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We have also promoted the establishment of institutions such as theAfrican Development Bank, regional economic communities and regionalCentres of Excellence; we are building up regional capacitiesin trade negotiations, statistics and information and communicationtechnologies; we have fashioned useful policymaking tools such asthe African Gender Development Index and the MDG Mapper; andwe continue to provide technical backstopping for African initiativessuch as NEPAD and APRM.As we examine fifty years of development policy in Africa, we arecompelled to address issues such as growth and employment, andthe building of capable states. We also need to confront challengesof a global nature, such as HIV/AIDS, which is ravaging our fragileskills base, and climate change, which is damaging delicate eco-systemsand affecting the livelihoods of millions of poor people. Urgentsolutions are also required to tackle rising food and oil prices, whichare breeding social tensions in several African countries and acrossthe globe. Several key messages have emerged from ECA’s work overthe years, including the need for regional unity in tackling commonchallenges; the imperative of economic diversification; the case forAfrican ownership of its development agenda; and the importanceof striking the right balance in development policy and strategy.The importance of African unity to meet global and regional challengesresonated at the first meeting of the Commission in 1958 andcontinues to find expression in the regional integration agenda ofthe continent. We should therefore move away from thinking aboutissues of growth and development solely in national terms. For instance,Africa needs to diversify its products and trade patterns if it isto sustain and increase its current growth rate of 5.8% and generatemuch needed employment for our people. Yet, intra-Africa traderemains very low and considerable obstacles remain in the way ofeconomic transactions between our small, fragmented economies.We have continuously espoused African ownership of its developmentagenda, an idea that found expression in the Lagos Plan ofAction and is now embodied in the NEPAD programme. While thedetails of these landmark documents may differ, their message is thesame: Africa’s development must be underpinned by growth withIntegrating Africa17