Mutual Review of Development Effectiveness in Africa 2010

This is the third Mutual Review of Development Effectiveness, undertaken jointly by the UN Economic Commission for Africa and the OECD. Its purpose is to assess what has been done by Africa and its development partners to deliver commitments in relation to development in Africa, what results have been achieved and what the key future priorities are.
Mutual Review of Development Effectiveness in Africa 2010

The third Mutual Review of Development Effectiveness in Africa (MRDE) report was launched by the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), Abdoulie Janneh, and the Secretary General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Angel Gurría, at a side event on the margins of the UN MDG Review Summit in New York on 20 September 2010.  The report was prepared jointly by UNECA and the OECD in response to a request from NEPAD Heads of State and Government to the two institutions to develop a mutual accountability process.

[See: Remarks by Abdoulie Janneh; and Remarks by Angel Gurría]

The purpose of the MRDE report is to assess:

  • What has been done by Africa and its development partners to deliver on commitments in relation to development in Africa;
  • What results have been achieved, and;
  • What the key future priorities are.

The report finds that there have been enormous changes since the last review was published in January 2009.  Although economic growth prospects for Africa for 2010 and 2011 are more positive, the report concludes that the food, economic and financial crises risk reversing the progress that Africa had started to make towards the achievement of the MDGs and poverty alleviation.

The Review identifies nine key priorities – for Africa, for its partners, and for the international community collectively - both at the MDG Review Summit and over the 5-year period which follows to 2015.

The 2010 MRDE report takes into account other important reviews in the run-up to the Summit, including the MDG Africa Working Group Review and the G8 Accountability Report.

It looks at commitments made by political leaders collectively, rather than national governments individually. In doing so, it attempts to look at overall performance, recognising that within this there is a large degree of variation and diversity between countries. It is organised within the same four clusters of topics as the 2009 MRDE Report, namely:

  • sustainable economic growth;
  • investing in people;
  • good governance; and
  • financing for development.