73.     The Millennium Declaration places particular emphasis on the special needs of Africa and calls for focused support to “Africans in their struggle for lasting peace, poverty eradication and sustainable development.” The UN system has shown steadfast commitment to supporting Africans in their development efforts. This support is based on the principle of an Africa-owned and Africa-led development process and provided through international partnerships.

74.     Launched in 2001, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) fully embraced the Millennium Declaration. NEPAD provides a collective, regional framework for political, social and economic renewal. Just as national action to implement the priorities of NEPAD contributes to achieving the MDGs, so does international support for NEPAD contribute to strengthening African countries’ commitment and capacity to achieve the MDGs.

75.     NEPAD has become the guiding framework for coordinated efforts by UN organizations to help address the special needs of Africa. The UN system has adopted a three-tiered approach to coordinating its support for NEPAD. At the regional level, the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) acts as the UN system’s key interlocutor with African countries on NEPAD. ECA’s yearly consultative meetings serve as the principal coordinating mechanism for the activities of UN organizations in Africa. Under a cluster arrangement designed to facilitate inter-agency coordination, UN organizations carry out support activities, working closely with the African Union, the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and the NEPAD secretariat. And at the country level, UN organizations coordinate their work through the Resident Coordinator System and through existing mechanisms, such as PRSPs and CCAs/UNDAFs.

76.     For African countries to meet the Millennium Development Goals, substantially enhanced and sustained efforts by the international community will be required, particularly in improving market access for African goods, increasing ODA and debt relief to African countries, promoting both domestic and foreign investments, and facilitating the transfer of appropriate technology. In shaping priorities for inter-agency collaboration in support of NEPAD, particular attention is being given to human resource development and capacity-building. Their crucial importance in advancing the goals of NEPAD hasbeen recognized by the African Union and highlighted in all recent studies and reports, from the Millennium Project Report to UNESCO’s Education For All (EFA) Global Monitoring Report and the Commission for Africa Report.

77.     The UN system views its support for NEPAD as an integral part of its contribution to implementing the Millennium Declaration. From this perspective, the system has provided essential support for implementing the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), which aims to review the performance of African countries in adhering to mutually agreed codes and standards of good governance. And the UN system has intensified assistance in education-related areas, particularly literacy, as key not only to developing the human resources needed to enable Africa to play its proper role in the global economy, but also to promoting democratic governance, fostering intercultural dialogue and mutual understanding, and building equitable knowledge societies. As part of this overall effort, UN agencies have helped to assess the institutional capacities of the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) in human resources development. In other MDG-related areas, the system has extended support in developing and implementing the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP). It has helped establish the NEPAD cities programme, preparing action plans for cities’ development, including environmental action plans. And, through UN Water/Africa, the system has made a significant contribution to bringing together UN and non-UN stakeholders at the national, subregional and regional levels to develop a water facility with a continent-wide portfolio of projects worth US$680 million.

78.     The UN system is currently reviewing the effectiveness of these arrangements, with two objectives in mind: to shift further the focus of the inter-agency regional consultative mechanism from functioning as a forum for sharing information and identifying issues of common concern to operating as a vehicle for enhanced joint action and strategic coordination; and to align better the mechanism’s programme cluster arrangements with the planning and implementation of sub-regional and country programmes, thereby improving the overall alignment of the mechanism’s work.