Weighing up the MDGs

The official aim of the MDG (Millennium Development Goals) summit, held at the UN in New York City last month, was to take stock of and accelerate the progress towards achieving these goals which address issues including hunger, education and HIV/AIDS by the target date of 2015. Many had already pegged the UN summit as a talking shop where nothing would be achieved but was billed by NGOs and other advocates of the poor as a critical moment to hold governments accountable for their commitments on the MDGs

An MDG assessment report released by the UN in June, indicated that the world has slashed the percentage of people living in extreme poverty – classed as earning less 

than $1.25 a day – in the past two decades.

However, it also noted that hunger and malnutrition are on the rise in some regions, and stubborn gaps persist between rich and poor and between urban and rural communities.

Girls also lack the same opportunities as boys, especially in education – the report found that a girl in one of the poorest households is four times more likely than an equivalent boy to not be attending school.

It also added that although Latin America and the Caribbean have made important progress on child health and gender equality, fewer than half of women in some African regions receive care from skilled health workers when giving birth.

To highlight lack of progress in these areas, events were held across New York City in order to capture the interest of the public and media and to communicate their messages around their chosen MDG.

The anti-poverty NGO ActionAid held a stunt on the eve of the summit at the Lincoln Centre, where a giant cow, chicken and goat gathered to draw attention to the plight of local farmers and their role in the first Millennium Development Goal – halving world hunger by 2015.

By the time the summit kicked off on Monday, security in the streets surrounding the United Nations was tight – blacked out limos and secret service men with aviator sunglasses were a common feature.

Such activity gave the impression that critical and substantial announcements and decisions were being made inside the United Nations itself but only a handful of leaders were prepared to to commit themselves to further funding and initiatives.

On the first day of the summit, Nicholas Sarkozy’s announcement that he would champion a Financial Transaction Tax as Chair of the G20 from 2011 pleased many, who commended the championing of a system can raise money to tackle poverty, even in tough economic times.

On the second day, Hillary Clinton announced a “1,000 Days: Change a Life, Change the Future” initiative, which will help combat child under nutrition, proving once more that the USA is continuing to lead the world in the fight against hunger.

The UK’s deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg announced an increase in UK funds for malaria from £150m a year to £500m by 2014 in his closing speech to world leaders on the final day of the summit – he also pledged to halve deaths from the disease in 10 African countries.

Australia’s Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd also pledged $5 billion to education aid efforts over the next 5 years and crucially - 70% of that aid would be directed at basic primary education.

There was a significant amount of positive opinion forming around the idea of innovative financing and financial transaction tax but a long way from political consensus - Greece and France have said they are in favour, but the UK has avoided the issue and Italy and Australia are not favorable.

The outcome document was considered to be adequate in terms of the language and commitments by various delegations, who were pleased by the political commitment lined up behind Ban Ki Moon’s initiative around maternal and child health, which was launched in prolific press conference with speakers including Hilary Clinton, Melinda Gates and several African presidents.

Farmyard animals and ActionAid activists protest in New York on the eve on the UN summit, calling for investment in local farms in poor countries to fight hunger. ActionAid says that more than 1 million children could die of hunger by 2015 and half of Africa will not have enough food in the next 10 years if governments do not act now. Photo: Charles Eckert/ActionAid’

By tackling Poverty comprehensively, using two types of instrument,in the same ways as the two blades of a pair of scissors cut through paper: instruments to mitigate its consequences."

                                                                          - - Chilean President Sebastian pinera

Yet another Millennium Development Goal - Gross National Happiness (GNH)!

                                                      

  

“Ten years ago, we committed ourselves to the pursuit of the eight MDGs to raise human conditions beyond basic survival. We pledged to galvanize a partnership of rich and poor countries to eradicate poverty, hunger and disease. These goals have become a critical and coherent force to establish the minimum social, economic and ecological preconditions for the promotion of human wellbeing. To these, my delegation would humbly like to propose the inclusion of a ninth goal.

I am happy to report that my country is well on its way to fulfill the MDGs with most goals being achieved before the deadline of 2015. 

There are many other countries that will find similar or greater success having reoriented their policies and resources to achieve these ends. I take this opportunity to express our deep appreciation and gratitude to our development partners without whose generous assistance, such progress would not have been possible. I would also like to pay tribute to the UN and the other multilateral development agencies. The World Bank and ADB are to be thanked for their current lending focus on the achievement of MDGs to the middle and low-income countries at preferential rates through such windows as the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA).

