An African perspective of the Millennium Development Goals: from skepticism to leadership and hope

CDP Background Paper No. 7

By Kerfalla Yansane

The first part of the report reviews the status and trends in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in sub-Saharan Africa. The second part examines the obstacles and challenges to and opportunities for achieving the Goals. The third part discusses the instruments and policies that would facilitate achieving the MDGs in sub-Saharan Africa. The report is intended to provide an African perspective with regard to ownership and the domestic policy adjustments required to achieve the internationally agreed development goals. The purpose of the report is to elucidate the following two key issues related to the central question of ownership: (i) the extent to which African policy-makers consider the MDGs valuable and are committed to the MDGs; and (ii) the extent to which the MDGs are reflected in the development programmes of African countries, particularly in Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs).