UNITED NATIONS, June 7 (UPI) -- Africa is still off-track to meet the world's shared goals for fighting poverty in all its forms, according to the United Nations.
U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro told reporters at U.N. World Headquarters in New York Wednesday that despite faster growth and strengthened institutions in Africa, more international support is needed for the continent.
Updating sub-Saharan Africa's progress towards obtaining the Millennium Development Goals, Migiro said the summit of the Group of Eight industrialized nations, meeting in Heiligendamm, Germany, provides an opportunity for donor countries to lay out concrete timetables for how they will increase development assistance to African countries.
She said the latest data compiled by the United Nations show "challenges remain daunting, yet progress is emerging" in meeting the MDGs, a set of global anti-poverty and development targets to be achieved by 2015.
The rise in extreme poverty -- the number of people living on less than $1 a day -- has leveled off since 1999; primary school enrollment is increasing in countries like Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, and malaria control has been achieved in Niger, Togo and Zambia, Migiro said.
Among the challenges, she cited "shockingly high" maternal mortality rates, and the number of new HIV/AIDS cases still rising faster than the rate at which new treatment is being offered.
All of the challenges, she said, can be addressed using resources, skills and technologies the international community has at its disposal, based on the commitments made by African governments and the donor community alike.
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William M. Reilly, UPI U.N. Correspondent
