By Kay Scrimger
June 27, 2005

In addressing the Plenary Session June 13, Dr. Anna Tibaijuka, United Nations Under Secretary General and Executive Director of UN-HABITAT, outlined major recommendations of the Commission for Africa Report, entitled "Our Common Interest."

Chaired by Great Britain Prime Minister Tony Blair, the 17-member Commission for Africa, which included Tibaijuka, released its report in March 2005.

"Africa is a continent left behind by history but a continent determined to change" to successfully meet the challenges of poverty, the crisis of HIV/AIDS, and the stress on its cities brought about a massive migration of people from the rural to urban areas, Tibaijuka said.

The Commission on Africa report calls for:

Addressing governance and capacity-building needs in Africa, such as putting in place professional leadership and management incentives, providing equipment and infrastructure; ensuring accountability and transparency; and combating corruption;

Meeting the need for peace and security in African nations, including building regional and global capacity to prevent and resolve violent conflict;

Investing in People, including providing adequate education and skills, eliminating preventable diseases, addressing HIV/AIDS, and tackling exclusion and vulnerability; and

Pressing for growth and poverty reduction.

Tibaijuka said, "I am here to appeal for support from the U.S. Conference of Mayors to support the recommendations of the 'Blair Report.'"

Policy resolutions passed by the 73rd Annual Conference of Mayors included #62, Support for Increased U.S. Assistance to Combat Poverty in Africa, which endorsed the goals of the Commission on Africa of "increasing assistance to African nations" and called upon "the Administration and Congress to give careful consideration to the recommendations of the Commission [on Africa] report."

The Conference of Mayors has worked with Tibaijuka, including participating in the UN-HABITAT meeting in Barcelona in September 2004. According to Executive Director Tom Cochran, "Dr. Tibaijuka flew directly to Chicago from Nairobi, Kenya, where UN-HABITAT has its headquarters, in order to address the mayors on the Commission for Africa report. We are very appreciative that she made this long journey to be with us and look forward to continuing to work with UN-HABITAT."