The MDGs at mid-point: What do we know and next steps

1. International Conference on MDG Statistics Manila, 1 October 2007 The MDGs at mid-point: What do we know and next steps Francesca Perucci United Nations Statistics Division

2. Monitoring progress towards the MDGs • Why is monitoring important? • The impact of the monitoring requirements • What do we know at the MDG mid-point?

3. Monitoring progress towards the MDGs • Why is monitoring important?

4. Global monitoring To inform the international political debate To sensitize public opinion on global development issues To help development partners identify priorities To improve coordination and collaboration within the international community National monitoring To raise awareness and help focus national debate on development issues To help set national priorities Both processes have been instrumental to increase the demand and promote the use of statistics for policy making and monitoring Monitoring: an essential element in achieving the goals

5. Monitoring requirements in countries have increased the demand for official statistics National and international reports have increased the visibility of official statistics Monitoring reports are important advocacy tool for strengthening statistical capacity and improving statistics Monitoring requirements have called the attention to shortcomings in the availability of data Monitoring the MDGs and the impact on statistical systems

6. Monitoring progress towards the MDGs • The impact of the monitoring requirements

7. Data gaps and inconsistencies have been uncovered in the international series The dialogue between national and international statistical communities is initiated in the UN Statistical Commission and in the IAEG on MDG Indicators The Friends of the Chair review what’s available in international sources The debate has been very intense and has resulted in a number of very concrete and effective actions. Global monitoring: bringing the national and the international statistical systems closer together

8. Results: ECSOC Resolution, in July 2006, to address: issues related to national statistical capacity building transparency and adequacy of metadata in international sources use of sound methodologies for MDG indicators and estimates. Increasing involvement of countries’ agencies in the process of estimation and adjustment of data National statistical offices in the IAEG made recommendations to improve data availability in international sources: Through improved reporting mechanisms Through better coordination within national statistical systems Better understanding by national statisticians of MDG indicators metadata Improved dialogue: the first results

9. Monitoring progress towards the MDGs • What do we know at the MDG mid-point?

10. The MDGs at mid-point • The Millennium Declaration and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have become a truly shared framework for development. • The “MDG mid-point” presents a vital opportunity for UN leadership and for donor countries to promote and support acceleration of the implementation of the MDGs. • The focus for the remaining seven years must be on implementation.

11. Progress at the MDG Mid-Point • Seven years on and halfway to 2015, the deadline set for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, we see that success is possible. • The Goals, which set quantitative benchmarks to halve extreme poverty in all its forms, are achievable if countries commit themselves to sound governance and accountability and receive adequate support from the international community.

12. What do we know? • For the first time, we have enough data to see what progress has been made since world leaders committed themselves to eradicate extreme poverty. • The results presented in the 2007 Report suggest that there have been some gains and that success is still possible in most parts of the world. • Encouragingly, data suggest that some progress is being made even in those countries where the challenge is greatest and it points to some success in building the requisite global partnership.

13. Progress is visible in many areas • The proportion of people living in extreme poverty fell from nearly a third to less than one-fifth cent between 1990 and 2004. • The number of extremely poor people in sub-Saharan Africa has leveled off and the poverty rate has declined by nearly six percentage points since 2000. • Child mortality has declined globally: life-saving interventions are effective in reducing the number of deaths due to the main killers—as demonstrated by measles. • Key interventions to control malaria have been expanded. • The tuberculosis (TB) epidemic appears finally on the verge of declining, but progress is not fast enough to halve prevalence and death rates by 2015.

14. Progress is visible in many areas • Progress has been made in bringing more children to school in the developing world. Enrolment in primary education grew from 80 per cent in 1991 to 88 per cent in 2005. • Women’s political participation has been growing, albeit slowly. Even in countries where previously only men were allowed to stand for political elections, women have been elected.

15. The Goals can be achieved even in very poor countries • Many African countries are leading the way in developing national-scale programmes that have yielded big results in a short time: • agricultural productivity has been dramatically raised in Malawi; • more children are going to primary school in Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda; • malaria is being brought under control in Niger, Togo, Zambia and Zanzibar; • land is being reforested on a large scale in Niger; • and Senegal is on track to halving the proportion of people without access to clean water and sanitation.

16. But a lot remains to be done • Over half a million women still die each and every year from treatable and preventable complications of pregnancy and childbirth. • If current trends continue, the target of halving the proportion of underweight children will be missed by the amount of 30 million, especially because of slow progress in Southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. • The number of people dying from AIDS worldwide has increased to 2.9 million in 2006 and prevention measures are failing to keep pace with the growth of the epidemic. In 2005, over 15 million children had lost one or both parents to AIDS. • The benefits of economic growth in the developing world have been unequally shared. Widening income inequality is of particular concern in Eastern Asia.

17. And despite renewed commitments, aid falls • Rich countries need to meet the long-standing target of devoting 0.7 per cent of their gross national income to official development assistance. The leading industrialized countries pledged to double aid to Africa by 2015, at the G8 Summit in 2005, and have just reaffirmed this commitment at the Heiligendamm Summit. But since then, aid to the continent and overall to the poorest countries, excluding debt relief and humanitarian assistance, has barely increased.

18. 1 Extreme poverty is beginning to fall in sub-Saharan Africa, and child hunger is declining in all regions Eradicate extreme poverty & hunger Proportion of people living on less than $1 a day, 1990 and 2004 (Percentage)

19. 2 Universal primary education is in sight, though children in sub-Saharan Africa trail far behind Achieve universal primary education Total net enrolment ratio in primary education, 1990/1991, 1998/1999 and 2004/2005 (Percentage)

20. 3 Doors to labour markets are opening slowly for women Promote gender equality and empower women Employees in non-agricultural wage employment who are women, 1990 and 2005 (Percentage)

21. 4 Vaccinations spur a decline in measles, but child survival rates still show slow improvement Reduce child mortality Under-five mortality rate per 1,000 live births, 1990 and 2005

22. 5 Health-care interventions for mothers need to be made more widely available Improve maternal health Proportion of deliveries attended by skilled health care personnel, 1990 and 2005 (Percentage)

23. 6 Prevention measures fail to keep pace with the spread of HIV, while the need for AIDS treatment grows Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria & other diseases Population living with HIV in need of treatment who are receiving antiretroviral therapy, 2006 (Percentage)

24. 7 Loss of old-growth forests continues… Ensure environmental sustainability Proportion of land area covered by forests, 1990, 2000 and 2005 (Percentage)

25. 7 Growing greenhouse gas emissions continue to outpace advances in sustainable energy technologies Ensure environmental sustainability Emissions of carbon dioxide, 1990-2004 (Billions of metric tons)

26. 8 Official development assistance declined between 2005 and 2006 and is expected to continue to fall slightly in 2007 as debt relief declines further…. Develop a global partnership for development Official development assistance from developed countries, 1990-2006 (Constant 2005 United States dollars)

27. 8 …preferential market access has stalled Develop a global partnership for development Proportion of imports from developing countries (excluding arms and oil) admitted to developed countries duty-free, 1996-2005 (Percentage)

28. Accelerating MDG implementation • Nationally-owned development strategies and budgets must be aligned with the MDGs. This must be backed up by adequate financing, including ODA where necessary, within the global partnership for development and its framework for mutual accountability. • Stronger national statistical systems and associated capacity building are needed to achieve the MDGs. • The UN Policy Committee has established a Task Force to monitor implementation. • The UN Secretary-General has launched a new initiative to accelerate progress in Africa—the MDG Africa Steering Group.