U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has asked African leaders to do more to reduce poverty and disease, saying the region is failing to reach development goals.
Speaking at an African Union summit today (Sunday), Mr. Annan said improving the lives of people across the continent is key to peace and security.
He said African leaders will meet again in September to discuss progress toward fulfilling the Millennium Development Goals set for 2015.
The summit in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, is being hosted by Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, who is the current AU chairman.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is attending his first African summit in a decade.
The two-day summit is expected to focus on ways to end conflicts in Ivory Coast, Congo and Sudan's Darfur region.