On March 14th, the UNDP released the 2013 Human Development Report, entitled “The Rise of the South: Human Progress in a Diverse World”. It examines the radical shifts in global dynamics driven by the rise of the emerging powers, and their implications for human development.

It identifies over 40 countries in the South which have done better than expected in terms of Human Development over the past decades. The report analyses the factors behind their achievement, and the challenges they face now and in the future.

These countries have their own history and chosen trajectory, yet they share similar characteristics and face very similar challenges at a time of increasing interconnection and interdependence.

The Report encourages a better representation of the South in global governance institutions, and points to new ways of financing essential public goods in the South.

Read more at Post2015.org- what comes after the MDGs?

The final meeting of the Post-2015 Thematic Consultation on Governance took place from 28 February-1 March 2013, at the Pan-African Parliament in Midrand, South Africa. The consultation aimed to build consensus and recommend how to integrate global, regional, national and sub-national governance and accountability with the intergovernmental process on the UN’s post-2015 development agenda.

The global thematic consultation on governance in the post-2015 development agenda has been co-led by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), in partnership with the Government of Germany.

During the final, high-level meeting of the consultation, which was attended by 250 participants and broadcast live on the web, plenary, panel and roundtable discussions sought to identify key areas and themes of governance, and discussed positioning governance and accountability in the post-2015 development agenda.

Read more at the International Institute for Sustainable Development

On 25 March, IIASA, UKP4, INCASA and UNORCID will co host a High-Level Panel academia stakeholders consultative event on the Post-2015 Development Agenda.  IIASA Deputy Director Nebojsa Nakicenovic, Ecosystem Services and Management Program Leader Michael Obersteiner, and World Population Program Project Leader Samir KC will all make presentations on identifying and addressing future challenges.

With the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) coming to an end in 2015, the world currently faces the twofold challenge of designing a new framework for development that both incorporates the successes of the MDGs while at the same time aiming at tackling their shortcomings. In the meantime, the nature and dynamics of poverty have been changing. Development took place within a context of growing inequality both within and between countries.

The majority of poor people now live in middle-income countries and most of them in cities as urbanization is proceeding at an accelerated pace. Challenges to past development achievements and future opportunities include global environmental change, economic crises, conflict and instability.

Read more at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis

The current UN under-secretary general for Economic and Social affairs [Wu Hongbo] has revealed the UN is working on a new set of development plans once the current window for the Millenium Development Goals is reached in 2015.

During his trip to Hong Kong, Wu Hongbo said, out of the eight UN millennium development goals, some of them will definitely be accomplished by 2015. China has made immense contribution to it.

"In fact, China was setting a good example by eradicating the extreme poverty in millions. Without these efforts, United Nations cannot meet its target in slashing the total number of people living in extreme poverty by half."

Read more at CRI English

The MDGs have been a powerful tool in influencing the policy agenda with a strong human development focus. During the next 1000 days until the MDGs deadline, we will focus on helping countries to accelerate MDGs progress. In order to help countries identify bottlenecks and accelerate results, UNDP introduced the MDG Acceleration Framework (MAF) in 2010. The MAF has been applied in 46 countries with considerable success.

As we approach the MDGs deadline, the UN embarks on the most comprehensive global consultation ever undertaken. The post-2015 process is a truly global conversation, involving and engaging both developed and developing countries, civil society, youth, the private sector, parliamentarians, the poor and the marginalized.

Read more at UNDP

Dr. Precious Gbeneol, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Millennium Development Goals has advocated that global post 2015 development Agenda can only have the necessary impact on the development of developing nations if it has at its core eradication of poverty with focus of enablers of economic development and job creation.
The SSAP-MDGS who spoke at the informal dialogue titled: “Turning Commitment to Realities- Perspectives on The Post 2015 Development Agenda” during the 57th Commission on the status of women at the United Nations headquarters in New York last week. She therefore listed issues that must be addressed in the post 2015 development framework to include access to sustainable energy, infrastructure, population demographics and governance.

She noted that the changing population demographics imply that the greatest challenge facing developing countries at the moment is providing   economic opportunities for young, educated segment of population of their population and ways to do this must be included in the framework of the new development agenda.

Read more at Spy Ghana

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have achieved much for children all over the world. By helping to channel political commitment and investments, they have contributed to reducing child mortality and increasing educational enrolment. But with the MDGs due to expire in 2015, people are increasingly talking about what should happen next. However, few of them are talking about Early Childhood Development and Education (ECDE). And they should be.

The reasons for investing in ECDE programmes are numerous and interrelated. A child's ability to think, form relationships and live up to his or her full potential is directly related to the synergistic effect of good health, good nutrition and appropriate stimulation and interaction with others. A large body of research has proven the importance of early brain development and the need for good health and nutrition.

Research has proven that children who participate in well-conceived ECDE programmes tend to be more successful in school, are more competent socially and emotionally, and show higher verbal and intellectual development during early childhood than children who are not enrolled in high quality programmes.

Read more at allAfrica

In 2000, 164 governments met in Dakar, Senegal and pledged to achieve the six "Education for All" goals by 2015 committing to provide quality basic education for all children, youth and adults. This week, education experts from all over the world meet again in Dakar to discuss the best way to ensure education, training and learning is reflected in the post-2015 agenda.

Hosted by the Government of Senegal with support from the governments of Canada, Germany and the Hewlett Foundation, the meeting was led by United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Education and Scientific Organization (UNESCO).

The last two decades have seen remarkable gains in education. Much of it is due to global commitments to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Education for All targets. The number of children of primary age out of school has plummeted from 115 million in 2000 to 61 million in 2010. More than 50 million more children are in education.

Read more at Huff Post

A roundtable meeting to discuss development issues in the Pacific, particularly after the conclusion of the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) programme in 2015, was held last month in the Timor-Leste capital of Dili.

Jointly hosted by the Government of Timor-Leste and the Port Vila, Vanuatu-based Pacific Institute of Public Policy, the conference aimed to set an agenda for post-2015 development initiatives.
Like most ‘global’ initiatives that are conceived in the hallowed, comfortable offices of multi disciplinary experts and academics, no matter how much ‘field input’ is solicited, collated and number crunched, the final strategy that comes out can be a little else than a one size fits all solution. In hindsight, most development observers and workers, especially in the diverse Pacific islands region, would agree that much more particularisation needed to be done, taking on board the concerns of individual countries.

Read more at Island Business

The President of the General Assembly on Thursday called for the participation of all nations in crafting a sustainable development agenda after 2015, the deadline for fulfilling the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Vuk Jeremić spoke at the first meeting of the Open Working Group of the General Assembly on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS).

He said the process of formulating the SDGs will be a complicated one, requiring great diplomatic skill.
Mr. Jeremić stressed that fulfilling the goals of eradicating extreme poverty should be the starting point and also called for addressing other issues, such as food insecurity, the environment and climate change.

"I personally believe that never before have we had to face such a complex and interdependent set of existential challenges. In my view, defining the post-2015 development agenda is about crafting a new global partnership in which no nation is left behind, and no country opts out. If ever a true, aspirational consensus has been needed in the United Nations, it is now. We must come together in common cause, with a single purpose: to make a universal transition to sustainability in a way that equitably addresses the needs of humanity for the 21st century."(34")

Read more at United Nations Radio

The Global Consultation on Education will take place from 18 to 19 March in Dakar, Senegal. Co-organized by UNESCO and UNICEF, it aims to:

•    review progress in education since 2000,
•    identify emerging priorities and cross-cutting issues,
•    outline options for ensuring that education is effectively addressed in the Post-2015 development agenda.
The meeting will bring together representatives of Ministries of Education around the world, as well as education experts UN agencies, civil society and youth organizations and the private sector. UNESCO's Assistant Director-General for Education, Mr Qian Tang will attend the Consultation.  

It is organized with the support of the Governments of Senegal, Canada and Germany.

Read more at UNESCO Office in Dakar

Minister of State Dr Maitha Al Shamsi led the UAE delegation to the 2-day Global Leadership Meeting on Population Dynamics and the Post-2015 UN Development Agenda, which concluded in Dhaka, Bangladesh on Wednesday.

The meeting reviewed population dynamics and sustainable development that improves the lives and livelihoods of both present and future generations.

It brought together leaders and experts from all geographic regions, representing national and local governments, international and inter-governmental organisations, academia, civil society, and the private sector to provide a clear and common vision on how population dynamics should be integrated in the post-2015 development agenda.

Read more at The Gulf Today

Global Compact Network Pakistan in collaboration with Employers’ Federation of Pakistan is organising a private sector/ stakeholders consultation meeting on Post-2015 Development Agenda on March 21, 2013. Pakistan has been on target on 8, off track on 25 targets and no progress on the remaining 8, according to the information submitted to the Special Committee of the National Assembly in February 2013.

As a stakeholder, the UNGC is holding a private sector leader’s roundtable for developing Post 2015 Developing Agenda and input has been sought from the private sector in Pakistan for consideration in this roundtable.

