UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday emphasized the need to invest in Africa's young people and to address gender inequality for the sake of the continent's development.
He made the plea at the opening of Africa Week, a high-level event at the United Nations.
"The continent has the fastest growing youth population in the world. We can help make the most of this demographic dividend through greater investments in education, especially in science and technology, and by ensuring to enable youth participation in economic development," said Guterres. "People need skills that match the needs of today and tomorrow."
He stressed the importance of empowering Africa's women and girls. "In addition to the impact on individuals, gender inequality is costing sub-Saharan Africa tens of billions a year, like everywhere else in the world -- an enormous and needless loss of potential and economic growth."
He also asked for innovation in leveraging resources and financing for development. This includes tax reform by African countries themselves, but also international efforts to fight tax evasion, money laundering and the illicit financial flows that have depleted Africa's resource base, he said.
The UN chief urged donors to honor their commitments to development assistance and asked for efforts to help African countries attract innovative finance and gain greater access to financial markets and private investment.
Despite the many problems, Africa has great potential, he said. "Our goal is essentially to look at the enormous potential of Africa and to see how we can unite to transform that potential so that it can give full play."
The international community must change its way of seeing the African continent. "Africa is a space of resilience and a land of opportunities," he said.
In recent years, the continent has made headway in reducing poverty, diversifying economies, building the middle class and nurturing growth in a variety of growing sectors such as banking, telecoms and retail, said Guterres.
More children, and especially girls, are in primary school. More women are serving in parliaments. Child and maternal deaths have been reduced, as has the prevalence of HIV/AIDS, he noted.
Africa is also making progress in conflict prevention and security, he said.
