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Developing a Global Partnership for Development

The Need for Systemic Reform
09/09/2005

MDG Template

UN Millennium Development Goal #8

The Millennium Development Goals constitute a historic commitment between rich and the poor nations to foster economic and social progress at the beginning of the 21st Century. The first seven goals – to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; achieve universal primary education; promote gender equality and empower women; reduce child mortality; improve maternal health; combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other disease; and ensure environmental sustainability – require action by both poor and developed nations for their promise to be realized. Developing countries must commit themselves to end corruption, foster efficient resource allocation and responsible budgetary spending, and guarantee government accountability and greater transparency. At the same time, wealthy developed nations must equally commit themselves to provide adequate and quality aid, provide debt relief, and guarantee a just and fair international trade system. The final goal encapsulates the commitments required of all countries to improve aid effectiveness to realize the ambitious development agenda represented by the previous seven goals.

The Eighth Goal

The eighth goal of the UN Millennium Challenge is thus to develop a global partnership for development.

To Develop A Global Partnership For Development

Target: Develop further an open trading and financial system that includes a commitment to good governance, development and poverty reduction – nationally and internationally

Target: Address the special needs of the least developed countries, including export access, debt relief and increased overseas development assistance for countries committed to poverty reduction

Target: Address the special needs of landlocked countries and small island developing states

Target: Deal comprehensively with the debt problems of developing countries

Target: In cooperation with developing countries, develop and implement strategies for decent and productive work for youth

Target: In cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to affordable, essential drugs in developing countries

Target: In cooperation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies, especially information and communications

The global financial commitment necessary to achieve genuine progress in the first seven goals is relatively meager. The resource problem reflects the lack of political will and commitment among donor nations that compromises the global pledge of the UN Millennium Development Goals. In the Monterrey Consensus, the governments of developed countries recommitted themselves to provide 0.70% of their national income as international aid for relief and development. Yet today only Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark and Luxembourg have fulfilled the commitment. Ireland, Belgium, France, Spain and the United Kingdom have increased aid in order to reach the target within a matter of years, but the pledge of several developed countries, particularly the United States, remains in doubt. Indeed, the Bush Administration has recently stated explicitly, in the context of discussions of the outcome document for the upcoming General Assembly meeting of heads of state at the United Nations in mid-September, that it rejects any attempt to impose specific numerical targets on the amount of foreign assistance provided by developed countries.

The quality of assistance provided is also an issue of serious concern. Every year, billions of dollars officially characterized as aid do not address poverty reduction or improved livelihoods in the countries that need it most. The funds are politically motivated and target geo-strategic interests, benefiting trade partners and friendly administrations, and funding infrastructure and economic development that does not directly benefit the poor.

For increased and improved aid to be effective, developed countries must further alleviate the overwhelming burden of debt on poor countries. Debt servicing draws millions of dollars annually out of the national budgets of these poor countries, stripping national investment in education, health care, infrastructure and economic development. As an effective aid strategy, debt relief is sustainable and provides greater flexibility to target the specific needs of the country.

Beyond aid and debt relief, poverty eradication and sustained economic growth will remain intangible without fair trade. Discriminatory policies limit the ability of developing countries to participate in and benefit from the global economy, reducing national revenue and disproportionately disadvantaging the welfare of the poor; tariffs on labor-intensive goods and agricultural subsidies artificially manipulate the balance of trade. As a result, hundreds of millions of people throughout the developing world suffer, unable to sell crops at a reasonable market price or compete in a fair global marketplace.

The Displaced and Stateless Populations

The protection and welfare of refugees, internally displaced and stateless populations is rarely a priority for national governments. Lacking even the modicum of assistance provided to the poor, these populations flee persecution and indiscriminate violence, seeking refuge on foreign land. Dispossessed and destitute, they bear the heavy burden of poverty, lacking access to basic shelter, security, food, water, education or health care. As marginalized populations, they are unable to benefit from improvements in economic growth and social development. It is thus critical that the international community address the acute needs of the displaced and stateless in order to end their disproportionate suffering. At the same time, the expectation is that more effective aid policies and performance will result in an overall reduction in displacement, as healthier societies will be somewhat less likely to be riven by conflict that produces mass displacement.

The achievement of the eighth Millennium Development Goal will thus be more likely if the following actions are taken to address the needs of displaced and stateless persons:

Donor governments increase the effectiveness of aid by specifically targeting the poverty-reduction needs of poor countries, increasing aid and providing adequate financial assistance, ending geo-strategic and politically-motivated funding in the guise of humanitarian aid, and removing cumbersome, and often politically-motivated, requirements on the use of aid that limit the ability of developing countries to maximize their resources.
The international community expands upon the $40 billion debt cancellation of 18 heavily indebted countries in 2005 by relieving the burden of all 62 heavily indebted and middle-income countries facing unsustainable debt.
All governments guarantee fair trade by eradicating agricultural subsidies, tariffs and other barriers that artificially manipulate the global trade system.
Developing countries ensure good governance by working to end corruption, requiring increased transparency and greater accountability to the citizenry, and improving resource allocation and budget priority for critical social sector spending.