The purpose of this event is to consult the private sector stakeholders particularly the UNGC member organisations for their input on Post 2015 Development Agenda in terms of Pakistan’s perspective and prepare our recommendation for the forthcoming roundtable. staff report.

Read more at Daily Times

The second round of consultations in China on the Post-2015 Development Agenda took place on Monday in Beijing. Renata Dessallien, UN Resident Coordinator, Zhang Xiao'an, Vice President of the United Nations Association, and more than 100 representatives from social organizations, UN agencies and government agencies participated in discussion of what the global development roadmap should look like after the conclusion of the Millennium Development Goals' (MDGs) lifespan.

The discussions were wide-ranging and focused on six key areas: Poverty reduction and inclusive growth, environmental and green development policy, global health, women and children, education and international co-operation. Crucially, the talks were held from a bottom-up perspective to give a voice to the poor and other marginalized groups – three quarters of the participants were representatives of social organizations. The output from the Beijing consultation as well from earlier talks at Kunming in December 2012 will be presented to the High-Level Panel convened by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to advise the General Assembly on its post-2015 agenda.

Read more at UNDP China

Director-General Pascal Lamy, in a speech at the Conference on International Cooperation in 2020 in the Hague on 7 March 2013, said that “economic growth and trade — as a driver of growth — deserve a prominent place in the post 2015 development agenda. We need an agenda that integrates economic growth with social inclusion and with environmental protection.”

He added: “Collectively we must plan for a common destination for the post-2015 development agenda. We need a compass that has countries converging around the same destination. ‘Convergence’ must be an overarching principle. At the same time we need to allow for differences in the pace and rhythm of getting there. And we must make special efforts towards the poorest and weakest. These are in my view the three basic ingredients for a post-2015 development agenda.”

Read more at Beyond 2015

As part of the national consultations on the UN post-2015 development agenda (www.worldwewant2015.org/), IOM and UNDP Morocco will tomorrow (13/3/13) organize a special session to allow the diaspora to contribute to the process.

The event will include ministries, Moroccans residing abroad, those who have just returned, diaspora associations and researchers, as well as members of the UN Country Team.

An online discussion took place ahead of the meeting on www.maghribcom.gov.ma, a web platform launched in 2013 by the Ministry of Moroccans Residing Abroad, to encourage the broadest possible participation by Moroccan expatriates.

Read more at International Organization for Migration (IOM)

It is about 1,000 days until the end of 2015 and the culmination of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) — the targets set in 2000 for environmental stability, child and maternal health, poverty alleviation, education, gender equality and HIV/AIDS reduction. So how are we doing in achieving these targets?

The latest MDGs report card trumpets significant progress. In fact some targets, such as halving the number of people without access to safe drinking water, have been met far ahead of time. Yet others, like the second half of that same MDG — access to basic sanitation — are far from being achieved, and maybe even farther than thought depending on how they are measured.

In his forward to the 2012 MDGs Report, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon cautiously declared that the “results represent a tremendous reduction in human suffering and are a clear validation of the approach embodied in the MDGs. But, they are not a reason to relax.”

Read more at Our World 2.0

This week in Helsinki, the global community continues to consult on how it will follow up to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), set to expire in 2015. As we look to the future, one thing is clear: We can no longer afford to ignore disaster risk or the relationship between disasters and development.

Disasters set back development achievements. This is obvious when a hurricane washes away a school. However, development decisions can also affect disasters – for example, when houses are built to a standard that doesn’t resist earthquakes. Sometimes the relationship is more nuanced; even an earthquake-resistant highway isn’t much good if it encourages poor people to move into a flood plain.

Read more at UNDP

The global leadership meeting on population ended in Dhaka on Wednesday with a call on the countries to address and integrate population dynamics into the post-2015 development agenda when the current MDGs will expire.
Ministers and representatives of the 51 countries adopted a unanimous ‘Dhaka Declaration’ recognising that people are “at the centre of sustainable development that improves the lives and livelihoods of both present and future generations”.

Foreign Minister Dipu Moni concluded the two-day meeting calling upon the countries to move forward with the declaration which brought four different population issues – its growth, ageing, migration and urbanisation – into one declaration.

The meeting was a part of the 50 global consultative meetings that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon had earlier planned to hold with some agreed themes including population dynamics.

Read more at Bdnnews24.com

The 2015 deadline for the current Millennium Development Goals has led to a flurry of activities on what the post-2015 development agenda should look like. Should the MDGs be retained in their current configuration with an extended deadline, reformulated, or replaced by an alternative framework? Underlying all these is the question of which option is likely to have the greatest impact on poverty eradication in Africa.

