Experts gathered in Addis Ababa hear daunting assessment on population and development in Africa

Abstract

Africa has made laudable progress towards the implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD/PoA) and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), according to a review of the ICPD/PoA published here today. The five yearly-review (ICPD@15) urged African leaders to translate their growing political commitment into concrete actions so as to overcome the many obstacles that are undermining the achievement of the MDGs and the implementation of the ICPD/PoA in the coming five years. In a presentation on the highlights from the report, Professor Oladele Arowolo, a consultant with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, stressed the challenges facing the continent in achieving those goals.