United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDG)

United Nations Millennium Goals 

Background
The eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – which range from halving extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing universal primary education, all by the target date of 2015 – form a blueprint agreed to by all the world’s countries and all the world’s leading development institutions. They have galvanized unprecedented efforts to meet the needs of the world’s poorest.

GOAL 1: ERADICATE EXTREME POVERTY & HUNGER

Target 1.A:
Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less than $1.25 a day

• The target of reducing extreme poverty rates by half was met five years ahead of the 2015 deadline.
• The global poverty rate at $1.25 a day fell in 2010 to less than half the 1990 rate. 700 million fewer people lived in conditions of extreme poverty in 2010 than in 1990. However, at the global level 1.2 billion people are still living in extreme poverty.

Target 1.B:
Achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all, including women and young people

• Globally, 384 million workers lived below the $1.25 a day poverty line in 2011—a reduction of 294 million since 2001.
• The gender gap in employment persists, with a 24.8 percentage point difference between men and women in the employment-to-population ratio in 2012.

Target 1.C:
Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger

• The hunger reduction target should be almost met by 2015.
• Globally, about 842 million people are estimated to be undernourished.
• More than 99 million children under age five are still undernourished and underweight.

GOAL 2: ACHIEVE UNIVERSAL PRIMARY EDUCATION

Target 2.A:
Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling

• Enrolment in primary education in developing regions reached 90 per cent in 2010, up from 82 per cent in 1999, which means more kids than ever are attending primary school.
• In 2011, 57 million children of primary school age were out of school.
• Even as countries with the toughest challenges have made large strides, progress on primary school enrolment has slowed. One in ten children of primary school age was still out of school in 2012.
• Gender gaps in youth literacy rates are also narrowing. Globally, 781 million adults and 126 million youth (aged 15 to 24) worldwide lack basic reading and writing skills, and more than 60 per cent of them are women.

GOAL 3: PROMOTE GENDER EQUALITY AND EMPOWER WOMEN

Target 3.A:
Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and in all levels of education no later than 2015

• The world has achieved equality in primary education between girls and boys, but few countries have achieved that target at all levels of education.
• The political participation of women keeps increasing. In January 2014, in 46 countries more than 30 per cent of members of parliament in at least one chamber were women.
• In many countries, gender inequality persists and women continue to face discrimination in access to education, work and economic assets, and participation in government. For example, in every developing region, women tend to hold less secure jobs than men, with fewer social benefits.
• Violence against women continues to undermine efforts to reach all goals.
• Poverty is a major barrier to secondary education, especially among older girls.
• Women are largely relegated to more vulnerable forms of employment.

GOAL 4: REDUCE CHILD MORTALITY

Target 4.A:
Reduce by two thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under-five mortality rate

• Despite population growth, the number of deaths in children under five worldwide declined from 12.7 million in 1990 to 6.3 million in 2013, which translates into about 17,000 fewer children dying each day.

• Since 2000, measles vaccines have averted over 14 million deaths.
• Despite determined global progress in reducing child deaths, an increasing proportion of child deaths are in sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia. Four out of every five deaths of children under age five occur in these regions.
• As the rate of under-five deaths overall declines, the proportion that occurs during the first month after birth is increasing.
• Children born into poverty are almost twice as likely to die before the age of five as those from wealthier families.
• Children of educated mothers—even mothers with only primary schooling—are more likely to survive than children of mothers with no education.

GOAL 5: IMPROVE MATERNAL HEALTH

Target 5.A:
Reduce by three quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio

• The maternal mortality ratio dropped by 45 per cent between 1990 and 2013, from 380 to 210 deaths per 100,000 live births. All regions have made progress but accelerated interventions are required in order meet the target.
• In Eastern Asia, Northern Africa and Southern Asia, maternal mortality has declined by around two-thirds.
• The proportion of deliveries in developing regions attended by skilled health personnel rose from 56 in 1990 to 68 per cent in 2012.
• The maternal mortality ratio in developing regions is still 14 times higher than in the developed regions.
• The rural-urban gap in skilled care during childbirth has narrowed.