Ministers, parliamentarians, policy-makers, members of the Secretary-General’s High Level Panel on the post-2015 agenda, as well as representatives from civil society, youth organizations and the private sector, will attend the third and final regional consultation to define Africa’s position on the post-2015 development priorities, and review Africa’s progress on reaching the MDGs, on March 11-14, 2013 in Hammamet, Tunisia.  

The meeting is hosted by the African Development Bank (AfDB), in partnership with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the Africa Union Commission (AUC) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Read more at African Development Bank Group

As the 2015 deadline for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) approaches, the United Nations, Member States and civil society have started consultations on a new development framework that will succeed the MDGs. Eleven global thematic consultations on topics identified as critical to the post-2015 framework are taking place over the next several months, each of which is co-led by two UN agencies.

Within the ongoing thematic consultations the urgency of addressing inequality head-on and the question on how a new reference framework for development can take into account the need for inclusive growth have emerged as two major, cross-cutting issues. Preliminary exchanges on the subject have shown that dealing conceptually with inequalities within the post-2015 framework may prove challenging.

In order to discuss the different dimensions of inequality and concrete options to address them through development efforts after 2015, the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) has organized an event on Inequality, Inclusive Growth and the post-2015 Framework -- How can the post-2015 framework address inequalities and foster inclusive growth? The event brought together a motley array of senior representatives from UN Agencies, governments, academia, private sector and NGOs and generated a lively discussion on how the post2015 framework could tackle inequality.

“There is now a broad recognition of the powerful and corrosive effects of inequality. The post-2015 agenda needs to emphasize that there is a crucial need to invest in people especially amongst those who are most excluded.” said H.E. Jean-Francis R. Zinsou, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Benin to the United Nations and Chairperson of the Coordination Bureau for LDC Group.

Read more at UNCDF

More than 100 delegates from over 20 countries met in Helsinki today to discuss how to make sure countries around the world can better prevent the fallout of conflicts, war and disasters from reversing the gains in development, economic growth and provision of services to their people in the future global development agenda.

The United Nations-convened dialogue considered how the nature of conflicts and violence is changing.

There is now one casualty from a recognized war for nine casualties of organized crime and intra-state conflicts.

Many leaders therefore believe that the new face of conflict requires a new solution and a new response from governments and the international community.

"In countries experiencing conflict there are usually severe problems in gender equality, and frequently rape and other gender-based violence is a particularly abhorrent aspect of conflict," the Minister of International Development of Finland, Heidi Hautala, said.

Read more at Prevention Web: Serving the information needs of the disaster reduction community

There are many of us who strongly believe that the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have been a major politico-economic initiative of the post-Cold War world. With the launch in September 2000 of UN-MDG by the UN General Assembly, the subsequent twelve years have unmistakably affirmed the continuing relevance of the United Nations system to the modern world with its seemingly eight simple goals, their 19 targets and 60 indicators.

The specificity of this claim is not intended to take away the importance of other international initiatives of the post-Cold War World, such as environmental protection and sustainable development, which started with the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). In June 2012, its successor platform the Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development is guiding national international actions.

Read more at IndepthAfrica

• Post 2015, ou l’occasion d’une réforme
• Leo Williams shares his thoughts on CSOs and a post-2015 framework
• CIVICUS examines the Human Rights records of the Central African Republic and Malaysia
• Civil Society: Put human rights at the centre of the post 2015 agenda
• Liberia: Nationwide post Millennium Development Goals consultation set
• Gathering clouds over digital freedom
• Killed for speaking out...
• 2013 ECOSOC High-Level segment: Open call for oral and written statements
• Stop Taliban crimes against women
• Advancing the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Agenda
• Iraq: Civil society organizations emerge as Iraq’s beacon of hope
• The Human Rights-Based approach: A field of action for Human Rights education
  

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The international conference “Advancing the post-2015 sustainable development agenda: Reconfirming rights, recognizing limits, redefining goals” in Bonn will bring together about 250 civil society activists and representatives from key stakeholders in March in order to draw together civil society inputs into this relevant debate.

The meeting will take place on 20-22 March 2013. Funding for a limited number of participants, mainly from developing countries, is available.

At present, a multitude of discussion and consultation processes is going on worldwide: some in the context of the Rio+20 process, others preparing the Post-2015 agenda, some with a specific sector focus, others on national or regional level.

While the international institutions welcome the make up of wide-ranging and participatory processes, there is a need to gain a better overview on civil society perspectives and demands in order to advocate more effectively for their implementation.

