Sub-Saharan African countries continue to fall behind in terms of economic and social development. The persistence of conflict and post-conflict situations as well as the HIV/AIDS pandemic, calls for large additional transfers of resources. Aid needs to be better targeted towards countries with low incomes or special needs. It is only through the development of human and social capabilities that inequality and increased marginalization can be prevented. The creation of an African aid and development portal to provide a gateway to all development and aid projects in Africa, including those of non-governmental organizations, is proposed.
A pervasive slowdown in the world economy, aggravated by the terrorist attacks in the United States of America, has led to the lowest growth of gross world product in a decade. Gross world production grew little more than 1 per cent in 2001 and the v