“No global project more worthwhile”: the MDGs reaffirmed in New York
This week, from Monday to Wednesday [20th to 22nd Sep], more than 140 presidents, heads of states and government, participated in New York in the Global Summit on the Millennium Development Goals. Attendees were welcomed by UN Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon as well as the President of the current 65th Session of the UN General Assembly, Mr. Joseph Deiss, and the President of the 64th Session, Dr. Ali Abdussalam Treki. As Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon emphasized, the Summit was to take stock of the progress made so far towards the eight Millennium Development Goals, devised in 2000, a “blueprint for ending extreme poverty”. “There is no global project more worthwhile” said Mr. Ban, calling on the assembled leaders to send a “strong message of hope” and “to keep the promise”. He pointed out that the transformative impact of the MDGs was undeniable. It was something to be proud of but it was also necessary to protect these advances many of which were still fragile. There was much more to be done.
Mr. Deiss called on all those present to reaffirm the commitments made at the Millennium Summit in 2000 and declare they wanted to create the conditions necessary to achieve the MDGs by 2015. He noted that the picture was mixed. Real progress had been made in some areas: poverty had declined in overall terms, but some areas, including sub-Saharan Africa, were lagging behind. And additional efforts were needed in regard to eliminating hunger, reducing child mortality and improving maternal health. The global economic and financial crisis had also undermined progress. Further progress required commitment from donors and from beneficiaries. A genuine partnership: if we want to succeed we have to do it together, “we do not have the right to fail”.
Dr. Treki, co-chair of the plenary session, said there had been much progress in, for example, education and health but he added “let us be frank and acknowledge that what we say or agree is only words unless in the poorest countries and in the poorest communities, the poor start to see improvements in their lives.” African leaders acknowledged that they could do more to meet the MGD goals to slash poverty, and called for stronger leadership among developing countries.
Prime Minister Meles quoted Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon’s description of the Millennium Declaration as “the most important collective promise ever made to the world’s most vulnerable people” and as a promise “based not on pity or charity but on solidarity, justice and the recognition that we were increasingly dependent upon one another for our shared prosperity and security.” Prime Minister Meles noted that continental progress had been uneven. He said those in the developing world had to do more for themselves, to design programs and strategies appropriate to their circumstances and mobilize their own resources: take charge of their destiny and depend upon their own resources as the primary means of achieving the MDGs. Equally, he underlined that it was unavoidably necessary to rely partly on international solidarity. Partners needed to do more and be better in delivering on their promises: to go beyond empty words and “put their money where their mouth is”. “We need action-oriented recommendations designed to ensure accountability for commitments and promises”. He stressed that Ethiopia itself had made substantial progress. It had taken full charge of its destiny, devised its own strategy and maximized the mobilization of domestic resources to achieve the MDGs. The results were encouraging and robust economic growth had created the basis for similar growth in social indicators and the MDGs.
Indeed, the recently published African Economic Outlook for 2010, produced by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the African Development Bank and the Economic Commission for Africa notes that Ethiopia is either an early achiever (of MDGs 1,2,5,and 6) or on track (MDGs 3 and 4) to achieve six of the seven MGDs. The MDGs are: eradication of extreme poverty and hunger (MDG 1); achieving universal primary education (MDG 2); promoting gender equality (MDG 3); reducing child mortality (MDG 4); improving maternal mortality (MDG 5); combating disease (MDG 6); and ensuring environmental sustainability (MDG7). The eighth MDG - ‘Developing a global partnership for Development’ – is not, of course, country specific. Ethiopia is classified as making only ‘slow progress” in ensuring environmental sustainability and halving the percentage of people without access to safe water. The only other African states to have reached the level of early achievement or be on track for six of the MDGs are Libya and Tunisia, though Benin, Morocco and Uganda have reached five.
President Kagame of Rwanda made the same point that developing countries needed to take charge of the development agenda instead of leaving donors to dictate to them. The perspective of donors, he suggested, is often predicated on paternalism not partnership, on charity not on self-reliance and on promises unfulfilled, rather than on real change on the ground. “We must assume effective leadership”, he added. Some European leaders made similar points: Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany said “the primary responsibility for development lies with the governments of developing countries. It is in their hands whether aid can be effective. Support for good governance is an important as aid itself.” Liberia’s President, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, stressed the need for more inclusive economic growth, for rapid sustained growth that creates jobs especially for youth, women and the poor.
The document adopted by the Summit, addressed on its final day by President Obama, and the Prime Ministers of Japan and China, spelt out detailed and specific actions to accelerate implementation of each of the MDGs over the next five years. The leaders stressed they were convinced the MDGs could be achieved with “renewed commitment, effective implementation, and intensified collective action by all member states and other relevant stakeholders at both domestic and international levels.” They requested the UN General Assembly to review the progress made annually and for the President of the 68th Session in 2013 to follow up on efforts made towards achieving the MDGs. The role of the UN Economic and Social Council, as principle body for co-ordination and for recommendations for development and for follow-up for the MDGs, was reaffirmed. The Secretary-General was requested to report annually on progress.
On the sidelines of the Summit, Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon launched a global campaign to spur action in three specific MDGs: reducing the numbers of women dying during pregnancy and childbirth by three-quarters (MDG 5); cutting the numbers of children who die before five by two-thirds (MDG 4); and promoting equality for women (MDG 3). Over US $40 billion in resources was pledged to accelerate progress on women and children’s health. And a considerable number of other significant commitments were made for each of the eight goals from both developed and developing countries, the private sector, foundations, international organizations and partners, civil society and research organizations. In his closing remarks, Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon suggested the Summit had laid a solid foundation for the necessary progress on the MDGs. There was now a roadmap for dramatically accelerating MDG progress, but, he added, “between now and 2015 we must make sure that promises made become promises kept.”