Heads of UN agencies in Nairobi

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Monday that the fact that a coordination meeting of top officials from all parts of the UN system was being held in Africa “underscored” the importance of the world body’s response to the continent’s needs, a UN statement said. Recalling that last year’s UN Millennium Summit had pledged to address war, poverty and environmental pollution, Annan said: “Nowhere in the world are those challenges more acute than here in Africa, so it is more than fitting that the entire UN family should be meeting here to discuss how we can work most effectively for the implementation of the Millennium goals.” He stressed that without action, international targets would “hardly do more than express a wish or an aspiration”. He observed that the impact of those targets would depend on an “unprecedented effort” by the UN and member states.

Twenty of the 25 UN agencies, funds and programmes are represented at the highest levels at the two-day meeting of the Administrative Committee on Coordination (ACC), which meets twice a year. At the Monday session, participants discussed the need for mobilisation of all actors against AIDS in Africa. A substantial part of the meeting on Tuesday was expected to focus on ways of strengthening system-wide support for sustainable development on the continent.