This summit, I am confident, will generate the will and the means to ensure that those governments which are in danger of failing their people will continue to receive the necessary technical and financial resources from the international community.

As all our people rise above the threats of basic survival, what will our collective endeavour be as a progressive society? Must we continue to believe that human life is to be spent in labouring for higher income so as to be able to consume more at the cost of relationships, peace and ecological stability? Are the causes of depression, suicide, community disintegration, and rising crime to be accepted as inevitable? Having dreamed the impossible and achieved the unthinkable, has human civilization not reached the time and moment, to aspire for a higher goal as individuals, families, communities, nations and as a society? And, is it unreasonable to assume that we can consensually chart a common course to tread with collective endeavour sharing trust and cooperation for mutual gain and to live in accord with nature? Could we not find a way to steer ourselves from the self consuming fire of greed that is fuelled by the media and paid for by industry and commerce which thrive on reckless consumerism? And should we not hope that the pursuit of such a state of being will be more of the kind that refines the mind, disciplines the body and conserves the life-supporting environment?

Enough thoughts and knowledge have been generated in recent years by those who care to convince us that humanity needs to get off the perilous path on which the wrongful use of GDP has set it since its inception in the 1930s. It does not demand much imagination and intelligence, indeed, to understand that endless pursuit of material growth in a world with limited natural resources within a delicately balanced ecology is just not sustainable - that it is dangerous and stupid. One just cannot imagine, even as China and India aspire to compete in consumption with the USA, what would become of earth if every global citizen acquired the same voracious capacity. The evidence of the limited ability of nature to tolerate abuse is there for us to suffer in the rising frequency and fury of the multiple calamities. I refer not only to natural and manmade disasters such as the one from which millions of innocent Pakistani victims are trying to recover and the one that has destroyed the ecosystem and much of a way of life in the Gulf of Mexico. I remind you also of the socio economic calamities such as the current economic recession whose bottom we may not have, as yet, seen. The latter is particularly instructive in the way it reminded us that much of 6

the so called wealth we have created are in fact, illusory and that being unreal, they disappear often, without a trace, like the jobs, homes, savings, investments and more that were lost. The only things real are the psychological, emotional and environmental costs. More, we can be certain, will strike to persuade us of the need to change our way of life.

The good thing is there is a burgeoning class of people out there - academics, writers and journalists; economists and policy makers; corporate leaders and ordinary folk and indeed, teachers and youth - who are concerned, responsible and increasingly daring. They have the redeeming courage to be different - to acknowledge the futility of our way of life and to be 'sacrilegious' in pleading for an alternative way to live a good and descent life. Relegating the purpose of GDP to its intended role of simply measuring the sum of goods and services transacted in the market at a given period of time, they recommend a variety of indicators and analytical frames to undertake and measure genuine societal progress. The MDGs comprise one such contribution and I commend the Secretary-General and his Special Advisor, Dr. Jeffery Sachs, for their vision and devotion.

It was some four decades ago that Bhutan, on its part, chose not to be led astray by conventional development practices. Having pondered the meaning and purpose of development and being dissatisfied with the aimlessness of prevailing models, our king's understanding of the innermost yearning of his people inspired him into conceiving the development philosophy of Gross National Happiness. It is based on the belief that since happiness is the ultimate desire of every citizen, it must be the purpose of development to create the enabling conditions for happiness. His understanding of happiness is a state of being that is realised through a judicious equilibrium between gains in material comfort and growth of the mind and spirit in a just and sustainable environment. It is not about asceticism and denial. Consequently, our small success in balancing the needs of the body with those of the mind, with visible ecological benefits, have raised a level of interest in GNH as a holistic development paradigm.

The pursuit of happiness in Bhutan has been, at the broadest level, a concomitant effort to achieve four goals. These are equitable and sustainable socioeconomic development, conservation of our environment, promotion of culture and good governance. All our achievements including, the peaceful emergence of Bhutan as the youngest democracy has been the result of pursuing happiness. I wish to add also that the MDGs are completely in harmony with our program to create the enabling conditions for happiness.