“Advancing the post-2015 sustainable development agenda” aims at providing such an overview by bringing together key actors in the discussion and helping them to exchange information and learn from each other.

Supported by the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), the conference is being shaped by a Steering Committee composed of many of the major international civil society networks such as Social Watch, CIVICUS, Beyond 2015, Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN), Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP), Global Campaign for Climate Action (GCCA), VENRO and the Baltic Sea Forum.

The conference strives to bring together key actors in the Post-2015 Sustainable Development discussion helping them to exchange information, learn from each other benefiting from our sector’s diversity and agree joint demands and strategy where this is possible.

Read more at Social Watch

Advancing the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Agenda Reconfirming Rights – Recognising Limits – Redefining Goals

This global event will bring together about 250 civil society activists and representatives from key stakeholders in order to draw together civil society inputs into the Sustainable Development and Post-2015 discussions. It will take place on 20 – 22 March 2013 in Bonn, Germany. Funding for a limited number of participants, mainly from developing countries, is available.

At present, a multitude of discussion and consultation processes is going on worldwide: some in the context of the Rio+20 process, others preparing the Post-2015 agenda, some with a specific sector focus, others on national or regional level. While wide-ranging and participatory processes are welcome, we need to gain a better overview on civil society perspectives and demands in order to advocate more effectively for their implementation. Advancing the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Agenda aims at providing such an overview by bringing together key actors in the Post-2015 Sustainable Development discussion and helping them to exchange information, learn from each other, benefit from our sector’s diversity and agree joint demands and strategy where this is possible.

Read more at NGO Branch Department of Economic and Social Affairs

The Caribbean Forum on "Shaping a sustainable development agenda to address the Caribbean reality in the 21st century" took place in Bogota, Colombia, on 5-6 March 2013, and concluded with participants adopting conclusions on priority areas as well as guidelines on how to continue working toward development in the Caribbean.

The meeting was organized by the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the Government of Colombia.
Over 50 participants, including representatives from Caribbean states, international, regional and subregional organizations, and civil society, attended the Forum, where they discussed issues of importance to sustainable development in the sub-region and preparations for the Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to be held in Samoa in 2014.

Read more at Sustainable Development Policy & Practice

More than 100 delegates from over 20 countries met in Helsinki today to discuss how to make sure countries around the world can better prevent the fallout of conflicts, war and disasters from reversing the gains in development, economic growth and provision of services to their people in the future global development agenda.
 
The United Nations-convened dialogue considered how the nature of conflicts and violence is changing.
 
There is now one casualty from a recognized war for nine casualties of organized crime and intra-state conflicts.
 
Many leaders therefore believe that the new face of conflict requires a new solution and a new response from governments and the international community.
 
“In countries experiencing conflict there are usually severe problems in gender equality, and frequently rape and other gender-based violence is a particularly abhorrent aspect of conflict,” the Minister of International Development of Finland, Heidi Hautala, said.

Read more at UNICEF

Join the online consultation for a disability inclusive development agenda towards 2015 and beyond, part of the preparatory process for the UN High-level Meeting on Disability and Development (HLMDD). The discussion questions cover the questionnaire developed to guide the consultations for the HLMDD.
The consultation started on Friday, 8 March and run for three weeks until 28 March.

The World We Want gathers the priorities of people from every corner of the world and aims to help build a collective vision that will be used directly by the United Nations and World Leaders to plan a new development agenda launching in 2015, one that is based on the aspirations of all citizens!

In 2000, world leaders promised to halve extreme poverty by 2015 with a global plan called the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Thanks to millions of people taking action and a massive global effort, we have already made real progress. The number of people living in poverty has fallen to less than half of its 1990 level. Over two billion people gained access to better drinking water. The share of slum dwellers living in cities fell, improving the lives of at least 100 million people!

Read more at United Nations Regional Information centre for Western Europe

In wide-ranging opening remarks to the current session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs in Vienna, the Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Yury Fedotov placed HIV and drug use at the heart of the global agenda.

“HIV transmission through injecting drug use continues to be one of the main unresolved challenges of the international community. Widespread stigma, discrimination and lack of access to evidence-informed HIV services are among the key challenges,” he said.

Addressing the gathering of more than 1 000 representatives of Member States and civil society, he suggested that despite “notable progress” in increasing access to HIV services for people who inject drugs, there is still a long way to go.

In an apparent nod to the post-2015 development agenda Mr Fedotov put the challenge of the epidemic within the context of a health and rights-based prism: “[H]uman rights and public health considerations must be at the core of the international response to drug use and HIV,” he maintained.