Target 5.B:
Achieve, by 2015, universal access to reproductive health

• More women are receiving antenatal care. In developing regions, antenatal care increased from 65  per cent in 1990 to 83 per cent in 2012.
• Only half of women in developing regions receive the recommended amount of health care they need.
• Fewer teens are having children in most developing regions, but progress has slowed.
• The large increase in contraceptive use in the 1990s was not matched in the 2000s.
• The need for family planning is slowly being met for more women, but demand is increasing at a rapid pace.
• Official Development Assistance for reproductive health care and family planning remains low.

GOAL 6: COMBAT HIV/AIDS, MALARIA AND OTHER DISEASES

Target 6.A:
Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS

• New HIV infections continue to decline in most regions.
• The number of new HIV infections per 100 adults (aged 15 to 49) declined by 44 per cent between 2001 and 2012.
• An estimated 2.3 million cases of people of all ages are newly infected and 1.6 million people died from AID-related causes.
• Comprehensive knowledge of HIV transmission remains low among young people, along with condom use.
• About 210,000 children died of AIDS-related causes in 2012, compared to 320,000 in 2005.

Target 6.B:
Achieve, by 2010, universal access to treatment for HIV/AIDS for all those who need it

• Antiretroviral medicines to treat HIV were delivered to 9.5 million people in developing regions in 2012.
• Over 900,000 pregnant women living with HIV globally were receiving antiretroviral prophylaxis or treatment by December 2012.

Target 6.C:
Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases

• Between 2000 and 2012, the substantial expansion of malaria interventions led to a 42 per cent decline in malaria mortality rates globally.
• In the decade since 2000, 3.3 million deaths from malaria were averted, and the lives of three million young children were saved.
• Thanks to increased funding, more children are sleeping under insecticide-treated bed nets in sub-Saharan Africa.
• Treatment for tuberculosis has saved some 22  million lives between 1995 and 2012.

GOAL 7: ENSURE ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

Target 7.A:
Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes and reverse the loss of environmental resources

• Forests are a safety net for the poor, but they continue to disappear at an alarming rate.
• Global emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) have increased by more than 50  per cent since 1990.
• In the 26 years since the adoption of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, there has been a reduction of over 98 per cent in the consumption of ozone-depleting substances.
• Afforestation and the natural expansion of forests have reduced the net loss of forest from an average of 8.3 million hectares annually in the 1990s to an average of 5.2 million hectares annually between 2000 and 2010.

Target 7.B:
Reduce biodiversity loss, achieving, by 2010, a significant reduction in the rate of loss

• Protected ecosystems covered 14 per cent of land and coastal marine areas worldwide by 2012.

Target 7.C:
Halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation

• The world has met the target of halving the proportion of people without access to improved sources of water, five years ahead of schedule.
• Between 1990 and 2012, 2.3 billion people gained access to improved drinking water sources.
• Over a quarter of the world’s population has gained access to improved sanitation since 1990, yet one billion people still resort to open defecation.
• The vast majority – 82 per cent – of people practicing open defecation now live in middle-income, populous countries.
• In 2012, 748 million people remained without access to an improved source of drinking water.
• Despite progress, 2.5 billion in developing countries still lack access to improved sanitation facilities.

Target 7.D:
Achieve, by 2020, a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers

• The target was met well in advance of the 2020 deadline. More than 200 million of these people gained access to improved water sources, improved sanitation facilities, or durable or less crowded housing, thereby exceeding the MDG target
• 863 million people are estimated to be living in slums in 2012 compared to 650 million in 1990 and 760 million in 2000

GOAL 8: DEVELOP A GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP FOR DEVELOPMENT

Target 8.A:
Develop further an open, rule-based, predictable, non-discriminatory trading and financial system

• Official development assistance hit a record high of $134.8 billion in 2013.

