The first day of the Informal Interactive Hearings of the General Assembly (GA) with NGOs, civil society organizations and the private sector at the UN in New York provided a diversity of urgent messages about meeting and exceeding the MDGs. The day began with a number of pre-Hearings civil society actions and meetings, one of which was a morning briefing with NGOs about what we might expect at on the first day of Hearings. Immediately following the meeting, all those present hit the streets around the UN with a march from the Church Center to Dag Hammerskjold Plaza. With a bull horn in hand, Rajiv and others took turns calling for an End to Poverty and pushing for The World We Want. At the plaza, representatives of GCAP, the FTF, international partner organizations, and NY-based organizations signed a jumbo-sized version of the letter addressed to the UN Secretary-General outlining NGO demands and recommendations.

In an historic first, a meeting focused on civil society input and statements took place in the General Assembly hall, usually reserved for Member States and dignitaries and for the occasion NGO representative to address governments. Here, members of civil society filled the hall, outnumbering government delegates. The President of the GA, H.E. Ambassador Treki had invited Member States to participate, unfortunately there were many empty seats and few comments from governments in the first day.

In his opening statements, President Treki highlighted he importance of “promoting gender equality” and addressing the concerns of women. He also said, “more than ever, we need the full engagement of civil society” to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). He followed up with, “The world is counting on you.” Unfortunately, we know that we cannot do it on our own and it is the responsibility of governments to fulfill their commitments. Our job is to keep the pressure on governments and certainly, presenters of the first panel did this.

In the very first panel, “Building a better tomorrow: local actions, national strategies and global structures,” I must say I was happy to note that every speaker focused on, or at least mentioned, the needs and conditions of women (some highlights---links to full texts below).

Farah Kabir, ActionAid, focused on women farmers—the main producers in the world of staple crops, and yet they also makeup the majority of the hungry,…Due to the feminization of poverty women are doubly vulnerable.”

GCAP’s David Winjobi highlighted how Goal 1 “is intrinsically linked to the remaining goals, and if governments could be responsive to this goal, it would go a long way in attenuating the attendant problems of the other goals. For example, a woman that is earning a pittance or does not have a wage employment (Goal 3) would not be empowered enough to improve her waning health (Goal 5) or the health of her child suffering from malnutrition (Goal 4) because she is suffering from poverty and hunger (Goal 1).” He summarized by calling for “funding programmes on gender equality and women’s empowerment, especially programmes aimed at immediately alleviating poverty and hunger currently being experienced.”

Charlotte Bunch, present on behalf of the Gender Equality Architecture Reform (GEAR) Campaign, addressed the “linkages between gender equality, human rights and the Millennium Declaration and Development Goals.” She began with a historical perspective, highlighting the “historic 10th anniversary of the MDGs is also the 15th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and 35 years since the first World Conference on Women in 1975” She pushed Member States and the UN Secretariat to establish the proposed gender equality entity before the Millennium Summit. We see this as a critical component of realizing the MDGs and fulfilling the UN’s mandate of working for gender equality, development, human rights, peace and security.”

Neha Sood with the Youth Coalition for Sexual and Reproductive Rights focused on adolescent girls, stating that “young people’s sexual and reproductive health and rights cannot be neglected without disastrous consequences. The MDGs cannot be achieved unless it is acknowledged that young people are sexual beings and have sexual and reproductive health needs, and sexual and reproductive rights.”

The representative of the private sector, Marie Gad mentioned how the business environment also provides more obstacles for women than for men, “Evidence from the World Bank shows that more women are likely to be formally engaged in entrepreneurship where the ease of doing business is greater. The more difficult the business environment, the fewer female entrepreneurs.” They recommended removing judicial obstacles for female entrepreneurs and business leaders (e.g. access to land and credit).