Read more at UNAIDS

At a United Nations summit held at the turn of the century, the UN agreed on eight ambitious goals designed to rid the world of the worst extremes of poverty. They set themselves a deadline of 2015 to meet their targets and 189 UN member states agreed to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as they were called.

Today, with less than two years remaining before the deadline of 2015, the UN is already conducting post-2015 consultations on what should follow this ambitious agenda. However, while the MDGs have helped to focus attention on poverty, it is clear that economic inequality is on an upward trend. International and inter-regional class divides have become too deep to ignore.

MDGs progress has too often failed to reach those most in need: women and girls, those living in extreme poverty and those living in remote or rural areas. It is also clear that some issues, such as environmental sustainability require much greater resources and political commitment to achieve progress, given the new challenge of climate challenge and the growing need for energy.

Read more at Dawn.com Blog

The Prime Minister made the call while inaugurating a two-day Global Leadership Meeting on Population Dynamics at the Ruposhi Bangla Hotel in the capital.

She also made three recommendations as part of the global consultation in the context of post-2015 development agenda on sustainable development.

In her first recommendation, she called for viewing millions of young and trainable persons as a resource as she said providing employment for an increasing number of youth is a key challenge for a developing country like Bangladesh.

"Providing employment for an increasing number of young people, as in Bangladesh, is a key challenge - for us and the world. In a global context, millions of our young, trainable persons should be viewed as a resource, within an evolving production function," she said.

Read more at bdnews24.com

Citizens from all over the world can help shape the future global development agenda through their participation in the United Nations survey ‘My World’, which allows them to vote on issues they believe are priorities and should be addressed by world leaders.

Launched this week, the survey seeks to build on the momentum generated by the anti-poverty targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and tackle challenges that go beyond their 2015 deadline.

In a video message for the survey, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon encouraged the public to participate. “Vote and tell us what issues matter most to you and your family. Make a difference. Mark a difference,” he said.
Votes can be submitted online, and in some countries by mobile phone or through offline ballots. Results from the survey will be shared with Mr. Ban, his High-level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, and world leaders.
Thousands of people from 189 countries have already voted during an initial roll-out period, and preliminary results show education is the issue that people think is most important for improving their lives. An honest and responsive government, health, water, sanitation and job and food security have also been considered major priorities. 

Read more at UN News Centre

The consultation which was co-convened by the Governments of Botswana and Sweden with WHO and UNICEF, brought together 50 high level participants including Ministers of Health, members of the high-level Panel of Eminent Persons, Leaders of International health institutions, representatives of civil society and the private sector, academia, public health experts and youth. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the place of health in the post 2015 development agenda.

The meeting agreed on three broad conclusions…

Read more at World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa

 The Government of Liberia with support from the United Nations will on March 18, 2013, hold nationwide consultations on the Post 2015 MDGs Development Framework.

A joint statement by the Liberian Government and UNMIL says the objective of these consultations is to ensure a bottom up approach to the development of the next Global Development Agenda, so that the plan is informed by the aspirations, perspectives and voices of the people, who will be affected by the Agenda, making an improvement over the previous MDGs in order to facilitate an inclusive, nationally-led process.

These consultations are expected to stimulate inclusive discussions among national stakeholders, including government representatives, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), civil society, community-based organizations (CBOs), indigenous people, women and social movements, youth and children, as well as the private sector, among others.

The consultation is expected to build a shared global vision on the "Future we Want" with clear recommendations for governments, civil society and broad stakeholders on the Post 2015 MDGs Development Framework.

Read more at allAfrica

In September 2000, world leaders unanimously adopted the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a series of specific targets for poverty eradication, universal primary school enrollment, gender equality, reduction in child and maternal mortality, combating major disease and ensuring environmental sustainability. The MDGs galvanized developing countries and their international partners to take concrete and tangible steps towards achieving these targets, with some remarkable progress along the way.

Standing against the achievements of the last 12 years is a sobering finding: no fragile or conflict-affected low-income country has achieved a single MDG. Conflict-affected states account for 47 percent of the population of the developing world (excluding China, India and Brazil), but make up 61 percent of its poor, 77 percent of children not in primary school, 70 percent of infant deaths and 65 percent of populations without access to safe water. By some estimate, 82 percent of the world's poor are projected to live in states affected by conflict, violence or fragility by 2025.

