Africa is considered largely the main source of natural resources needed to support and sustain the economic growth of developed and emerging developing countries, and, as noted above, the engagement is often concentrated in a few countries, particularly where they have strategic interests.
African countries do not have adequate capacity to engage emerging developing economies individually.
According to Aileen Kwa, Coordinator, Trade for Development Programme, South Centre, one of the Commonwealth's mission is to reduce poverty in its member countries, especially the developing ones.
But looking at the poverty levels in Africa, they have been high over the last 30 years, at 74 per cent and 73 per cent in 1981 and 2005, respectively, despite policy reforms undertaken over that period. When translated into absolute numbers, the number of people living on less than US$ 2 per day increased from 295 million in 1981 to about 556 million in 2005.
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