Graça Machel addresses UNFPA Africa Regional Planning Meeting

Johannesburg — Conflicts in Africa are diverting much needed resources from crucial development tasks, Graça Machel, a champion for women and children, said in her keynote address this morning to the Africa regional planning meeting of UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund.

“Peace is a fundamental foundation for development of this continent,” she told a group of 150 representatives and technical experts from around the world, who had gathered in Johannesburg for the meeting. “While we still have conflict, prospects for development are in jeopardy.”

Machel is a renowned educator and social and political activist. As the wife of former South African president Nelson Mandela and the widow of the late Mozambican president Samora Machel, she has a unique perspective on African governance and politics. She is also a founding member of the Elders, a group of respected world leaders dedicated to inspiring positive change.

In addition to discussing the many challenges that confront the continent, including the food crisis, Machel talked about areas of progress. “Democracy is gaining terrain in Africa,” she said, “Not just in terms of elections, but in the rooting of democratic institutions and culture. More than 50 per cent of the countries on this continent can be considered democracies.” She said this was notable in a continent that had so recently completed its liberation.

Machel called on UNFPA to identify and work with partners and allies who can amplify action to fulfill the agenda that emerged from the International Conference on Population and Development agenda, including advancing the rights of women.

In her opening statement which followed, Thoraya A. Obaid, UNFPA's Executive Director, echoed Machel’s thoughts on the need for partnerships and networks to accelerate social change.

“Just remember that in this century, change is not coming through individual leadership but through networking relationships,” said Ms. Obaid. “We do not know who the leaders are in many of the social movements that are happening in the streets and that we see in the media but we know there is a movement for change. That is the power of networking for change; it is all about mobilizing communities to demand change and building institutions to deliver that change.”

The regional meeting also officially launched the Africa Regional Office in Johannesburg, as part of UNFPA’s reorganization to become more field-focused. The reorganization entails shifting resources to country and regional levels as a way to deliver quality and timely assistance to the field. The aim of this meeting was to foster a common understanding of new roles and responsibilities and to address the impact of the global financial crisis on UNFPA's programming in sub-Saharan Africa.