Boutros Boutros-Ghali

Message to the Tenth Annual Award Ceremony of the Africa Prize for Leadership for the Sustainable End of Hunger, New York - Thursday September 26, 1996

Distinguished Laureates, Your Excellencies, Honoured Guests,

On behalf of the United Nations, it gives me great pleasure to congratulate the laureates of the tenth annual Africa Prize for Leadership for the Sustainable End of Hunger.

President Touré's example is an inspiration to us all. He has worked tirelessly to establish democracy in Mali and to promote democracy, health, education and peace throughout Africa.

Chief Bisi Ogunleye has long been an advocate of economic empowerment and the rights of women. Her work at Cairo, Beijing, and other international fora, has highlighted the immense challenges faced daily by women in the world's least developed countries.

I would also like to take this opportunity of expressing my thanks to the chairman, president, staff and supporters of The Hunger Project from around the world who are here tonight. I am extremely grateful for your support of the work of the United Nations and, in particular, for your steadfast commitment to the continent of Africa.

You have successfully pioneered a decentralized, people-centered approach to human development. You have fostered greater cooperation and coordination between governments and NGOs, and all those with an interest in the fate of Africa.

And by making Africa your highest priority, you have worked hard to help meet the global human development goals set by the international community at World Conferences throughout the 1990s.

But we know that today, ever more serious efforts must be made in Africa. We need to translate conference commitments into practical advances on the ground. Above all, the world must do more to lift the millstone of debt from around the neck of Africa.

It is in this spirit that the United Nations has just concluded a mid-term review on its New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s. In addition, this year, the United Nations launched a Special Initiative on Africa, to bring together the expertise and the resources of all parts of the UN system in helping African countries achieve their aims.

Greater commitment by both African governments and the international community is essential to ensure that the people of Africa can achieve a sustainable end to hunger and malnutrition.

As global citizens, as women and men who have devoted yourselves to citizen action for a better world, you play an important role in the work of the United Nations.

A decade ago, The Hunger Project and other non-governmental organizations supported the Special Session of the General Assembly on the Economic Emergency in Africa. That meeting was very important for many reasons -in particular it marked forever a transformation in the partnership between African governments and NGOs. For the first time, a leader of an NGO - an African NGO - addressed the delegates of the General Assembly.

Since then, through the Africa Prize and other initiatives, The Hunger Project and the United Nations have worked in partnership towards our shared vision - a human community where all people have the right to lead healthy and productive lives, free from the scourges of hunger, environmental destruction and war.

Positive progress lies within our reach. It is imperative that we now recommit ourselves to making this vision a reality.

Thank you.
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