• Aid shifted away from the poorest countries where attainment of the MDGs often lags the most.

Target 8.B:
Address the special needs of least developed countries

• Net bilateral aid to Africa (where 34 of the 48 least developed countries are located) fell by 5.6 per cent in 2013, to $28.9 billion in real terms.
• Eighty per cent of imports from developing countries enter developed countries duty-free.

Target 8.C:
Address the special needs of landlocked developing countries and small island developing States

• Aid to landlocked developing countries fell in 2010 for the first time in a decade, while aid to small island developing States increased substantially.

Target 8.D:
Deal comprehensively with the debt problems of developing countries

• The debt burden on developing countries remains stable at about 3 per cent of export revenue, which was a near 75 per cent drop since 2000.

Target 8.E:
In cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to affordable essential drugs in developing countries

• Resources available for providing essential medicines through some disease-specific global health funds increased in 2011, despite the global economic downturn.
• There has been little improvement in recent years in improving availability and affordability of essential medicines in developing countries.

Target 8.F:
In cooperation with the private sector, make available benefits of new technologies, especially information and communications

• Two-thirds of the world’s Internet users are in developing regions, where the number of Internet users doubled between 2009 and 2014.
• In 2014, Internet use penetration in developing countries grew by 8.7 per cent, twice as fast as in the developed world where its usage rose by 3.3 per cent.
• In Africa, almost 20 per cent of the population are online, up from 10 per cent in 2010.
• Thirty per cent of the world’s youth are digital natives, active online for at least five years.
• More than four billion people do not use the Internet, and 90 per cent of them are from the developing world.

All of this goals are very important to our society. 

Every leaders in all over the world should give efforts to achieve this goals.

but I think many people don't know about this MDG campaign.

this will be made by everyone. and everyone need to feel that these kinds of goals make our society more equal.

If you want more information, go to the this site ! http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals

the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty

the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty

2014 Theme: Leave no one behind: think, decide and act together against extreme poverty

The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty has been observed every year since 1993, when the United Nations General Assembly, by resolution 47/196, designated this day to promote awareness of the need to eradicate poverty and destitution in all countries. Fighting poverty remains at the core of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the development of the post-2015 development agenda.

The 2014 theme recognises and underscores the demanding challenge of identifying and securing the participation of those experiencing extreme poverty and social exclusion in the “Post-2015 Development Agenda” that will replace the Millennium Development Goals.

The official commemoration on 17 October at UN Headquarters will be an occasion to recognize people living in poverty as critical partners for fighting the development challenges we face. The commemoration at the UN is organized in partnership with the International Movement ATD Fourth World, the NGO Sub-committee for the Eradication of Poverty and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, supported by the Missions of France and Burkina Faso to the UN.

One of the initiatives planned is a ten-part exhibition of collective artwork by people living in poverty that will be mounted in the buildings of the United Nations from 13 October 2014.

There will be a panel discussion on 16 October 2014 (1.15-2.30 pm) at the United Nations Headquarters entitled “Beijing+20 - Leaving No One Behind: Women, Poverty, and Participation”, which will explore the disproportionate effects of poverty on women and women's contributions to ending poverty.

Help the United Nations to raise awareness about the progress made and the challenges that remain for people living in poverty. Use #EndPoverty to post your messages about the MDGs and the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.

Background
The observance of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty can be traced back to 17 October 1987. On that day, over a hundred thousand people gathered at the Trocadéro in Paris , where the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was signed in 1948, to honour the victims of extreme poverty, violence and hunger. They proclaimed that poverty is a violation of human rights and affirmed the need to come together to ensure that these rights are respected. These convictions are inscribed in a commemorative stone unveiled on this day. Since then, people of all backgrounds, beliefs and social origins have gathered every year on October 17th to renew their commitment and show their solidarity with the poor. Replicas of the commemorative stone have been unveiled around the world and serve as a gathering place to celebrate the Day. One such replica is located in the garden of United Nations Headquarters and is the site of the annual commemoration organized by the United Nations Secretariat in New York .

