Unit 10 - The SDGs

Question 1

The main disadvantage of the expanded scope of the SDGs

Answer 1

It could prove to be unmanageable:

1. Data availability
2. Capacity for effective planning and monitoring across all these areas
3. Resource availability
4. Undermining prioritisation and perhaps delivery (wish list)

Question 2

List 6 strengths of the MDGs

Answer 2

1. Put poverty reduction at the heart of the development agenda
2. Recognize the multi-dimentional nature of poverty
3. Provide clear focus for resources
4. Improved data collection and analysis
5. Improved data collection gives opportunity for civil society to hold government accountable
6. In health multiple stakeholders were encouraged to work together

Question 3

Ongoing debates around the MDGs

Answer 3

Growing consensus that poverty reduction should be the ultimate goal of itnernational development effort, however:

• UN summit sought to reassert a human development agenda, linked to human rights as an alternative to the economic growth focus of the IMF/WB
• DAC Int. Dev. Goals attached greater weight to economic growth while acknowledging that poverty reduction efforts had to go beyond this.

Tension only resolved after the passing of the Millennium Declaration in NY Sept 2000. Making economic goal Nr. 1 with 7 other focus areas.

Question 4

Two sources of the SDGs

Answer 4

1. UN Conference on SD, 2012 in Rio (Rio+20)
   » the future we want document
2. The High Level Panel on Eminent Persons on the Post 2015 agenda (July 2012) with 27 panel members, incl civil society, private sector, government and academia.
   » leave no one behind report May 2013
3. The Open Working Group mandated by Rio+20»_space; series of consultations incl online questionaire for civilians. They came with the 17 goals and 169 targets.

Question 5

The MDG’s

Answer 5

8 goals with 20 associated targets and key indicators

1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
2. Achieve universal primary education
3. Promote gender equality and empower women
4. Reduce child mortality
5. Improve maternal health
6. Combat hiv/aids, malaria and other diseases
7. Ensure environmental sustainability
8. Develop a global partnership for development

Question 6

Order of the SDGs is due to lobby of IO’s and civil society and somethimes governments

Answer 6

1. WB champions eradication of extreme monetary poverty
2. Scaling up Nutricion movement was influentian
3. Health and education has a strong lobby, but still went back to 1 out of 17 (instead of 3 out of 8)
4. Clean water and sanitation campaining was effective

Question 7

What are the benefits of the leadership and consultation processes that were used for the SDGs

Answer 7

• inclusion of leaders from ldc and mdc’s might lead to improved ownership
• large scale consultation processes with civil society and private sector might lead to more awareness to hold their governments accountable

Question 8

Downsides of the MDGs

Answer 8

• developing countries were not much involved in the the discussion
• targets were originally set as global aspirations, but soon were measured at country level»_space; which means biased against Africa
• baseline was 1990, while asia went to economic growth in the 90s and therefore africa was disadvantaged from the beginning.
• also africa started in general from much lower baseline and had much more to do than other countries.

Especially MDG 6 - encourages to tackle certain diseases not improving the health system and in some cases even weakening it.

Question 9

Key players to form MDG’s

Answer 9

1. UN agencies (especially for women, children and social development targets/indicators)
2. Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of OECD (which attempts to enhance aid efforts of donor countries).
3. UN secretariat

Question 10

Critiques of the MDGs and weaknesses (12x)

Answer 10

Choice of goals, targets and indicators

1. Political dimension of poverty is mission incl power relations
2. Lowest common denominator
3. Some people find: too much focus on social sector spending (MDG2-6) and not enough on economic
4. Local targets vs. Global targets (unfair to use uniform targets)
5. Local ownership - limited involvement of development countries
6. Limited civil society participation in the development
7. Limitation to target based approaches (focus on easy to reach poor)
8. Gaps in the coverage of the goals/targets/indicators as a result of political processes
9. Obligations in MDG8 of rich countries was vague, not time bound and easy to ignore
10. The obligations were not legally binding
11. Uninform targets are unfair to africa (And did not help ownership)
12. proportional target provides incentive to aim for the easy to reach poor

Question 11

The MDGs have impacted national development or poverty reduction in 3 ways (mechanisms):

Answer 11

1. National leader ownership - efforts of the state
2. Aid donors reoriented toward MDG’s and where most needed
3. MDGs and its data monitoring stimulated advocacy efforts of civil society org. And they hold gov and donors accountable