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Improvingclimate data fordevelopmentWorkshop on ClimateInformation for Developmentin AfricaAddis Ababa, Ethiopia18 April 2006The adoption of the Millennium Declaration in September 2000,showed a commitment by Member States to collectively makingthe right to development a reality for everyone, and to free thehuman race from want. They acknowledged that progress based onsustainable economic growth must focus on the poor. At the sametime, the Declaration set eight Millennium Development Goals(MDGs), and called for the promotion of “a coordinated strategy,tackling many problems simultaneously across a broad front” in orderto meet them by 2015.In that context, the environmental issues are, without doubt, anessential element of a comprehensive approach to achieving theMDGs, especially in Africa.Following the commitment made in the 2005 World Summit outcomedocument to address the serious challenge posed by climatechange through the creation of a worldwide early warning system forall natural hazards, this workshop provides a timely opportunity toconsider how climate information can be effectively used in supportof efforts to achieve the MDGs in this region as well as the actionsthat must now be taken on the ground.The imperative for action is clear. In recent years, humanity has hadto contend with an increasing spate of weather-related disaster risks,214 Part Four