At UN, Africa balances highlighting its progress and poverty
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At the U.N. building in New York, “United Nations” means the trappings of protocol, the gravitas of diplomatic relations, the grandiose speeches.
But in the field, to many, the “United Nations” means water wells and mosquito nets and vaccination drives.
This week, African leaders brought the field to the headquarters as they told stories of illiteracy and malnutrition, about people living with HIV and without electricity.
The dance the African leaders must perform each year is delicate. Paint too bleak a picture, and rich countries, global funds and the U.N. system itself might wonder: What happened to the money we gave last year? But fail to lay out the very real challenges of their people, and they will fail to ignite the urgency needed to solve those problems.
