NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Friday, May 11, 2012

African governments and donor countries should launch a “big push” this year towards meeting the millennium development goals (MDGs), according to a high-level panel.

The Africa Progress Panel, chaired by Kofi Annan, the former UN secretary general, said while the continent had made notable gains in the past decade, its record on poverty does not match its overall economic growth.

Entitled Jobs, Justice and Equity, the report warned that growing inequality, marginalisation and disenfranchisement are threatening Africa’s prospects and undermining the foundations of its recent success.

As for talk of the rise of an African middle class – a claim made by the African Development Bank and consultancy firms such as McKinsey – the panel said such conclusions are premature.