Read more at Huff Post Impact

African development and good governance have been at the root of the MDG which was planned for 15 years starting 2001. With the first 15 years coming to an end, the need to plan for the next 15 years and beyond with a view to correcting factors that engendered failure in some areas  was organised. Called post-2015 agenda, it hosted discussions at the continental and global levels which revealed some pitfalls which the new agenda will work to correct. Ahamefula Ogbu, who was at the week-long forum reports.

With the first phase of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) getting to an end, an evaluation of the effort with a view to reviewing and making the programme better held in Midrand, headquarters of the Pan African Parliament in South Africa and was co-organised by the parliament and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Read more at This Day Live

A high-level meeting in Geneva coming to a close today is seen as a success. Government and development leaders have agreed to encourage governments to develop and implement national drought management policies. But this is only the beginning of a more rigorous process.

Drought affects food security and sometimes leads to unrest. Despite its predictability, there remains a huge gap in the way the aid community addresses it, suggested the executive secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, who spoke to Devex ahead of today’s closing of the U.N.-organized high-level meeting on national drought policy.

UNCCD plans to drum up attention to land management, with the goal of pushing for its inclusion in the post-2015 development agenda. The convention has a number of influential “drylands ambassadors”: economist Jeffrey Sachs, South African singer Deborah Fraser and Spanish football player Carlos Marchena. Pedro Verona Rodrigues Pires, a former president of Cape Verde, and Princess Basma bint Ali of Jordan are also expected to come on board this year.

Read more at devex

UN Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Helen Clark has called for new development targets that focus on how growth, poverty alleviation and sustainability can complement one another.

“At UNDP we believe it is critical to link the poverty eradication, social equity and environmental sustainability agendas together,” Ms. Clark was quoted as saying on Monday at the opening of a two-day conference in San Jose, Costa Rica, on a new agenda once the anti-poverty Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) pass their 2015 target date.

In a statement on the conference made available to PANA in New York on Tuesday, she said: “Environmental sustainability cannot be a mere add-on to a new global development agenda or stand alone in a vertical silo.

Read more at Actualite Economie Finances Sports

In addition to last weeks' CIVICUS submissions on China, Jordan, Mexico and Nigeria, CIVICUS has made further interventions for the UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on the human rights records of the Central African Republic and Malaysia. The submissions examine these countries' track records in relation to the freedoms of expression, association and assembly.

• In the Central African Republic, the CIVICUS submission highlights the triple threat faced by journalists, civil society activists and human rights defenders which stem from the executive and judiciary, armed groups and the military of the Central African Republic.
• In Malaysia, the submission highlights the state's crackdown on the BERSIH protest movements following those of the Arab Spring, and the enactment of new legislation purporting to bring political reform but which continues to hinder the autonomy and human rights of the Malaysian people.

• Measure What You Treasure
• OBS Annual Report 2013: Violations of the right of NGOs to funding - from harassment to criminalisation
• SURVEY on innovative practices in the self-regulation of CSOs English, French or Spanish
• CIVICUS examines the human rights situations in China, Jordan, Mexico and Nigeria
• Dispatches from Geneva: 1st Week of the Human Rights Council (25 February - 1 March 2013)
• Development must be about freedom from fear and freedom from want
• Belgium: Enhancing the role of civil society
• Technology: Civil society's latest threat is right before our eyes

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His Excellency the President Lt. General Seretse Khama Ian Khama officially opened the High Level Dialogue on the MDG Post-2015 Health Agenda on 5th September 2013 at the Gaborone International Conference and Convention Centre.

About 50 senior officials and experts are participating in the meeting. Among them are Heads of United Nations agencies, including the WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan, the Executive Director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Anthony Lake, and ministers of health from a number of countries as well as representatives from the UN Secretary General’s High-level Panel of Eminent Persons on Post-2015 development planning, global health partnerships, the private sector, civil society organizations and academia.

Read more at World Health Organization

On February 28, 2013, 35 delegates representing civil society organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), research institutes and think tanks consulted with the African Union on the post-Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) education agenda and recommended priority areas for the post-2015 framework.  The meeting, held in Addis Ababa, was organized by the African Union in collaboration with Save the Children, UNICEF and the Organization for Social Science Research in Eastern and Southern Africa (OSSREA).  In his opening address, Ned Olney, Save the Children’s Ethiopia country director, spoke on the current state of education in Ethiopia to emphasize that inequity and learning gaps remain key challenges to children’s education across the globe and must be addressed in the post-2015 development framework.

Read more at Brookings

As the date of 2015 approaches, the international community is analysing the results of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that were omnipresent in the development debate since 2000.
But many are already looking further, beyond the magic date of 2015.

