UN General Assembly
2014

basic health care and social protection deserve further investment and political commitment. Worse, the digital divide has been slow to show any improvement, for lack of an adequate policy of ownership or transfers of science and new technologies. However, encouraging results have been achieved in the fight against malaria and HIV/AIDS despite the spectre of the disease, which still haunts the lives of millions of people who do not have access to antiretroviral medicine. The many challenges facing our world require an urgent, comprehensive and coordinated response. In the collective quest for well-being, Africa in particular has seen renewed growth, but it is having difficulty in translating that growth into a true engine for development. Eradicating poverty is an uphill battle. The new Africa that we aspire to should promote structural changes that enable it to acquire robust and diversified economies so as to guarantee reinvestment in value-added and environmentally friendly industries in future. In that context, the Climate Summit held on the sidelines of the current session has provided hope that a