“Parliaments are key for ensuring the achievement of the MDGs in Africa. Where parliaments are active they make a huge difference to implementing the MDGs. Africa is proof.” – Charles Abugre, Africa Director of the UN Millennium Campaign

The meeting of the African Networks of Parliamentarians on the MDGs started today at United Nations Conference Centre in Addis Ababa. Organized by the UN Millennium Campaign, the ‘All Africa Parliamentary Conference on the Millennium Development Goals and Post-2015 Development agenda’ will run from May 22-24.

The Chair of the Steering Committee, Mr. Alhassan Ado Garba from Nigeria welcomed all participants which have come from Nigeria, Mozambique, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Mali, Tchad, Niger, Rwanda and observers from Asian parliaments, emphasizing the importance of The Africa Network of Parliamentarians on the MDGs as a platform for sharing experiences across the continent and driving greater oversight for delivering on the MDGs.

Mr. Tekele Tessema from the House of Peoples Representatives of Ethiopia welcomed participants and encouraged all to start with sharing ideas, putting those ideas into to practice and scaling them up across the continent.

Since 2010 the steering committee of the Network has undertaken advocacy trips to Senegal, Ghana, Rwanda, Ethiopia and Uganda to explain the importance of an African network of parliamentarians actively supporting the Millennium Development Goals. The main focus of this unique and effective network is to roll out shared strategy across all parliaments of Africa to promote MDGs in Africa, assess National Development Plans and harmonize with targets of MDGs, ensure monitoring of engagement, indentify moments of actions when Members of Parliaments can push policy, highlight the interconnections between MDGs, share best practices and brainstorm on measure to ensure Africa parliaments have a voice.

The network recently decided to organize an Africa-wide assembly to ensure all of African parliaments take part in campaigning for 2015 and thinking what development agenda should look like beyond 2015.

We will continue to bring you updates on this meeting throughout the week.