka also informed the Forum of AUCs plan to provide an opportunity for up to 150 CSOs from within the continent and the African Diaspora to participate in the General Assembly of its Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC).

The Forum was organized by the Conference of NGOs in Consultative relationship with the United Nations (CONGO) and the African Women's Development and Communication Network (FEMNET) in collaboration with ECA's Governance and Public Administration Division (GPAD) and the African Union Commission (AUC).

For more on CONGO, please visit http://www.ngocongo.org/

For more on ECA and Civil Society, please visit www.uneca.org/gpad

To interview any of the major participants interviews, contact ecainfo@uneca.org