Through resolution 47/196 adopted on 22 December 1992, the General Assembly declared 17 October as the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty and invited all States to devote the Day to presenting and promoting, as appropriate in the national context, concrete activities with regard to the eradication of poverty and destitution. The resolution further invites intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to assist States, at their request, in organizing national activities for the observance of the Day, and requests the Secretary-General to take, within existing resources, the measures necessary to ensure the success of the Day's observance by the United Nations.

17 October presents an opportunity to acknowledge the effort and struggle of people living in poverty, a chance for them to make their concerns heard, and a moment to recognize that poor people are the first ones to fight against poverty. Participation of the poor themselves has been at the center of the Day's celebration since its very beginning. The commemoration of October 17th also reflects the willingness of people living in poverty to use their expertise to contribute to the eradication of poverty.

 When i read this book, I think starving people in the world caused by our greed.

poverty starving 

We can solve this problem!

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Human Rights 

image sourced by http://saifscribbles.wordpress.com

PREAMBLE

Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,

Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people,

Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law,

Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations,

Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,

Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in co-operation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms,

Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge,

Now, Therefore THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY proclaims THIS UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.

              

Article 1.

• All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 2.

• Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

Article 3.

• Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

Article 4.

• No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.

Article 5.

• No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Article 6.

• Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.

Article 7.

• All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.

Article 8.

• Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.

Article 9.

• No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

Article 10.

• Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.

Article 11.

• (1) Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.
• (2) No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.

Article 12.

• No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Article 13.

• (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.
• (2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.

Article 14.

• (1) Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.
• (2) This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 15.

• (1) Everyone has the right to a nationality.
• (2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.

Article 16.

• (1) Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.
• (2) Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.
• (3) The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.

Article 17.

• (1) Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.
• (2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.

Article 18.

• Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

Article 19.

• Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

Article 20.

• (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
• (2) No one may be compelled to belong to an association.

Article 21.

• (1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.
• (2) Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country.
• (3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.

Article 22.

• Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.

Article 23.

• (1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
• (2) Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
• (3) Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.
• (4) Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.

Article 24.

• Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.

Article 25.

• (1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
• (2) Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.

Article 26.

• (1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
• (2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
• (3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

Article 27.

• (1) Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
• (2) Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.

Article 28.

• Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.

Article 29.

• (1) Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.
• (2) In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.
• (3) These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 30.

• Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.

Everyone have the right to live freely without regard to religion, race or nationality. to get Human rights everyone, we ,all of us, do our best together! :-)

Ghanaian Diplomat Kofi Annan

For human rights, For World Peace

Kofi Atta Annan (born 8 April 1938) is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations from January 1997 to December 2006. Annan and the United Nations were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize "for their work for a better organized and more peaceful world." He is the Chairman of The Elders, a group founded by Nelson Mandela.

From February until August 2012, Annan was the UN–Arab League Joint Special Representative for Syria, to help find a resolution toongoing conflict there. Annan quit after becoming frustrated with the UN's lack of progress with regard to conflict resolution, stating that "when the Syrian people desperately need action, there continues to be finger-pointing and name-calling in the Security Council".

In the US-Africa leaders Summit

There have been few more powerful symbols of the changing African narrative than this week’s staging of the first U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington. The White House sees this event as a chance to strengthen ties with a dynamic part of the world that is an increasing contributor to global prosperity. With seven of the world’s fastest-growing economies on the continent , and a rapidly rising middle-class , the emphasis of U.S. relations with Africa has shifted decisively to investment opportunities and partnership.

The United States, of course, enjoys a special place in the imaginations of Africans — something that was reinforced by the election of President Obama. Young people continue, as I did when I came to study here many years ago, to look to the United States for inspiration, viewing this country as a place of economic opportunity built on a platform of democracy, human rights and religious tolerance.