Speakers

• Ms. Farah Kabir, ActionAid
• Dr. David Winjobi, Global Call to action Against Poverty
• Ms. Neha Sood, Youth Coalition
• Ms. Marie Gad, Business Europe
• Ms. Charlotte Bunch, GEAR coalition

The afternoon session focused on “Equal and Inclusive Partnerships: Accountability in the fight against Poverty,” where the following representatives of civil society presented, including an analytical presentation by Marina Durano of DAWN and a powerful statement by Siphiwe Hlophe of the organization, Swaziland for Positive Living. For full texts, please see links below.

Speakers

• Ms. Cecilia Blondet Montero, Transparency International
• Ms. Marina Durano, Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN)
• Ms. Martha Sanchez Nestor, Alianza de Mujeres Indigenas de Centroamerica y Mexico
• Mr. Mario Ottiglio, International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Associations (IFPMA)
• Ms. Siphiwe Hlophe, Swaziland for Positive Living/Strategies from the South

“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 promise that 189 heads of state made to their people ten years ago. Since then, progress has been made in the fight against extreme poverty. But not nearly enough. Today, 50,000 people continue to die every day as a result of poverty. A woman dies every minute in pregnancy and childbirth. Around the globe, 72 million children still do not go to school.

There are just five years left until the 2015 deadline by which world leaders have pledged to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), in order to eradicate extreme poverty and its root causes. Time is running out. But it’s not too late.

From September 20-22, the United Nations will host the largest gathering of heads of state since the Millennium Summit in the year 2000, to review progress on the MDGs. This is not a time for idle talk or more empty promises. We as citizens must use the time from now until September to tell our leaders in no uncertain terms that we expect them to deliver concrete, breakthrough plans at the summit, outlining exactly what they will do in order to deliver on their promises by the 2015 deadline. We expect them to implement policies and plans that serve the needs of their people, particularly the poorest and most vulnerable. Their plans must include clear mechanisms for accountability to their citizens.

Join the global movement in support of the Millennium Development Goals. We are the generation that can end poverty, and we should refuse to miss this opportunity. Let’s send a clear message to our leaders: We will no longer stay seated or silent in the face of poverty and broken promises to end it.

Tell us what you want your government to do to achieve the MDGs.

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The initial draft structure for the MDG Review Summit outcome document has been sent to Member States by the the co-facilitators of the Summit , Ambassador Staur of Denmark and Ambassador Badji of Senegal. The co-facilitators are expecting reactions from Member States to this initial draft by May 11th.

• Download Draft Structure of HLPM Outcome Document
• Download Letter from co-facilitators.
• Link to the news article

Anyone who believes that the Millennium Development Goals cannot be achieved by 2015 should take a look at what has happened in Ethiopia. Or Tanzania. Or Bangladesh, Nepal, The Gambia, Rwanda, Eritrea, Malawi, Mozambique, Niger, Honduras, Egypt, Uganda, Zambia, South Africa or Vietnam. Or countless other nations.

The remarkable success of these countries in getting on track to meet certain Goals, often in the face of extreme poverty, war, natural disasters and other major challenges, proves that it is undeniably possible for the Millennium Development Goals to be met in every nation. Governments must simply make the achievement of the Goals a priority, invest the necessary resources and ensure accountability to their citizens.

The below cases prove that the only question left is not whether the Goals can be achieved, but whether governments will choose to do the right thing.

Education

Three million more children are in school in Ethiopia today and in Tanzania education is nearly universal, as the result of both governments’ increased expenditures on education and concerted efforts to increase school enrolment.

In Ethiopia, the government constructed schools in rural areas, distributed textbooks in local languages, reformed curriculums, decentralized administration and increased the education budget from 3.6 percent of GDP to 6 percent. As a result, the country’s school enrolment rate grew to 72.3 percent by 2007 – up from just 38.5 percent seven years before.

Tanzania nearly doubled its school enrolment rate in just seven years, and 98 percent of children were enrolled in school by 2006. To achieve this, the government abolished enrolment fees, increased grants for education, improved infrastructure and the recruitment of teachers, created double shifts to accommodate the resulting influx of students and increased the education budget to 5 percent of GDP.

Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment

Despite poverty and climate challenges, Bangladesh managed to close its gender gap in school enrolment within ten years, by offering stipends and tuition exemption to rural girls who attend and perform well in school and do not marry early. The gap was also closed as the result of improved infrastructure, including sanitation facilities; the recruitment of female teachers; international aid; and a scheme providing grains to poor families who send their children to school.

Nepal and The Gambia have also eliminated their gender gaps in education. Both countries offered school scholarships for poor girls and increased expenditures on education. The Gambia also worked to improve the quality of teacher training, improve curriculums, construct sanitary facilities and foster the participation of local communities in supporting the education of girls.

In Rwanda, female Parliamentarians now comprise the majority of the Lower Chamber. The massive increase in women’s participation stems from the commitment of the President to quotas for women in the country’s high-level government positions and implementing programs to support women’s economic and political participation.

Child Mortality

Some of the world’s very poorest countries have achieved significant decreases in child mortality. The ratio of deaths of children under five has dropped by at least 40 percent over the past twenty years in Eritrea, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique and Niger – countries which all have an annual gross national income per capita under $350.

In Eritrea, for example, the decreases in under-five mortality were achieved by implementing an integrated approach to infant and child health focused on improving health systems as well as the practices of health care workers, families and communities. The country implemented programs to provide Vitamin A supplements and vaccinations and promoted hand-washing in schools. This supplemented overall efforts by the government to improve health facilities, training and equipment. The country’s mortality rate among children under the age of five plummeted by more than half – from 147 per 100,000 live births in 1990 to 70 in 2007.

Maternal Mortality In Honduras, the maternal mortality rate dropped by 40 percent between 1990-1997, as the result of the prioritization of a national safe motherhood initiative by both the government and donors. The government focused on recruiting doctors and nurses; training half of its birth attendants in an approach to cut risk; and opening new hospitals, birthing centres and health centres, especially in areas with high maternal mortality. To facilitate access to hospitals in areas with high maternal mortality, roads were constructed and ambulances provided.

In Egypt, maternal deaths decreased by 52 percent between 1992-1993 and 2000, as the result of the government and donors’ efforts to increase access to skilled health workers and emergency obstetric care.

Combating Major Diseases

Uganda, one of the first countries in sub-Saharan Africa to be ravaged by HIV/AIDS, managed to cut the percentage of adults with the virus from 15 per cent in the early 1990’s to 5.4 per cent in 2007. The country created a prevention campaign called “ABC” (abstain, be faithful, use condoms), launched an education program in schools and the media, marketed condoms and treatments for sexually transmitted diseases, implemented innovative testing for the virus and since 2004 has provided antiretroviral drugs free of charge to the population.

Several countries have dramatically reduced the incidence of malaria by providing access to insecticide-treated bed nets, anti-malarial drugs, indoor spraying and treatment for pregnant women. Eritrea, Rwanda and Zambia have all reduced incidences and deaths from malaria by more than half.

Environmental Sustainability

Numerous countries have made significant strides in increasing citizens’ access to water and sanitation. In both India and Uganda, for example, a focus on community participation in planning, implementing, contributing resources to and monitoring projects has resulted in increased access to water. In India, this new approach increased water access from 71 percent in 1990 to 89 percent in 2006. South Africa, meanwhile, has implemented a free water program to provide poor households with 6,000 litres of water each month, in a scheme which has reached 76 percent of the population.

In Ethiopia, sanitation coverage has increased significantly as the result of a scheme to educate communities on the links between sanitation and health and through the implementation of new, affordable technologies. While the government previously provided subsidies for sanitation, families educated on its importance are now willing to pay for such services when they are affordable.

Vietnam has implemented an ambitious forest program aimed at ensuring sustainable development and improving the livelihoods of citizens living in forested areas. The program includes logging restrictions, the protection of existing forests and the regeneration of forests. In just five years, the country increased forest cover by four percent -- from 36 percent in 2000 to 40 percent in 2005.

Documents/Links

• Themes and Active Participants for the General Assembly Hearings with NGOs, Civil Society and the Private Sector Announced
• Asia-Pacific Regional Report 2009/10
• Millennium Development Goals Report 2009