With these in mind and as it is likely that the relevance of the 8 MDGs will remain beyond 2015, my delegation would like to propose to this highest forum in the world that we include happiness as the ninth MDG. It is a goal that stands as a separate value while representing as well, the sum total outcome of the other eight. Its relevance goes beyond the poor and developing member states to bind all of humanity, rich and poor, to a timeless common vision. It will be in the conscious pursuit of happiness that the very best in the nature of the human race will flourish. Through the pursuit of such a goal, we will find the reason and genius to moderate and harmonize our otherwise, largely material wants with the other equally important human needs and nature's limitations. It is what will make life on earth sustainable. And the way in which a nation pursues this goal will be a measure of its devotion to the promotion of its people’s true well being. We must not lose time and opportunity to work in concert at all levels of society for the collective pursuit of this ultimate value through public policy, plans and programmes.

The inclusion of happiness as the ninth goal will confirm we are concerned with the quality of life, of adding meaning and value to life. Its inclusion will be a broader set of outcome indicators. Above all, it will enhance the feasibility of moving towards a more responsible human endeavour that bears the promise of meaningful pursuit, fulfilment and happiness. Based on the set of elaborate and precise metrics developed by Bhutan and others, we could leave the task of adopting or developing indicators for uniform application to the experts.

Let us get off the beaten path to blaze a new trail to gain new knowledge, wiser ways of doing things and fulfilling ways to spend our transient life. Let us agree to leave a legacy of ideas and a way of life that will be worth living with a greater certainty for the long-term survival of humanity.

Hope has prevailed against cynicism to bring us to the United Nations today. Let us go forth from this summit not only rededicated to the eight goals to banish hunger, disease, and extreme poverty, but also to the new ninth voluntary goal, to build a world that can sustain happiness for all its people, today and for generations yet to come.

(Speech delivered by the Bhutanese prime minter at the MDG review summit)

Poverty 2015 : Where are we Now ?

''We will spare no effort to free our fellow men, women and children from the abject and dehumanizing conditions of extreme poverty, to which more than a billion of them are currently subjected. We are committed to making the right to development a reality for everyone and to freeing the entire human race from want.”

This was the ‘historic’ commitment made by 189 member states of the United Nations at the September 2000 UN Millennium Summit where the Millennium Declaration was adopted unanimously. The declaration was taken as a “statement of values, principles and objectives for the international agenda for the twenty-first century”.  

Ten years passed and world leaders, once again, gathered last month in New York to review the progress made in achieving the MDGs.

The UN report published in June 2010 had already told the story that the progress has been made, but it’s highly uneven, scattered and excludes the poorest of the poor. The review summit, like any other global summits, was expected to make some important announcements, which didn’t happen in reality. However, some significant ideas were put forward and global commitment to fighting poverty, hunger, disease and illiteracy was renewed. 

What has happened after 2000?

Some countries were able to achieve significant feats during this period. For instance, Vietnam made a remarkable progress in improving the lives of the poor. Recent statistics show that Vietnam reduced the proportion of people living on less

than $1 a day from nearly two-thirds to one-fifth in just 14 years. Moreover, the country also halved the proportion of underweight and malnourished children. Similarly, China has demonstrated significant progress as its poverty population has decreased from 452 million to 278 million.

Reports from Brazil are also encouraging. Infant mortality in Brazil has declined from around 50 per 1,000 live births in 1990 to 33 per 1,000 live births in 2003 (that’s 34%). The country is faring well in combating poverty which is deeply based on race, gender and disability.   

Some African countries like Ethiopia and Ghana also made remarkable progress. In Ethiopia the proportion of people living on less than $1.25 a day fell from 61% to 29% in 18 years and and primary school enrolment in Ethiopia has increased by more than 500 percent since 1994. Whereas, Ghana is set to become the first country in Africa to halve poverty and hunger before 2015. Undoubtedly, backed by international support, these successes emanate from these countries’ sheer determination and genuine political commitment to fight poverty and hunger amidst all odds.     

                                                          

Who is lagging behind?

  No country in sub-Saharan Africa is on course to achieve all the MDGs by 2015. South Asian countries, too, will have to adopt tough measures in order to achieve the MDGs by 2015. Countries grappling with ongoing conflict and wars have performed badly.

A UN study of 30 countries found that just 11 of the 30 countries are on track to meet MDG1 (Halving poverty and hunger). In 2007 there were 923 million undernourished people in the world, an increase of 80 million people since 1990/92; 20 of those 30 countries are either off track or require additional, strengthened or corrective action to achieve MDG2 (education) despite an increase in enrolment in primary education from 83 per cent in 2000 to 88 per cent in 2007; and,

Only 7 of the 30 countries are on track to meet MDG 5 (maternal health). This is the goal that the UN recognises has seen the least progress.

