Meeting in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa, the ministers pledged to renew and intensify efforts to mobilize necessary resources, improve national strategies and enhance institutional and human resources so as to accelerate the achievement of the goals of the ICPD PoA and MDGs between now and 2014.

They recognized the achievements made at the national, regional and continental levels so far, but expressed concern at the slow progress in the areas of poverty reduction, maternal and child health, gender equity and equality, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and youth employment.

The UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Abdoulie Janneh, expressed satisfaction at the progress made by African countries to formulate national policies and legal frameworks to ensure the implementation of the ICPD PoA.

However, he stressed that there needs to be careful monitoring of the work being done. “It is therefore important that we track progress that has been made thus far in the implementation of their provisions and recommendations while also determining what needs to be done in the remaining five years of the 20-year Programme of Action,” he said.

Speaking on behalf of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), Dr. Maxwell Mkwezamlamba, Commissioner for Economic Affairs, said the organization has made significant strides in supporting global action as part of its contribution to the implementation of the ICPD/ PoA and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Several initiatives

“In this regard, several initiatives have been adopted over the last years, with the view to increasing political commitment, enhancing advocacy and giving high visibility to most of the socio-economic development challenges facing Africa”, he added.

Some of these initiatives include: the Commission on Accelerated Reduction of Maternal Mortality in Africa dubbed (CARMA); the Maputo Plan of Action on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights; and the African Charter on statistics, which provides a framework for statistical development and harmonization in Africa.

Ms. Mari Simonen, UN Assistant Secretary General, Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), said ICPD@15 is an opportunity to celebrate the achievements, recognize the challenges ahead and recommit to the agenda that puts people first to foster sustainable human development.

She urged the participants to identify strategic priorities for Africa to accelerate progress in implementing the recommendations as well as make the right decisions to ensure that reproductive health is considered as a political and financial priority at national levels.

The four-day meeting brought together more than 250 delegates, including more than 30 ministers and representatives, along with experts and civil society organizations.