Doha — Africa has reiterated the demand for two permanent and two non-permanent seats on the UN Security Council with full rights and privileges.
This is to amplify the voices of those living in poverty in the continent and ensure that they are fairly represented in multilateral institutions, President William Ruto has said.
Delivering a statement on behalf of the African Group of States at the ongoing Second World Summit for Social Development in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday, the President said: “True social development cannot thrive without historical justice and equal representation.”
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With the African Union having declared 2025 the Year of Justice for Africans and People of African Descent through Reparations, he added: “This is a defining step towards justice and healing for Africa and its diaspora, calling for accountability for the crimes of slavery, colonisation, Apartheid, and exploitation that caused lasting human and environmental harm.”
Present were UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, and a host of other heads of State and governments.
Noting that the first ever such summit took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, 30 years ago, President Ruto pointed out that a lot has changed since then, but poverty, unemployment and social exclusion remain the defining challenges of the time.
“Across many sub-regions in Africa and Western Asia, hunger is rising, growth is slowing down, and vulnerability is deepening. Health and education systems are under strain, and energy deficits hold back opportunity,” he said.
To change the tide, he explained that Africa’s priorities are in transforming informal sectors, enhancing productive capacity, and expanding access to global markets.
He said these require stronger international cooperation in line with the Addis Ababa Action Agenda and the Right to Development.
The President called for comprehensive reform of the international financial architecture to make it fair, transparent, and responsive to the needs of developing nations and their people.
“We urge decisive action on debt distress and progress towards the United Nations Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation. We also underscore our call for a UN Convention on Sovereign Debt,” he said.
At the same time, President Ruto delivered Kenya’s statement and outlined the steps the country is taking to address poverty, unemployment, inequality and social exclusion through the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda.
On education, he told the meeting that the government has completed the transition to the Competence-Based Education and Training system, hiring more teachers and introducing a student-centred funding model for higher education that guarantees quality education for every learner.
“In three years, we have hired 76,000 new teachers, a number that will reach 100,000 by January 2026. It will improve the teacher-to-learner ratio from 1:45 to 1:29; putting us on course to meet UNESCO’s 1:25 benchmark by 2027,” he said.
He also noted that his administration has rapidly expanded technical and vocational education and training institutions across the country.
To empower citizens economically, he said the government initiated the Financial Inclusion Fund, popular known as the Hustler Fund, which has disbursed KSh80 billion ($615 million) to 26.7 million Kenyans to date.
Additionally, the government, in conjunction with international partners, will this week launch the National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA) project which aims to support youth businesses with financial grants.
“Over the next five years, the programme will reach one million young Kenyans, training them in skills that are on demand, financing start-ups, and enabling access to government procurement opportunities,” he said.
Moreover, he the President pointed out that the Safety Net Programme, commonly known as Inua Jamii, now supports more than 1.7 million vulnerable families across the country.
On affordable housing, he said, 230,000 units are under construction nationwide, employing more than 320,000 Kenyans and expanding opportunities for local artisans and small businesses.
Additionally, through the country’s labour mobility programme, President Ruto said more than 400,000 Kenyans have secured jobs abroad, sending home remittances that support families and strengthen the economy.
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Through reforms in health, he said the number of Kenyans with medical insurance has grown from 8 million in 2023 to 27.2 million today, ensuring that no one is denied healthcare due to inability to pay.
“Kenya’s experience affirms that people-centred policies deliver transformative results,” he said.
Nonetheless, he called for a coordinated and collaborative action to confront the challenges that perpetuate global inequalities.
“It is incumbent upon us to stand together with renewed resolve and confront and dismantle the entrenched structures that enable global exclusion and perpetuate inequality,” he said.
He decried the isolationism that is gradually taking hold across the world, saying nations today are often divided by competing interests, inward-looking nationalism, and short-term calculations.
“The consensus that once bound us together in Copenhagen is fraying, and the world risks retreating into isolation at a time when cooperation should be a priority,” he said.