19/09/2001 - OECD Secretary-General Donald Johnston welcomed the focus on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in a report released today by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan (1). The report draws a " road map" for achieving the goals set out in the Millennium Declaration, adopted by all 189 Member States at the Millennium Summit in September 2000.
These goals build on the International Development Goals that have been guiding the development agenda since the OECD's Development Assistance Committee published them in its 1996 report Shaping the 21st Century: The Role of Development Co-operation. They cover eradicating extreme poverty and hunger; achieving universal primary education; promoting gender equality and empowering women; reducing child mortality; improving maternal health; combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; ensuring environmental sustainability; and developing a global partnership for development.
The OECD will be working with the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in regular reporting and monitoring on progress towards these goals (2). The OECD is also deepening its work on policy coherence and development in order to create opportunities for better growth in developing countries (3). This ongoing work covers a number of topics, notably: international trade and foreign direct investment, international finance, food and agriculture, natural resources and environmental sustainability, social issues, governance and conflict.
The recent history of the world’s second largest continent has been plagued by internal conflict, famine and disease. But recent economic prospects for Africa are looking more favourable than they have for a number of years...
