Closing gaps in MDG requires increased efforts

The report, "Delivering on the Global Partnership for Achieving the Millennium Development Goals," found that donors have fallen short of their trade and development aid commitments. Regarding official development assistance (ODA), the gap between promised aid and delivered aid is $31,4bn. In order to reach their goals by 2010, donors will need to give an additional $18bn per year.

Special adviser on Africa and high representative for least developed countries (LDCs), landlocked developing countries (LLDCs) and small island developing states (SIDS), Cheick Sidi Diarra told MediaGlobal, “While there has been some progress in donors fulfilling their commitments, it is imperative that these efforts are redoubled. Failure to recommit may result in the erosion in some of the gains achieved thus far.”

One key issue, with global food and energy prices rising drastically in the last few years, aid flows have been declining; in 2006 aid decreased by 4,7% and in 2007 it decreased by 8,4%.

UNDP policy advisor Paul Ladd, who contributed to the report, told MediaGlobal, “The only way to keep pressure on rich country governments to keep their promises is through domestic constituents; you need strong lobbies and activists in the countries to convince their governments.” He further explained, “Domestic non-governmental organisations (NGOs) play a key role in stimulating that constituency.”

Governments tend to cut international aid when their economies are not in the best condition in an effort to keep their citizenry content, so it becomes the job of the people to push their governments to increase international aid.

Another key area where donors have fallen short is in trade. The report found that, despite the goal for 97% of exports from LDCs to be given duty-free access to the markets of developed countries, only 79% actually are given duty-free access. The problem again lies in the fact that developed countries' economies are not currently thriving, and countries make more money by not giving exports duty-free access.

“This is trickier with trade than with aid,” Ladd explained. “Even if there is a development lobby, there are also strong industry and agriculture lobbies.” Because employees in the industry and agriculture sectors of the economy stand to make more money with less competition from LDC exports, which, if given duty-free access to markets, can be much cheaper than their products, such employees tend to fight their governments when they allow LDCs to export goods duty-free.

Despite these areas where donor countries have fallen severely short of their goals, the report showed a few areas where donor countries have made significant progress, such as in the areas of debt relief and medicine assistance, but also highlighted specific work that still needed to be done in these areas.

Of the 41 eligible heavily indebted poor countries (HIPCs), 33 have received debt relief according to the report. Those who have not received relief are either still in conflict or immediately post-conflict, according to Ladd, and donors tend to avoid giving money to such countries for fear that it will be used for reasons other than debt-relief.

The responsibility of donors now is to help countries make sure they will not fall back into debt. “One of the ways is to consistently monitor the levels of debt - for the country to set itself some thresholds above which it won't go, and it can do so with the help of international agents as well but essentially the government has got to set levels,” said Ladd.

Additionally, although 72% of developing countries are allowed to create generic drug substitutes for certain medications, a World Health Organisation (WHO) study found 35% of medicines considered essential are available through the public sector in 27 developing countries. Donor countries have assisted developing countries in increasing access to medicines to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, yet many basic medicines are still not widely available.

The issue here often lies in domestic policies in the developing countries, Ladd explained: “Countries tend to get a lot of money from taxing imports, so when that comes to medicines of course, if you try to import medicines from other countries and put a lot of tax on them, that makes it much more difficult for hospitals to get medicines.”

Regarding the way a country can improve its access to medicine, Ladd said, “You have to get your own nation in order first, get an essential medicines list, get your hands on generics, and only then can you look at the international factors as well that prevent medicines from crossing borders.”

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon explained at the release of the report, “As these gaps show us, a shift in both quantity and quality is needed to fulfill the promise of halving extreme poverty, achieving universal primary education and gender parity, and improving the health and living conditions of millions of people. The international community has a responsibility to live up to its commitments.”

The report was released to show participants in the upcoming high-level event on the Millennium Development Goals areas where donors are not on track to reach their goals by 2010. It demonstrates that some solutions lie not simply in donor countries increasing their efforts, rather in co-operation between the countries receiving aid and the donors.

The MDG Gap Task Force was created by UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon to track international commitments on aid, trade and debt, and to follow progress on access to essential medicines and technology.

Article published courtesy of GlobalMedia