Mr Chairman, Excellencies,

Every time a person goes hungry, or has no access to clean water or basic health care, fundamental human rights are violated. We cannot just turn away. We have a responsibility to every individual in need. Because when someone’s fundamental rights are violated, when someone else is suffering, this concerns us all.

The Millennium Development Goals can and must be met. But they won't be unless we all, developed and developing countries alike, improve on our performance. We need to do more, we need to do it better and we need to do it faster. Our actions must match our words.

The situation in sub-Saharan Africa gives cause for particular concern. Certain countries have made significant progress. But the region as a whole is falling seriously short on most of the Millennium Goals. There is food insecurity, high child and maternal mortality, and an overall rise in extreme poverty. As if this is not enough, there is the wide-ranging impact of the HIV and AIDS pandemic. The situation that requires extraordinary efforts on the part of the world community.

I am encouraged by the emphasis given to Africa by the Blair Commission, by the EU, by the G-8 and by other groups and organisations. Norway is doing its part, and we are stepping up our aid to African partner countries even further.

We need:

• more aidmore debt relief
• fresh money, and
• a new drive for sustainable development

We already have the tools we need. We have the Monterrey consensus. We have the Millennium Goals. And, not least, we have the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, which tells us how to deliver and manage aid. However, all we need is the will, a genuine will to put our joint commitments into practice.

Mr Chairman, Excellencies, the fight against poverty is a fight we have to win. Let us ensure that every individual has the right to live a life in dignity and freedom.

Thank you.