Joint ECA/AERC “Conference on Poverty, Inequality and Labour Markets”: “Using Knowledge and Peer Learning to Improve Policies to Reduce Poverty in Africa”

Abstract

Opening Remarks by Abdoulie Janneh UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary at the Joint ECA/AERC “Conference on Poverty, Inequality and Labour Markets” “Using Knowledge and Peer Learning to Improve Policies to Reduce Poverty in Africa”. Mr. Janneh, on his remarks highlighted that, ECA is committed to partnering with African research institutions to accompany our countries in their search for durable answers to the challenges of development that they face. This Conference is important for reasons that we all know – poverty remains a major development challenge in our region, a problem that bars our access to the club of developed countries. the current evidence does suggest is that at current rates of growth, our region is performing rather poorly with respect to meeting the targets of the Millennium Development Goals. The importance of knowledge for economic growth is pretty well known. Francis Bacon long ago said, “Knowledge itself is power”.