The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) was established in

The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) was established in 2001. It was adopted at the 37th Summit of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in Lusaka, Zambia, in July 2001. NEPAD emerged from the merger of two earlier initiatives: the Millennium Partnership for the African Recovery Programme (MAP) proposed by South Africa, Nigeria, and Algeria, and the OMEGA Plan proposed by Senegal.

NEPAD was designed as a strategic framework for Africa's socio-economic development, with key objectives including:

• Eradicating poverty and placing African countries on a path of sustainable growth and development
• Halting the marginalisation of Africa in the globalisation process
• Accelerating the empowerment of women
• Integrating Africa into the global economy

The initiative was spearheaded by five African leaders: Thabo Mbeki (South Africa), Olusegun Obasanjo (Nigeria), Abdelaziz Bouteflika (Algeria), Abdoulaye Wade (Senegal), and Hosni Mubarak (Egypt). NEPAD was later integrated into the structures of the African Union as the AU Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD).