millennium development goals

• Migration, Post- 2015 Development Goals, And the KNOMAD

  Even as the US media is in a frenzy about comprehensive immigration reforms - long overdue, but in terms of detail, still more forest than trees - there is another sense of urgency about how might migration feature in the post-2015 development goals (see my earlier blog). One reason for the urgency is the upcoming High-Level Dialogue on Migration and Development at the UN in early October 2013: this meeting could successfully advocate the crucial role played by migration in impacting global development, and it could even suggest one or two goals or metrics for the post-2015 development goals.

  Last week I attended a series of meetings on this topic at the UN (for example, the second roundtable organized by the IOM, UN DESA and UNFPA). In my powerpoint presentation, I made the following points:

  Read more at People Move: A blog about migration, remittances, and development

   

• Millennium Development Goals and Beyond 2015: A Strong EU Engagement

  The European Parliament's Committee on Development held a public hearing called "Millennium Development Goals and Beyond 2015: A Strong EU Engagement" in Brussels on 22 January.

  
  The hearing, chaired by Filip Kaczmarek (EPP), Michael Cashman (S&D) and Keith Taylor (Greens) examined the lessons learned from the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) and the scope of the post-2015 development framework with a strong European Union engagement.

  
  Rebeca Grynspan, UN Under-Secretary-General and UNDP Associate Administrator, presented the lessons learned and declared that, thus far, the MDGs are a success for "defining an explicit human development framework in terms of people's needs." She also stressed that progress has been uneven and must be accelerated especially in maternal health and environment in order to reach the goals in two years.

  Read more at United Nations Brussels

• Minister Georges Chikoti highlights government’s commitment to Millennium Goals

  The minister of Foreign Affairs, Georges Rebelo Chikoti, said Thursday in Huambo City that the Angolan government has been working in the last  years to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), especially the increase in school and hospital infrastructures.
   
  The minister made the statement at the laying of the first stone for the construction of the Amizade Angola-China School, being built at Lossambo land reserve, situated in the surroundings of Huambo City, at a space of 1.523 square meters.

  Read more at Angop Agencia AngolaPress Society

• Monrovia Meeting Stresses Poverty Eradication, Equity for Post- 2015 Agenda

  A UN group tasked with defining a new post-2015 development agenda completed their second substantive meeting last week in Monrovia, Liberia focusing on the theme of “National Building Blocks for Sustained Prosperity.” Civil society was also actively present, providing their input to the three-day meeting.

  
  The High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the post-2015 Development Agenda (HLP) is a 27-member panel formed in July 2012 by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to advise on the global development framework beyond 2015, the completion date for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). (See Bridges Weekly, 7 November 2012)
  Having met twice during the latter half of 2012, the HLP will have one more substantive meeting - dealing with Global Partnerships - in March, before submitting their final report to the Secretary-General by the end of May.

  
  Read more at International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development

• Mumbai Monolith Epitomises Need for Post- 2015 Agenda to tackle Inequality

  Less widely recognised has been the impact of surging inequality on efforts to reach the 2015 millennium development goals. Widening gaps in wealth and opportunity have acted as a brake on poverty reduction and progress in child survival, nutrition and education. Yet inequality remains conspicuous by its absence from the agenda for the post-2015 development goals.

  
  This week's meeting of the high-level UN panel framing the post-2015 goals provides an opportunity to change this. As one of three commissioners co-chairing the gathering in the Liberian capital Monrovia, Britain's prime minister, David Cameron, should be playing a leadership role in making the case for a strengthened focus on equity. After all, inclusive growth and equal opportunity are central themes running through the UK's Department for International Development's (DfID) aid programmes.

   

  Read more at Brookings 

   

   

• Myanmar, FAO to implement millennium development goals

  Myanmar government and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) will implement three of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) under a five-year Country Program Framework (2012-16), official media reported Wednesday.

  
  The program will be carried out by the FAO and three Myanmar ministries -- Agriculture and Irrigation, Livestock Fisheries, and Forestry to assist the MDGs No. 1, 7 and 8.

  
  The framework agreement was signed between Myanmar Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development and FAO in Nay Pyi Taw Tuesday.

  Read more at English.news.cn

• New report on post- 2015 development agenda

  Today the HoC International Development Select Committee launched its report on the post 2015 development agenda.

  
  The current Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) will expire in 2015, and the Prime Minister is co-chairing a UN High Level Panel to consider what should replace them. The Panel meets next week in the Liberian capital, Monrovia.
  Commenting on the launch of the report, Chair of the Committee, Rt Hon Sir Malcolm Bruce MP, stated that 'the Prime Minister must use his influence to ensure that the goals are simple and measureable'.

  Read more at UK CDS: UK Collaborative on Development Sciences

• One idea the world has not tried

  There is one idea we have not tried: making job creation our number one priority. We have talked about it, but haven't really acted on it. It's a simple idea that could promote a sustainable recovery from the crisis now, and lead to poverty eradication in the future.

  
  This is particularly timely as we start debating the post-2015 development agenda.
  Originally, the 2015 Millennium Developments Goals (MDGs) did not mention jobs, but "full and productive employment and decent work for all" was eventually added as one of the targets to eradicate extreme hunger and poverty.

  Read more at Aljazeera

• Pakistan fails to meet Millennium Development Goals

  This was stated by deputy country director UNDP Pakistan, Jean-Luc Stalon, at a roundtable discussion on “Consultations on Post 2015 Development Agenda from a Pakistani Perspective” jointly organised by UNDP and Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), here on Wednesday.  Dr Vaqar deputy executive director, SDPI, moderated over the proceedings.

  
  Millennium Development Goals: The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are eight international development goals that were officially established following the Millennium Summit of the United Nations in 2000, following the adoption of the United Nations Millennium Declaration.

   

  Read more at Dawn.com Newspaper 

   

   

• Post- 2015 Global Water Consultations

  As part of this process, a UN-led consultation process ‘The World We Want 2015’ is taking place. The IUCN Global Water Programme is taking a lead role in the thematic consultation on Water, and in particular for the Sub-stream 'Water for Nature and Nature for Water', taking place this week from 28 January to 1 February.

  Read more at IUCN

• Reaction to HLP meeting on post- 2015 in Liberia

  Brendan Cox, Save the Children’s Director of Policy and Advocacy said in Monrovia:

  
  “Today’s commitment from the High Level Panel in Liberia to focus on ending extreme poverty is what we’ve been calling for. It is now critical that the Panel retains this level of ambition and agrees a blueprint that can get us there.
  “We know that in order to end extreme poverty, we must focus on the very poorest who have been left behind by growing inequality.

  
  “With ambition and the right approach, the Panel can ensure that we see an end to extreme poverty in our generation.”

  Read more at Save the Children

• Remittances, migration and the post- 2015 development agenda

  Last week the UN high-level panel to create a framework for post-2015 development met for the second of three rounds of official talks in the Liberian capital, Monrovia. Amina Mohammed, special adviser to the secretary general on post-2015 development planning and ex-officio member of the HLP on post-2015, said the panel was "going for gold" in its discussions to come up with something to replace the millennium development goals in two years' time, although she admitted the challenges were great.

  
  In an interview, the Nigerian finance minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, also on the panel, said better infrastructure and more jobs needed to be part of any future development plan – as well as new ways to pay for it. Traditional donors could not be relied upon for funding, she said.

  
  Also meeting in Monrovia last week were civil society groups, which held their own three-day event. Their talks resulted in a strongly worded communique calling for the panel to consider new economic models and to put equality central in their talks. Women's rights activists reiterated the importance of gender equality in development.
  You can read more about the meeting on our future of development page.

  Read more at The Guardian Poverty Matters

• SBY trip to address MDGs, new trade

  President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono landed in Liberia as the first stop on his eight-day African and Middle Eastern trip to address economic and multilateral diplomatic missions.

  The Garuda Indonesia Airbus A330-300 carrying Yudhoyono, First Lady Ani Yudhoyono and a number of Cabinet members touched down at Roberts International Airport in the Liberian capital of Monrovia at 8 a.m. on Thursday local time (3 p.m. Jakarta time), according to the President’s official website.

  The President was welcomed by Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Indonesian Ambassador to Liberia Sudirman Haseng.

  Yudhoyono will cochair the third meeting of the UN High Level Panel (HLP) on the post-Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the Liberian capital. Yudhoyono and Johnson, as well as British Prime Minister David Cameron, have been appointed by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to cochair the panel.

  Read more at The Jakarta Post

• Swedish Minister for International Development Cooperation Gunilla Carlson to Liberia for meeting of UN post- 2015 panel

  Minister for International Development Cooperation Gunilla Carlsson is one of 26 members on the UN high-level panel tasked with presenting proposals for the global development agenda after 2015, the deadline for the current Millennium Development Goals. On 31 January to 1 February, the panel will hold its second high-level meeting, this time in Liberia’s capital of Monrovia.

  
  The main theme of the meeting is ‘national building blocks for sustained prosperity’, which includes issues of inclusive growth and conditions for business development. The meeting also has a particular focus on the situation in fragile and conflict-affected states. Ms Carlsson will be working to ensure that the issues of democratic governance, political accountability, transparency and the rule of law are included in the panel’s framework. These issues are key to guaranteeing people’s political rights and are also important drivers of development and growth. Ms Carlsson will give one of the panel meeting’s main speeches on the area and will also discuss the way forward with the other panel members

  Read more at African Brains: The Home of Intelligent Networking

• The Millennium Development Dilemma: What to target after 2015

  My country Liberia is about to play host to global leaders and thinkers, including the United Kingdom Prime Minister and the Queen of Jordan, as they discuss what priority issues to include once the current Millennium Development Goals (MDG) expire in 2015. I could not think of a better place for this to happen.

  
  Liberia has many lessons to teach on how to ensure past development mistakes are not repeated. The most important of these is the need to tackle corruption head on. We need with a new Millennium Development Goal that specifically calls for greater governance with a way to measure progress - such as access to information targets and open government commitments, a transparent way to follow the money - as well as obligations that specify and measure the enforcement of anti-corruption in each of the goals to fight poverty, hunger, maternal mortality, education and sustainability.

  
  Liberia, which means "land of liberty", was founded by freed and former slaves thirsting for a better future. Yet more than a century of existence has been characterised by conflicts, entrenched public sector corruption and civil wars that destroyed this dream leaving us poor and angry. Our last civil war was in its final throes when the United Nations set the initial MDGs to tackle extreme poverty, hunger, health, equality and environmental sustainability.

  Read more at Aljazeera

• The Open and Rocky Road Post- 2015

  What values does a Yemeni journalist who fuelled the Arab Spring hold in common with a former principal of the U.S. National Security Council? And how in turn will they see eye to eye with a Jordanian queen, or the president of Indonesia?

  
  The subjects of this riddle are meeting in Monrovia as part of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s 27-member High Level Panel of Eminent Person’s on the Post-2015 Development Agenda (HLP).

  
  The purpose of the HLP is to lead the discussion around a new framework, the post-2015 development agenda, to replace the expiring Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The HLP’s work will culminate with an advisory report to Ban in May 2013.

  
  The meeting, which takes place between Jan. 30 and Feb. 1, is the third in a series of four. Previous meetings took place in London and New York, and the forthcoming one will take place in Bali.
  “This (meeting in Monrovia) is the HLP’s chance to hear the perspectives of a wide range of organisations and individuals in Africa about their priorities for a post-2015 agenda,” said Claire Melamed, head of the Growth and Equity Programme at the Overseas Development Institute (ODI).

  
  “It’s important those perspectives are reflected in the final report,” Melamed told IPS.

  Read more at Inter Press Service

• The Post- 2015 Development Agenda

  Since the Millennium Development Goals were formulated, we have had a pretty historic global conversation about how developed and developing countries can partner to achieve an ambitious agenda – to eliminate extreme poverty from the planet, and at least halve it by 2015. We’ve seen a few areas that have really taken off. We’ve seen issues of disease control – including HIV/AIDS, malaria and immunizations for children – really making breakthroughs. In recent years maternal health has also made progress and we’ve seen a lot of success in primary education. In some areas we haven’t seen much success. In hunger, we’re still struggling. On the environment, the Millennium Development Goals actually had a pretty narrow definition and these issues have not been so well addressed.

  
  As we look at the final 1,000 days to 2015, there are a few basic questions. One is how do we make sure that this last stretch goes as well as possible – how do we make sure we really maintain the momentum around doable propositions such as eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV and ending deaths from malaria? Second, while the world has already achieved the first Millennium Development Goal of cutting income poverty by half, how do we finish the job and end extreme poverty altogether?

  Read more atWorld Economic Forum

• The Post- 2015 Development Agenda: Time to Learn and Connect

  With the 2015 deadline of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) fast approaching, governments and organisations across the world are looking towards the next step. Introspection is a necessary part of the process as both the successes and failures of the original MDG agenda are being assessed and dissected, providing captivating accounts on both sides. The eLearning Africa news service has been following developments and taking notes.

  
  The areas that have attracted our attention are, naturally, education and ICT infrastructure. Whilst impressive statistics concerning achievements under the MDG2 (achieving universal primary education) are abound, debates are also raging over what these numbers actually mean.

   

  Read more at eLearning Africa News Portal 

   

   

• The post- 2015 Panel: An unenviable task

  The 27 eminent persons gathering in Monrovia this week to discuss what should replace the current set of Millennium Development Goals have a prodigiously difficult task ahead of them. The process to agree the original MDGs was contentious enough, but the ‘High Level Panel’ of world leaders selected by Ban Ki-Moon to help set new goals when the current ones expire in 2015 face a host of additional challenges.

  
  Firstly, the panel suffer from the benefit of hindsight. The MDGs have been a victim of their own success; dominating global development efforts since their adoption in 2000, they have been criticised in equal measure. Despite being ground-breaking in many ways (a single set of agreed development priorities, an emphasis on transparently measuring progress over time), the MDGs’ most innovative features have also proved their most controversial. As with all prioritisation exercises, the MDGs necessarily de-prioritised a range of other issues which have subsequently come to be seen as glaring omissions: Climate change, conflict and security, jobs. By focusing on a single set of targets baselined to 1990, when many countries – particularly in Africa – were entering a period of unusual turbulence caused by the end of the Cold War, real progress in the past decade has often gone unacknowledged. And by focusing almost exclusively on quantifiable end goals (numbers in school, poverty levels) the MDGs engendered a results culture that detractors argue has been to the detriment of quality, sustainability and equity.

  Read more at Labour List beta

• The World We Want: Next Development Agenda Post- 2015

  “Post-2015 development agenda. Post-2015 goals. The next development agenda post 2015.” Ring a bell? Sound familiar?

  
  The international community is talking a lot about what development will look like post the Millennium Development Goals in 2015. Of great concern to UNAIDS/us is making sure that HIV, and the response to it, remain a central feature in the Post-2015 agenda. Why? Because the global HIV epidemic remains one of the world’s leading causes of early death and is both a driver and consequence of inequality and social injustice. The AIDS response has also been a pioneer and pathfinder on many fronts, and the innovation, dynamism, community leadership and global solidarity that characterizes the AIDS movement can make critical contributions to doing health and development differently in the Post-2015 era.

  Read more at Global Network of People Living with HIV