UN Unveils Rio+20 Stakes, Challenges

The System's Acting Coordinator, Dr Charlotte Faty Ndiaye, on Wednesday held a news briefing in Yaounde.

Ahead of the United Nations conference on sustainable development code-named, "Rio + 20" billed for June 20 - 22 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the UN System in Cameroon has made public the stakes and challenges of the conference on which Africa and Cameroon in particular could base their arguments. This as to meet the objectives of the much-heralded conference which is expected at term to take decisions, announce commitments and galvanise action on how together poverty and inequality can be minimised and environmental protection assured on an ever crowded planet.

The Acting Coordinator of the UN System in Cameroon, Dr. Charlotte Faty Ndiaye, who is also Country Representative for the World Health Organisation flanked by leaders of other UN agencies in the country, gave a news briefing at the UN Information Centre yesterday June 6. Quoting the UN Secretary General, Dr. Ndiaye said Rio+20 will be one of the most important global meetings on sustainable development of the present age. "At Rio, our vision must be clear: A sustainable green economy that protects the health of the environment while supporting achievements of the Millennium Development Goals through growth in income, decent work and poverty eradication," Mr Ban Ki-moon is quoted to have said.

Coming 20 years after the 1992 Earth Summit in the same city, the Dr Ndiaye sounded upbeat that Rio+20 will find solutions to problems of sustainable development such as cities, energy, water, food and ecosystems. All challenges that stare Africa and Cameroon in the face.

Like Dr. Ndiaye, other heads of UN agencies in the country gave startling revelations which necessitate urgent action to build human-friendly and sustainable future, like the theme of the conference which is, "The Future That We Want."

They were unanimous that the level of poverty is still high given that one in every five people in the world of seven billion people live on below 1.25 dollar a day, a billion and a half people do not have access to electricity, two and a half billion people do not have toilets and that greenhouse emissions continue to rise and more than a third of all known species could go extinct if climate change continues unchecked. "Rio + 20 will provide an opportunity to think globally so that we can all act locally to secure our common future," Dr Ndiaye said.