America’s achievements resonate across all of Africa, where people also seek ways to improve life for their families. They aspire to choose — and reject — their leaders at the ballot box, to create courts that deliver impartial justice, to speak their minds without fear and to enjoy a free press that helps hold governments to account. But for many of them, these goals remain out of reach.

Beyond the continent, a peaceful and economically strong Africa can be a major part of the solution to many of the world’s great challenges. It can help drive global growth, reduce poverty and inequality, improve health and counter the threats of terrorism and climate change.

So what can the United States do to help Africa to achieve this potential?

First, it is important that the cultivation of stronger links with African countries not become a reason to downplay democracy and human rights. The United States must, of course, work with today’s African leaders, but ignoring political reality is not in the interests of Africa or America. After two decades of democratic progress, there are worrying signs of backsliding from leaders reluctant to step down or genuinely test their popularity at the polls. In the long run, Africans will remember who supported their democratic aspirations. The United States should throw its weight behind the continent’s own efforts to improve standards, such as through theAfrican Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance.

Second, U.S. security assistance must be focused on those who respect democratic norms. The wars on terror and drugs should not be conflated nor used as a justification for providing military assistance to regimes that abuse or neglect their people. Such aid can backfire, as we have seen in Mali.

Third, the summit offers the perfect opportunity for the United States to show leadership on the critical issue of transparency of payments to governments by the oil, gas and mining industries. The Dodd-Frank Act included a landmark requirement that publicly traded U.S. companies disclose all such payments, but the Securities and Exchange Commissionhas not begun enforcing the provision, which is crucial to reducing corruption in Africa. The United States must also continue to promote the global standards needed to prevent tax evasion on the continent. Africa loses twice as much in illicit financial outflows as it receives in international aid. Public disclosure of company ownership is essential to combating this problem.

Fourth, Africa needs wider investment, as well as more trade and greater access to markets, to help expand prosperity. Agriculture, which still employs two-thirds of Africa’s workforce and makes up a third of its gross domestic product, must be a priority. Africa remains the only continent thatcannot feed itself — a deeply worrying fact given that its population isprojected to double by 2050 and that climate change is forecast to hit Africa hard. U.S. investment and technical know-how to support sustainable farming techniques is vital. A green revolution has the potential to enable Africa not just to feed its own people but also to export food to the rest of the world.

Fifth, U.S. aid to Africa should not be diminished. While investment and trade may be the most important drivers of growth, development assistance still has a significant role to play, even if that role must evolve. The impact of U.S. assistance to combat HIV/AIDS in Africa shows what can be achieved. The recently launched Power Africa initiative, sponsored by USAID, can show how public-private partnerships can make a difference in providing energy. We need a similarly imaginative effort to improve the continent’s poor transportation links.

Finally, through its membership in international bodies such as the United Nations and the World Bank, the United States must encourage practices that put people at the center of economic policy-making. This includes the steps needed to meet the U.N.’s 2015 Millennium Development Goals. Many of these goals remain out of reach for a number of African countries. As the international community considers the post-2015 agenda, the United States can help ensure that the new goals reflect the complexity and diversity of the development challenges on the continent and commit sufficient resources to help meet the targets.

Africa will only become a stable and vibrant partner for the United States, and the world, if it provides opportunities for all its people. This requires peaceful, stable and democratic government.


My experience has taught me that there can be no long-term development without security and no long-term security without development. Nor will any society remain prosperous for long without the rule of law and respect for human rights. That is the enduring lesson of the American experience that Africa should aim to emulate and that the United States should seek to encourage.

Kofi Annan gives big efforts for the Africa. To be the developed countries, Africa should get many things not only physical things but also mental and spiritual things. especially, Respecting for Human Rights is very important thing. To get the high quality culture, we do not miss Human rights and security is more important than simple physical and technical things.