In an overview in the "Millennium Development Goals Report 2010", the UN says that many countries, including some of the poorest, are moving forward, demonstrating that setting bold, collective goals in the fight against poverty yields results. For every life that has benefitted from the establishment of a quantitative, time-bound framework of accountability, the MDGs have made a real difference.

But unmet commitments, inadequate resources, lack of focus and accountability, and insufficient dedication to sustainable development have created shortfalls in many areas. Some of these shortfalls were aggravated by the global food and economic and financial crises. Nevertheless, the data and analysis on the following pages provide clear evidence that targeted interventions, sustained by adequate funding and political commitment, have resulted in rapid progress in some areas. In others, the poorest groups, those without education or living in more remote areas, have been neglected and not provided the conditions to improve their lives.

Though progress has been made, it is uneven. And without a major push forward, many of the MDG targets are likely to be missed in most regions.

Progress on the MDG1 target: “Halving global poverty”

The MDGs comprise eight specific themes, but the MDG1 has been on the forefront as it aims at reducing the proportion of people in extreme poverty by half between 1990 and 2015.

The June 2010 UN MDG report said that progress on this target was “still being made, despite significant setbacks due to the 2008-2009 economic downturn, and food and energy crises.” It further mentioned that, taken as a whole, the developing world “remains on track to achieve the poverty reduction target by 2015.

The World Bank’s Global Monitoring Report 2010 reports that number of people living below the international poverty line (of $1.25 a day) had fallen from 1.8 billion in 1990 to 1.4 billion in 2005 (a 22% reduction). The report’s projections to 2015, below, are for numbers in poverty to fall to 920 million by 2015, around half 1990’s 1.8 billion (about 49%)

However, these figures of progress are highly uneven. Much of the global progress in poverty reduction comes from East Asia where poverty incidence was reduced from 55% (1990) to 17% (2005). China dramatically reduced from 60% to 16%, whereas, India’s figure stands somewhere around 42% compared to 51% in 1990. However, in India, the number poor actually rose because of population growth. In many countries proportion of poor people might have decreased at the same time giving rise to the number of poor. 

Sub-Saharan Africa is another dismal picture in terms of progress towards achieving the MDGs. In the sub-Saharan region proportion of people in poverty fell from 57.6% in 1990 to 50.9% in 2005, however, the number of people in poverty increased from 296 million in 1990 to 387 million in 2005.

What will happen after 2015?

The progress so far clearly indicates that only a few countries will make significant progress in achieving the MDGs, however, many countries will still strive even after 2015. 

There isn’t a single and definite reason to point at for the uneven and slow progress toward achieving the MDGs, but global economic crisis and global energy crisis have greatly hampered the pace of progress in the developing world. On the other hand, lack of strong political will both in the developed and the developing world miserably impeded the MDG progress.     

What will happen after 2015? This question has already surfaced in the development arena. Will there be another improved and more binding version of the MDGs? The review summit did not focus on the post 2015 scenario yet, but it is essential and likely that there will be another series of development goals with special emphasis on environmental protection and climate change issues. Given the fact that the MDGs won’t be achieved by many nations by 2015, having another target year with some similar goals will not surprise the world.

Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) 

		Targets (for 2015 )
1	Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger	Halve the proportion of people living on less than a dollar a day and those who suffer from hunger. Full and productive employment and decent work for all, including women and young people
2	Achieve universal primary education	Ensure that all boys and girls complete primary school.
3	Promote gender equality and empower women	Eliminate gender disparities in primary and secondary education preferably by 2005, and at all levels by 2015.
4	Reduce child mortality	Reduce by two thirds the mortality rate among children under five
5	Improve maternal health	Reduce by three-quarters the ratio of women dying in childbirth. Universal access to reproductive health.
6	Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases	Target for 2015: Halt and begin to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS and the incidence of malaria and other major diseases. Universal access to HIV/AIDS treatment for all who need it by 2010.
7	Ensure environmental sustainability	• Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes and reverse the loss of environmental resources. • By 2015, reduce by half the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water. • By 2020 achieve significant improvement in the lives ofat least 100 million slum dwellers. Significantly reducing the rate of biodiversity loss, by 2010.
8	Develop a global partnership for development	• Develop further an open trading and financial system that includes a commitment to good governance, development and poverty reduction – nationally and internationally • Address the least developed countries’ special needs, and the special needs of landlocked and small island developing States • Deal comprehensively with developing countries’ debt problems • Develop decent and productive work for youth • In cooperation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies – especially information and communications technologies.