Multi-stakeholder consultations are taking place in almost 100 countries worldwide with a view to shape the new development agenda beyond 2015. The information that will be generated through this consultative process should influence the proceedings of the UN International High-Level Panel on post-2015.

This Panel, that is co-chaired by the UK Prime Minister David Cameron, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf from Liberia and President Susilo Yudhoyono from Indonesia, is composed of 27 eminent persons from all parts of the world. Over the past months the Panel has met three times and it will meet again at the end of March in exotic Bali before presenting its conclusions to UN Secretary general Ban Ki-Moon in May in New York.

Read more at Talking Points

As the 2015 deadline for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) approaches, with many of the targets set to remain unreached, global policy makers are searching for post-2015 replacements.

But while some progress has been made around the MDGs, if Africa is to see real and sustainable development, it is crucial that the post-2015 goals privilege indigenous voices and ways of promoting home-grown solutions to local problems.

Read more at Think African Press

President Barack Obama pledged during his January 2013 State of the Union address that the United States would join with its allies to “eradicate” extreme poverty over the “next two decades” by connecting more people to the global economy and empowering women.

Putting an end to extreme poverty requires providing opportunities for all individuals, especially women, to thrive through education, nutrition, and health. In order to achieve this goal, a greater emphasis must be placed on gender equality and the removal of barriers that disproportionately affect women.

A great deal of progress has been made in the fight against poverty, particularly since the adoption of the U.N. Millennium Development Goals, or MDGs, in 2001. From 1990 through 2008, the number of people worldwide living in extreme poverty fell by more than 800 million. Yet barriers to prosperity still remain—such as inequality and discrimination against marginalized populations—and new challenges continue to emerge that impede goals to reduce poverty.

Read more at Center for American Progress masthead

The Government of Liberia with support from the United Nations in Liberia will on March 18, 2013, hold nation-wide consultations on the Post 2015 MDGs Development Framework.

The objective of these consultations is to ensure a bottom up approach to the development of the next Global Development Agenda, so that the plan is informed by the aspirations, perspectives and voices of the people who will be affected by the Agenda, making an improvement over the previous MDGs in order to facilitate an inclusive, nationally led process.

These consultations are expected to stimulate inclusive discussions amongst national stakeholders which include government representatives, NGOs, civil society, community-based organizations (CBOs), indigenous peoples, women’s and social movements, youth and children, as well as the private sector among others, to build a shared global vision on the “Future we Want” with clear recommendations for governments, civil society and broad stakeholders on the Post 2015 MDGs Development Framework.

Read more at Front Page Africa

The second round of consultations in China on the Post-2015 Development Agenda took place in Beijing on March 11, 2013. Renata Dessallien, United Nations Resident Coordinator, Zhang Xiao'an, Vice President of the United Nations Association, and more than 100 representatives from social organizations, UN agencies and government agencies participated in the discussion to provide suggestions for the High-Level Panel convened by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon as it considers a new global development framework to succeed the Millennium Development Goals after 2015.

This event complemented the first consultation which occurred on December 5, 2012, in Kunming, Yunnan Province. The discussions built upon six key focus areas identified by the December consultation: Poverty reduction and inclusive growth, environmental and green development policy, global health, women and children, education and international co-operation.

"It is hoped that from these six starting points a post-2015 development agenda will be devised that is action orientated, concise and easy to communicate… balanced and comprehensive… and emphasizing of inclusiveness," said Dessallien. In pursuit of this the Beijing discussions were held from a bottom-up perspective that gave significant voice to the poor and other marginalized groups; three quarters of the participants were representatives of social organizations.

Read more at All- China Women’s Federation

At the year’s CSW, the Post-2015 Women’s Coalition utilize this interconnected space to engage with partners, allies and Governments from every region as we begin to map out key asks and guidelines for challenging and transforming the global development paradigm. Below, find a list of events to engage in this dialogue:

Read more at Post- 2015 Women’s Coalition

The UN Consultation Meeting on Post -2015 Development will be held on Monday at Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Knowledge Forum with the participation of private sector, UN and government representatives to discuss the role of private sector in the post 2015 development plans.

HE Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh and UN Resident Coordinator Ms. Costanza Farina will tackle key issues during panel discussions.

The event aims at creating a platform for dialogue on the vital role private sector has in development. It also paves the way for more involvement of the private sector in setting and shaping the sought development goals in the post 2015 and will present the progress towards achieving the MDGs, and will introduce the Post 2015 development agenda. It will also give examples on the involvement of the private sector in the post 2015 consultations at the global level.

Read more at AG- IP News