Blackman Ngoro In 2001 the United Nations adopted as key targets for the developing world, the Millennium Development Goals. The achievement of these goals frees men and women and children from grinding poverty.

But wars, questions of governance, accountability, unfair trade regimes, developed world protectionist policies, subsidization of agriculture by developed countries and so on are standing in Africa's way. Some of the problems in some African countries are of their own making while others are due to effects of globalization. However these millennium goals are commonly accepted as a framework for measuring development progress. The eight MDGS are: 1.Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger  Reduce by half the proportion of people living on less than $1 a day and those who suffer from hunger. 2.Achieve universal primary education  Ensure that all boys and girls complete a full course of primary schooling. 3.Promote gender equality and empower women Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education preferably by 2005, and at all levels by 2015. 4.Reduce child mortality Reduce by two thirds the mortality rate among children under five. 5.Improve maternal health  Reduce by three quarters the maternal mortality ratio. 6.Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases Halt and begin to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS and the incidence of malaria and other major diseases. 7.Ensure environmental sustainability Integrate sustainable development principles into country policies and programmes; reverse loss of environmental resources. Halve the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and significantly improve the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers, by 2020. 8.Develop a global partnership for development. Develop an open trading and financial system that is rules-based and non-discriminatory, and includes a global commitment to good governance, development and poverty reduction. Address the least developed countries' special needs in trade, debt relief and for more generous aid. Address the special needs of landlocked and small island developing states. Address developing countries' debt problems through measures to make debt sustainable. In cooperation with developing countries, develop decent, productive work for youth. In cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to affordable essential drugs in developing countries. In cooperation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies -- especially information and communications technologies.   But how many African countries are close to meeting these goals? How many nations on the Africa continent are working towards the meeting of one, two or three of these goals and making real progress? Online Asia Africa News will start focusing on these issues and measure how the partnerships African diplomats in Asia have made assist  with working towards meeting these goals. We ask the many Asian civil society organizations involved in African countries to help us inform our readers by telling us what contributions they are making in their own sectors of development, be it agriculture, education, health, IT, infrastructure development, governance, , food security etc. Do you think what you are doing is making a difference? How do you know? Contact the editor at: garikai.masara@gmail.com