“Don’t hinder it; prepare for it,”

Said Vandana Chandra, a senior economist at the World Bank referring to the growing trend of rural-urban migration that followed as a result of reducing poverty rate in urban areas of Africa and the world in general. The Economist made the remark on an event organized in Addis Abeba University (AAU)’s Eshetu Cholle Hall on May 8, 2013 for the launching of the 2013 Global Monitoring Report (GMR), which was compiled by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. GMR is an annual report card on progress of countries of the world on Millennium Development Goals. The event that was organized by the World Bank and the country’s oldest university brought together Guang Z. Chen, chair and country director of World Bank; Admassu Tsegaye (PhD), president of AAU, Tassaw Weldehana (PhD), dean of College of Business and Economics other staff and students of the university. Also a discussant on the event was Alemayehu Seyoum (PhD), president of the Ethiopian Economic Association.