Goal #8Global Partnership
Introduction
The Millennium Goals represent a global partnership for development. The deal makes clear that it is the primary responsibility of poor countries to work towards achieving the first seven Goals. They must do their part to ensure greater accountability to citizens and efficient use of resources. But for poor countries to achieve the first seven Goals, it is absolutely critical that rich countries deliver on their end of the bargain with more and more effective aid, more sustainable debt relief and fairer trade rules, well in advance of 2015.
The Targets
Goal 8 of the Millennium Development Goals sets out by the year 2015 to:
- Develop further an open, rule-based, predictable, non-discriminatory trading and financial system. Includes a commitment to good governance, development and poverty reduction – both nationally and internationally
- Address the special needs of the least developed countries Includes: tariff and quota free access for the least developed countries’ exports; enhanced programme of debt relief for heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC) and cancellation of official bilateral debt; and more generous ODA for countries committed to poverty reduction
- Address the special needs of landlocked developing countries and small island developing States (through the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States and the outcome of the twenty-second special session of the General Assembly)
- Deal comprehensively with the debt problems of developing countries through national and international measures in order to make debt sustainable in the long term
- In cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to affordable essential drugs in developing countries.
- In cooperation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies, especially information and communications.
Did You Know?
The United Nations estimates that unfair trade rules deny poor countries $700 billion every year. Less than 0.01% of this could save the sight of 30 million people. (Source:ChristianAid)
In 1970, 22 of the world's richest countries pledged to spend 0.7% of their national income on aid. 34 years later, only 5 countries have kept that promise. The UK hasn't. (Source:Save The Children)
Achieving the Goals
Debt relief has helped millions in developing countries provide for their people.
Nigeria is using $750 million in debt savings from 2006 to train and recruit new teachers, while Cameroon is debt savings to launch a national HIV/AIDS plan for prevention, education, testing and mother-to- child transmission abatement.
Read more examples of effective aid from the One Campaign
Goal News
On the eve of the third G20 Summit since the global economic crisis began, Jubilee USA and the United Nations Millennium Campaign, hosted a blogger roundtable, Tuesday, June 22, to launch a new report entitled “Making the Grade? The Group of G20’s Commitments to the World’s Poorest”.
New Analysis Reveals African Countries Top List of 20 Countries Making Most Overall Progress on MDGs
As G-8 and G-20 leaders prepare to gather in Canada, new analysis issued by the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) and the United Nations Millennium Campaign finds that, in absolute terms, many of the world’s poorest countries are making the most overall progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – the set of promises world leaders made to significantly reduce extreme poverty, illiteracy and disease by 2015.
While Europe boasts that it is the world’s largest donor of development aid, it’s recently- announced position for the upcoming UN MDG Review High Level Plenary Meeting in New York on September 20-22 undermines its role in accelerating progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Ahead of the World Cup in South Africa, former UN Secretary-General/Africa Progress Panel Chair Kofi Annan and UNDP Goodwill Ambassador/football star Didier Drogba released ‘Scoring for Africa – An Alternative Guide to the World Cup’. The report compares statistics from African nations on issues such as economic growth, CO2 emissions, access to education and human development, with the nations they will face on the football field. It finds that Africans simply do not have a fair playing field on issues such as trade or the fight against climate change.
