ECA Press Release No. 13/2005

Addis Ababa, 5 July 2005 (ECA) - The Economic Commission for Africa welcomes the G8 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland this week, and believes it can play an important part in spurring Africa’s progress towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

This progress currently presents a mixed picture. While it is true that under current conditions most sub-Saharan countries will fail to meet the goals, the outlook is not all bleak. Countries must be looked at individually and the MDGs themselves should be considered as targets to trigger action, rather than just technically feasible goals for Africa.

Reducing poverty in Africa is not just a question of doubling aid. While its value in meeting the MDGs cannot be minimized, the quality of aid is of critical importance. In the past, quality has been compromised by donors’ restrictive delivery methods and by poor governance on the part of beneficiary countries.

But recent years have witnessed improvements in governance and accountability, as well as in the delivery of aid. This has had a positive effect on the use of aid in a number of countries.

Budget support initiatives have served to streamline and coordinate aid delivery. And the introduction of more rigorous expenditure and tracking systems in several countries has improved the quality of social spending, boosting - for example - school enrolment in places such as Tanzania, Ghana, Zambia, Uganda and Mozambique.
Various sub-Saharan nations are heading in the right direction to meet some of the MDGs. Rwanda – which just over a decade ago was mired in genocidal conflict - is on track to achieve universal primary education, gender equality in schools and to combat malaria. And Cape Verde, which has seen a significant expansion of its private sector over the last few years, is likely to meet at least four of the goals – achieving universal primary education, reducing child mortality, improving maternal mortality and ensuring environmental sustainability.

It is essential to tackle inequality and accelerate economic growth simultaneously to have a greater impact on poverty reduction. Over the past 10 years, African economies have grown at an average annual rate of 3.7 percent – a major improvement over the 1980s and early 1990s. But at least 7 percent growth is needed for this to have any sustainable effect on poverty.

Economic growth is further stunted by small domestic markets, widespread conflict, political instability and slow pace of reforms. The devastating effect of the HIV/AIDS pandemic threatens to wipe out any social and economic gains on the continent. Regional integration can help overcome some of these problems. Pooling resources and experience can encourage common solutions and serve as a catalyst for the continent’s sustained development.

Issued by the ECA Communication Team
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