New ideas are spreading throughout civil society. Leaders, elected by their people, are taking on public responsibilities, ready to respond to the challenges they face. Development can from now on be built on a solid foundation of democracy. I have just gotten back from the CFA Franc Zone meeting in Abidjan, where, with my fellow Finance Ministers from Africa, we have had extensive discussions on these issues. I also had an opportunity recently to meet in Paris with representatives of civil society and NGO's to hear their proposals and thoughts on development.
Poverty reduction is the absolute priority .
In Africa, one child in seven dies before the age of five. Strong economic growth, respectful of social cohesion and directly benefiting the poorest, is necessary. But the international community can and should go much farther. A poor country cannot renounce social progress because it lacks the capacity to reimburse loans. In addition, for the highly indebted poor countries, development banks, and IDA in particular, should be able to provide grant funding for the basic social sectors.