Looking at Africa: Agendas for Development

FIRST APPROACH: THE MDGs – Jeffrey Sachs (UN 2000) MDG 1 - ERADICATE EXTREME POVERTY & HUNGER Target 1.A:  Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people

whose income is less than $1.25 a day Target 1.B:  Achieve full and productive employment and decent

work for all Target 1.C:  Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people

who suffer from hunger MDG 2 - ACHIEVE UNIVERSAL PRIMARY EDUCATION Target 2.A:  Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and

girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling MDG 3 - PROMOTE GENDER EQUALITY AND EMPOWER WOMEN Target 3.A: Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary

education, preferably by 2005, and in all levels of education no later than 2015

MDG 4 – REDUCE CHILD MORTALITY Target 4.A: Reduce by two thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the

under-five mortality rate

FIRST APPROACH: THE MDGs – Jeffrey Sachs (UN 2000) MDG 5 – IMROVE MATERNAL HEALTH Target 5 A: Reduce by three quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio Target 5 B: Achieve, by 2015, universal access to reproductive health MDG 6 - Combat HIV, Malaria and other diseases Target 6 A: Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS Target 6 B: Achieve, by 2010, universal access to treatment for HIV/AIDS for all those who

need it Target 6 C: Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the incidence of malaria and other

major diseases MDG 7 – ENSURE ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY Target 7 A: Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and

programmes and reverse the loss of environmental resources Target 7 B: Reduce biodiversity loss, achieving, by 2010, a significant reduction in the rate

of loss MDG 8 – Develop a Global Partnership for Development Target 8.A: Develop further an open, rule-based, predictable, non-discriminatory trading

and financial system Target 8.B:  Address the special needs of least developed countries Target 8.C:  Address the special needs of landlocked developing countries and small island

developing States Target 8.D: Deal comprehensively with the debt problems of developing countries Target 8.E: In cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to affordable

essential drugs in developing countries Target 8.F:  In cooperation with the private sector, make available benefits of new

technologies, especially information and communications

FIRST APPROACH: THE MDGs – Jeffrey Sachs (UN 2000)

According to the MDGs strategy, 5 main strategic tools have to be employed by governments and aid organizations:

Strategic planning Decentralization. Policy and programme co-ordination Accountability and result-based performance

management. Sectoral Innovations

FIRST APPROACH: THE MDGs – Jeffrey Sachs (UN 2000) According to Sachs, extreme poor lack six major kinds

of capital. Being poverty a multidimensional “problem”, the fight against poverty has to take into account simultaneously:

Human Capital: health, nutrition and skills needed for each person to be economically productive

Business Capital: the machinery, facilities, motorized transport used in agriculture, industry and services

Infrastructure: roads, power, water, sanitation, airports, seaports, telecommunication systems

Natural Capital: arable land, healthy soils, biodiversity and well functioning ecosystems

Public institutional capital: the commercial law, judicial systems, government services and policing

Knowledge capital: scientific and technological know-how that raises productivity

The End of Poverty, by Jeffrey Sachs (2005)

SECOND APPROACH: “THE SEARCHING APPROACH” (William Easterly)

The second vision / approach, is inspired by the work of William Easterly (see among other works The White Man's Burden, 2007) and can be named the “searching approach”. According to Easterly, planners give to international aid a role and a power well over its possibilities. Planners are still fed by a typical western ideology: to be the owners of the future of the world; to have the burden of the world on their shoulders.

History can hardly be planned; aid is only one out of many other factors influencing the present and the future of any given society. Social unrests, revolutions, quality of the domestic governance, willingness of the leading classes, market’s unpredictable dynamics are all factors that can make the difference in the life of one country, unmanageable by the aid planners.

SECOND APPROACH: “THE SEARCHING APPROACH” (William Easterly) The White Man's Burden (2007)

SECOND APPROACH: “THE SEARCHING APPROACH” (William Easterly) The conclusion of Easterly is not that aid is useless, neither that

international engagements should not be maintained. His point is that aid should be renovated and considered as an instrument to find innovative solutions to emerging problems. Its impact should be measurable and its function should not embrace the whole societies (as the MDGs) but rather concentrate on the search for effective and concrete solutions to the problems affecting the life of the poor.

A planner thinks he already knows the answers; he thinks of poverty as a technical engineering problem, that his answers will solve. A searcher admits he doesn't know the answers in advance; he believes that poverty is a complicated tangle of political, soda!, historical, institutional, and technological factors. A Searcher hopes to find answers to individual problems only by trial and error experimentation. A Planner believes outsiders know enough to impose solutions. A Searcher believes only insiders have, enough knowledge to find solutions, and that most solutions must be home grown.

An example of a goof searchers is the founder of the Grameen Bank Muhammad Yunus. His goal was not to eliminate poverty, but “simply” to transform a beggar into a borrower! He was searching a solution to the problem he wanted to solve.

