Issued by: Ministry of Social Development
7 November 2001
Chairperson,
Mr Nsiah of UNFPA,
Other stakeholders,
Media representatives,
Ladies and gentlemen.
Thank you for the opportunity to address you on the issue of sustainable development on the occasion of the launch of the World Population Report 2001. The release of this year's report on the state of the world's population coincides with our preparations for next year's World Summit on Sustainable Development.
The fact that South Africa is hosting the summit has informed the ongoing debates in the country on the meaning of sustainable development, and its translation into programmes and projects. Having read the report on population and environmental change, I was struck by the relevance of many of the themes it introduces.
Since the Rio conference in 1992, international meetings on the topics of population and development, social development, HIV/Aids, and human settlements have deepened the human development content of our conception of sustainable development. The report that we are releasing today takes these issues a step further by linking together out knowledge of population trends, inequality, poverty, environmental degradation and gender issues in a global framework that calls for the reduction of poverty and the promotion of social development. We must not miss the opportunity provided by next year's Summit on Sustainable Development to strengthen the global, regional and national social agenda for development.
Recent experiences in South Africa have highlighted the relationship between people and the environment they live in. The most dramatic illustrations of this are the many natural disasters that have struck the country and our neighbours over recent years. Floods, fires and storms affect the lives of many poor and marginalised communities, mainly because they had no choice but to settle on marginal land. The historical distribution of South Africa's population in accordance with the apartheid map located many people in high-density settlements where sustainable livelihoods could not be achieved.
Our health system is likewise burdened with the continued prevalence and re-emergence of diseases like tuberculosis and cholera that are a direct consequence of settlement in unacceptable conditions. Malaria remains a large killer of our people in parts of the country, and throughout Africa.
Chairperson, the demographics of South Africa clearly illustrate that women and children remain the most vulnerable to environmentally induced underdevelopment. Households that live in poverty, without potable water and electricity, and that live in houses that are poorly constructed -are usually headed by women. Gender inequality has to be eradicated if we are to make meaningful progress in attaining our sustainable development objectives.
The inequality between men and women in South and Southern Africa is nowhere more clearly illustrated than in HIV/Aids trends. In our country and region, more women are HIV+ than men. Sub-Saharan Africa is the only part of the world where more women than men are infected with HIV and die of Aids. Women also contract the disease at younger ages than men. Generally women in South Africa still do not have the power to negotiate safe sex and equal partnerships with men. This reality has to be confronted.
It is inescapable that we have to factor in the impact of Aids on all our development initiatives. Similarly, we have to assess the efficacy and impact of our programmes of prevention and mitigation. The most important element in such an approach is to ensure that all our plans place women at the centre of their focus. Our quest to empower women has to move beyond advocacy campaigns and entrenched equal rights. Full empowerment can only be achieved through material changes in the distribution of wealth and financial independence between men and women.
This all adds up to the conviction that environmental sustainability can only be achieved by enabling and empowering people to lead sustainable lives, free of poverty and inequality. I share this conviction. People struggling to survive are likely to harvest environmental resources in an unsustainable manner, unless provided with the means to do it differently.
Our attention also has to focus on the fact that the vast majority of natural resource consumption is by a wealthy few nations. In developing countries, this consumption is by a wealthy minority. These groups are in the position to make choices that could change their consumption behaviour. This change in consumption behaviour should be facilitated by information and education programmes to make such people aware of the consequences of their choices. This change can also be facilitated by measures to leverage certain choices.
The State of the World's Population Report 2001 makes clear that there is an emerging consensus on the actions that are required in order to ensure sustainable and equitable development. I commend the United Nations Population Fund for its role in building this new consensus.
To conclude, I wish to emphasise that no strategy to achieve sustainable development will work without placing people at the centre of its focus. One of our objectives for next year's World Summit should be to seek agreement on substantial investments in social development as part of any programmes that emanate from the Summit.
Economic and environmental recovery in Africa and in South Africa can only be achieved by our own people. Our people can only drive such a recovery, however, if they are provided with the social services that will capacitate them to do so.
Our achievements as a nation have to be measured by our ability to improve the lives of all people through the creation of a caring society. A caring society is a society that promotes the rights of all people who are excluded and marginalised.
Chairperson, I therefore trust that this report will serve as a resource in influencing decision making regarding development planning and implementation. I call on all stakeholders to actively work with the government and the UNFPA to operationalise the recommendations contained in the report.
I thank you.