VATICAN — Ahead of his first visit to the continent with the fastest growing Catholic population worldwide, Pope Benedict XVI has urged Africans to build peace by fighting moral and material poverty.

The pope specifically drew attention to the welfare of Africa's children. "A very particular concern must be shown for children: twenty years after the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, they remain very vulnerable. Many children have the tragic experience of being refugees and displaced persons in Somalia, Darfur and the Democratic Republic of Congo."

The pope spoke on Thursday in his traditional annual address to members of the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See. The Vatican currently maintains diplomatic relations with 177 States.

Benedict deplored the tragic consequences of unending armed conflicts in Africa. "There are waves of migration involving millions of persons in need of humanitarian assistance and who above all, have been deprived of their elementary rights and offended in their dignity," he said.

"I ask political leaders on the national and international levels to take every measure necessary to resolve the current conflicts and to put an end to the injustices which caused them."

The pope expressed hope that in Somalia the restoration of the state will finally make progress, in order to end the interminable sufferings of the inhabitants of that country.

"In Zimbabwe, likewise, the situation remains critical and considerable humanitarian assistance is needed."

The peace agreement in Burundi has brought a glimmer of hope to the region, the Holy Father noted. "I ask that it be applied fully, and thus become a source of inspiration for other countries which have not yet found the path of reconciliation".

The Catholic Church's attention is on Africa this year, with the pope's maiden apostolic visit (to Cameroon and Angola) in March and the second synod of bishops on Africa the Vatican in October.