The African Union (AU) ministerial meeting of Ministers of Social Development took place in Khartoum, Sudan from 21-25 November. The meeting was preceded by an experts’ meeting from 21-22 November. Professor Nana Apt, Dean of Academic Affairs at Ashesi was one of the invited social development experts to this meeting. The experts were tasked to provide direction regarding strategies for the implementation of the Social Policy Framework for Africa; to review the implementation of the Plan of Action of the Decade of Persons with Disabilities; to consider modalities for the creation of the AU Advisory Council on Ageing; to review the implementation of the Plan of Action on the Family in Africa; and to consider the Monitoring and Evaluation Framework for the implementation of the Call for Accelerated Action Towards Africa Fit for Children.
The Khartoum meeting of Ministers responsible for Social development in Africa was held to strengthen policy action in all the above mentioned social development fields. The goal was to facilitate and promote social inclusion as a springboard for sustainable social and economic development in Africa.
In attendance at the Ministerial meeting were delegates from 23 AU member states: Algeria, Angola, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, The Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, The United Republic of Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.