Africa and sustainable development

In 1992, for the first time, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) gave an analytical approach to the concept of sustainable development while the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), in 2002, further provided its analytical tool. The multiple challenges to development in Africa have necessitated the use of a holistic approach that integrates economic, social and environmental dimensions, and generates new knowledge, policies and actions. African countries have been growing at a relatively fast rate since the beginning of the new millennium, which in turn has led to improvements in several areas such as trade, mobilization of government revenue, infrastructure development, and the provision of social services and vice versa. Africa is endowed with rich and diverse renewable and non-renewable natural resources, yet its people remain among the poorest in the world. Improving the welfare of people in Africa requires sustainable development supported with peace and stability, and with human, institutional and organizational capacities to address immediate challenges, such as poverty and diseases. � 2014 by Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.