The Development Co-operation Report (DCR)
is the key annual reference document for analysis and statistics on trends in
international development co-operation. This year, the DCR explores what needs
to be done to achieve rapid and sustainable progress in the global fight to end
poverty.
The
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) galvanized political support for
poverty reduction. The world has probably already met the MDG target of halving
the share of the population living in extreme poverty (USD 1.25 per day).
Yet progress towards the MDGs across countries, localities, population groups
and gender has been uneven, reflecting a
fundamental weakness in current approaches. As the United Nations and its
partners shape a new
global framework to take the place of the MDGs in 2015 , they face the
urgent challenge of ending poverty once and for all. As this Development
Co-operation Report (DCR) makes clear, this will take more than
business as usual.
New goals for ending poverty
To recapture the
Millennium Declaration’s vision, the new international development agenda must reflect
principles of solidarity, equality, dignity and respect for nature. Its goals must
effectively guide core aspirations, targets must be easy to monitor, and must
include strategies for economic and social transformation. The report made numerous
proposals for developing these elements, including:
Move from poverty to
inclusive well-being
Create a new
headline indicator to measure progress towards eradicating all forms of
poverty, which could complement the current income-poverty indicator
Include targets and
indicators to track whether people are becoming newly poor.
Include a goal of
reducing income inequality, or a set of indicators of inequality across the various
goals.
Take a twin-track
approach to gender: a goal for gender equality and women’s empowerment coupled
with a way of revealing gender gaps in all other goals and targets
Combine national and global goals and
responsibilities
Base a new global
goal of reducing income poverty on national poverty measures that are internationally
co-ordinated and consistent.
Make the new agenda applicable
to all countries, but with responsibilities that vary accordingto a
country’s starting point, capabilities and resources.
Set targets
nationally but within global minimum standards.
Improve data for
tracking progress
Adopt a specific goal, target and indicator to increase the
availability and quality of data fortracking progress towards these new goals,
and invest in national statistical capacity
The report stresses the ambition and the
credibility of this goal (ending poverty once for all) and as well as the
importance of sound political leadership to achieve it. In Africa, during the last 13 years, the leadership of the
late Ethiopian Prime
Minister Meles Zenawi and his
focus on development results, food security
and poverty reduction have been exemplary. The reports highlights also the successes of Ghanaian
presidents hailing from different political parties, but who have coincided in championing
poverty reduction and food security for the poorest. This has enabled Ghana to implement a successful
development strategy focused on building the private sector, developing
human resources and implementing good governance. Furthermore
Balancing Poverty and Environmental Sustainability
While it is not always easy to balance poverty reduction with
environmental sustainability, important progress is being made. Over the
past decade, for instance, Brazil has greatly reduced extreme poverty and
inequality while at the same time cutting deforestation by 80%. Ethiopia aims
to become a middle-income country without increasing its greenhouse gas
emissions and has developed the innovative Climate-
Resilient Green Economy strategy to guide it in doing so.
The role of the Global Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation
The Global Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation is just what
is needed. This unique coalition of governments, civil society, the
private sector and international institutions was launched at the Fourth
High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Busan in 2011. Its aim is to catalyse
and co-ordinate global efforts and resources for more effective development. The
Global Partnership will play a key role in helping development actors
work together, discuss the pros and cons of diverse policies and instruments, share
good practice, foster collaboration and promote concrete action – crucial
pre-conditions for successfully implementing the post-2015 development agenda.
It is up to all of us, now, to make use of this novel, inclusive partnership to
improve our development co-operation efforts.