The debate on the “Post 2015” Agenda & the 2014 Human Development Report On July 26, 2013 the Secretary-General of the United

Nations has released a Report called A life of dignity for all: accelerating progress towards the Millennium Development Goals and advancing the United Nations development agenda beyond 2015. The report notes that “ ….at the global level, poverty and hunger have been reduced significantly. In developing regions, the proportion of people living on less than $1.25 a day fell by more than half, from 47 per cent in 1990 to 22 per cent in 2010, with the majority living in rural areas. Much of this progress, however, has been made in a few large countries, primarily China and India. Moreover, even if the poverty target has been met, 1.2 billion people are still living in extreme poverty. For example, despite recent strong economic growth and declining poverty rates in sub-Saharan Africa, the number of people living in poverty is rising, and the region is still vulnerable to shocks that can rapidly erode gains …”.

The debate on the “Post 2015” Agenda & the 2014 Human Development Report Some of the recommendations for the “post 2015 Agenda”

contained in the report are: Emphasizing inclusive growth, decent employment and

social protection Strengthening political will and improving the international

policy environment Accelerating progress towards the Goals to 2015 Tackle exclusion and inequality Key words for aid planners and givers are: social exclusion,

social inclusion, social cohesion. Following the meanings of these words:

Social exclusion means absence of opportunities Social inclusion which means the full availability of

opportunities and rights needed to be an active and effective part of the society

Social cohesion does not refer to a specific segment of the society but to the society as a whole and can be defined as the willingness of the members of a society to cooperate each other to develop and prosper

The debate on the “Post 2015” Agenda & the 2014 Human Development Report The communication of the European Commission (EC) of June 2,

2014 called A decent Life for all: from vision to collective action indicates EC views on the priorities to be included in the Agenda after the year 2015. Following some key recommendations.

A first recommendation is about Inequality: “ … More inclusive and equal societies are more likely to live peacefully, to generate long-term and sustainable development and growth and to recover faster from economic downturns. The benefits of growth and development should be widely shared for the benefit of all members of society. Income and wealth disparities should be addressed. The post-2015 agenda needs to promote adequate investment in all people, particularly the most disadvantaged, on the basis of equal rights and opportunities, by providing income security and universal and non discriminatory access to social services. Potential target topics could be:

Ensure that lower income groups benefit equally from growth in national income in comparison with the higher income groups

End discrimination and inequalities in public service delivery and economic life

Empowerment and inclusion of marginalised groups, including ethnic minorities, migrants and refugees ….”.

The 2014 Human Development Report

Sustaining Human Progress: reducing vulnerabilities, fighting against social exclusion and building resilience.

The 2014 Human Development Report and the Post-2015 Agenda. 3 KEY WORDS: SOCIAL EXCLUSION, VULNERABILITY, RESILIENCE

Social exclusion: the absence of opportunities for an active integration into the society, on account of institutional marginality, of belonging to vulnerable groups, of the condition of disability or other disabling factors – cultural, social, economic, political.

Vulnerability: likelihood that the results acquired (in terms of wellbeing, integration, etc.) be eroded. A person or a community are vulnerable when – due to natural, social, politic, economic reasons – there is a high risk of an approaching deterioration of one’s own existence and of one’s capacity for autonomy.

Resilience: The ability of an individual, a household, a community, a country or a region to withstand, to adapt, and to quickly recover from stresses and shocks

The 2014 Human Development Report and the category of Vulnerability

A person (or community or country) is vulnerable when there is a high risk of future deterioration in circumstances and achievements

Who is vulnerable?

The poor, informal workers socially excluded Women, people with disabilities, migrants, minorities, children, the elderly, youth Whole communities, regions

To what?

Economic shocks, health shocksNatural disasters, climatechange, industrial hazardsConflict, civil unrest

Why?

Limited capabilities Location, position in society, sensitive periods in the life cycle Low social cohesion, unresponsive institutions, poor governance

SEPTEMBER 2015: THE NEW AGENDA (SDGS) 1-7 Goal 1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere Goal 2. End hunger, achieve food security and

improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

Goal 3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

Goal 4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

Goal 5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

Goal 6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

Goal 7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all

SEPTEMBER 2015: THE NEW AGENDA (SDGS) 8-17 Goal 8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth,

full and productive employment and decent work for all Goal 9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable

industrialization and foster innovation Goal 10. Reduce inequality within and among countries Goal 11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and

sustainable Goal 12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns Goal 13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts* Goal 14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine

resources for sustainable development Goal 15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial

ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

Goal 16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels

Goal 17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development

 

FIVE MAIN CONCEPTUAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE MDGS AND THE SDGS AGENDAS

1. Allignment and ownership are no more enough; a stronger multilateral system is needed

2. It is no more only an agenda for poor countries. For instance poverty has to be eliminated in all its forms and everywhere

3. ODA is no more the only means. Other means are needed, such as domestic resources mobilization and private investments

4. «Traditional aid mecahnisms» are to be addressed to the LDC

5. Poverty and social exlusion are key factors of concern within countries, not only among countries

EU – ACP: NEW TRENDS OF COOPERATION

Towards a new partnership betweenthe European Union and the African,Caribbean and Pacific countries after

2020

Joint Consultation Paper 6 October 2015

KEY SHARED PRINCIPLES

Peace and security, fight against terrorism and organised crime

Sustainable and inclusive economic growth, investment and trade – Role of Private Sector

Human and social development – Link with the MDGs

Migration and mobility (Rabat & Khartoum)

A stronger political relationship