MDGs: Africa on the Right Track

By Nicholas Tago

Addis Ababa—Africa is on the right track to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) according to the Director of the Economic Development and NEPAD Division of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Prof. Emmanuel Nnadozie. According to Prof Nnadozie,   African countries had made progress in their pursuit of the MDGs, describing the situation as “the cup is half-full”.

“Countries have showed a commitment and willingness to achieve the MDGs. And we believe that this is doable, if we do more”, he said in a media release sent to newsrooms.

Carving an emerging picture of a continent focused on securing progress in realizing strategic development , he cited the increased number of women in the Rwandan Parliament, Ghana’s efforts in strengthening its economy, gender parity in primary education, net primary enrollment, drastic maternal mortality reduction, and increased availability of antiretroviral treatment against the spread of HIV/AIDs in many countries, among others.

Nnadozie, however, cautioned that “at a certain point finding a way to meet the challenges of the MDGs is difficult and some countries are bound to request support from outside”. While aid is important, continuous dependence can be counterproductive.

With budgetary constraints, some African countries may not achieve all the MDGs, by 2015, he added, but with good resources and good governance considerable progress can be made.

According to the recently published Africa MDGs 2010 report jointly prepared by the ECA, African Union, AfDB Group and UNDP, the rate of improvement varies across goals, countries and within countries.

The report, which is based on latest updated and harmonized data from the UN agencies and OECD statistics databases, reveals that while Africa is lagging on the attainment of the MDGs compared to other regions, African countries through support from their international development partners, including the ECA, AfDB and UNDP, have taken a series of measures aimed at stemming the adverse effects of development.

It states there has been progress in reducing poverty rates, attributing such advances to improvements in the political, economic and social landscape across much of the continent.

It brings attention to policy innovations that are facilitating progress toward attainment of the MDGs.

Countries have used the MDGs as a framework for development planning, strengthening coordination and cascading the MDGs to lower tiers of government, it further states.

As the year 2015, nears African countries, their governments, and development organizations continue to prepare to determine the extent to which they will meet other Millennium Development Goals.