Madame President,

On behalf of the Group of 77 and China, we wish to thank the Secretary-General for his three reports on the items we are discussing today, namely, the Decade to Roll Back Malaria in Developing Countries, particularly in Africa the New Partnership for Africa's Development and the Causes of Conflict and the Promotion of Durable Peace and Sustainable Development in Africa.

Five years ago, the African Heads of State and Government signed the Abuja Declaration and Plan of Action that committed African countries to reaching specific targets on malaria prevention and control by 2005. Although much progress has been made in the fight against malaria, major interventions are still needed. Last year, malaria claimed more than one million lives worldwide, 90 per cent of whom were African and mostly children. It is quite clear that combating malaria can only be achieved if there is concerted and coordinated action among all stakeholders to fully implement all commitments that have been made on combating malaria in all the outcomes of all the major conferences and summits.

We call upon the international community to continue supporting the Global Fund to fight HIV and Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and through country-led initiatives to create conditions for full access to insecticide-treated mosquito nets, insecticides for indoor residual spraying for malaria control and effective anti-malarial combination treatments, including through the free distribution of such nets where appropriate.

Madame President,

In the 2005 World Summit Outcome the Heads of State and Government categorically stated that Africa was the only continent not on track to meet the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. This was once again reiterated in the Development Follow-up Resolution which emphasized that vigorous implementation of all development commitments was needed without delay and in particular the promises that have been made in support of Africa.

If we are to succeed in eradicating poverty and hunger in Africa then urgent and concerted action by developed countries and the international community is needed. In this regard the Group of 77 and China reiterates that the main challenge remaining for the development of Africa is for a truly global partnership for development to be fully implemented. It has become clear that despite all the actions and commitments by African countries the main constraint to African development remains the lack of adequate resources.

There is much that has been achieved in Africa since the adoption of the Millennium Declaration in 2000. The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), a programme of the African Union, is now five years old. The key NEPAD principles are African ownership in the promotion of socio-economic development, the advancement of democracy, human rights and good governance. Through NEPAD African leaders have taken ownership and leadership of the continent's socio-economic renewal agenda and transformed the content of the development agenda.

The NEPAD policies and priorities have become an acceptable internationally approved framework for Africa's development. Through NEPAD, African leaders have therefore fundamentally changed the development paradigm. The narrow approach of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers has been expanded to include a comprehensive and holistic approach to development through African ownership. In fact, most African countries now have their own national development strategies.

Despite efforts in implementing NEPAD, Africa is still far from realizing the levels of support required under this partnership. While we welcome the support provided by international partners, and the United Nations in particular, much more needs to be done.

The Group of 77 and China is of the view that resources must be mobilized for African States, the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and the African Union in order to support efforts aimed at achieving the MDGs within the framework of national development programmes and implementing the NEPAD programme. We have taken note of the innovative approaches that have been developed in collaboration with the Economic Commission for Africa, the IMF, the World Bank, and UNCTAD, UNDP and the Secretary-General's Office of the Special Adviser on Africa (OSAA) regarding funding and project implementation of priority areas for NEPAD.

We are pleased that UN agencies have been organized into various clusters line with NEPAD priority areas as a way to increase co-ordination and co-operation in their work relating to NEPAD. In addition, a number of these agencies are playing a critical role in supporting the work of NEPAD, especially in areas such as agriculture, trade and market access, infrastructural development, science and technology and others. However, we still urge that the United Nations mainstreams NEPAD into all its normative and operational activities.

Madame President,

On the Causes of Conflict and the Promotion of Durable Peace and Sustainable Development in Africa, the African Union has made substantial progress in conflict prevention on the continent. One of the key changes is the way in which Africans through the African Union are leading the resolution of conflicts and managing peace building by providing strong leadership from within. This African ownership in resolving African conflicts has produced remarkable results.

The African Union has created mechanisms that are instrumental in the resolution of conflicts and the promotion of durable peace on the continent. These include the Peace and Security Council whose decisions are binding to all Members of the African Union. There is also an African Economic Social and Cultural Council and a Pan African Parliament with representatives of all Member States of the African Union. The African Peer Review Mechanism has started reviewing best practices in several African countries as a way to strengthen and consolidate democracy and sustainable development on the continent.

Madame President,

The G77 and China reiterates that the main challenges remaining for the development of Africa are for a truly global equitable partnership for development to be fully implemented through the international community honouring their commitments.

We call on developed countries and the international community to honor their commitments to support African development by launching in 2007 concrete programmes of action aimed at fully implementing all the commitments made in the Millennium Declaration, the World Summit Outcome and the Development follow up Resolution.

I thank you.