From June 14-15, 2010, I attended the Informal, Interactive Hearings of the General Assembly with Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs), Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and the Private Sector at the UN Headquarters in New York. The purpose of this session was for NGOs, CSOs and members of the private sector to provide input into the planning process for the upcoming High-Level Plenary Meeting about the Millennium Development Goals (also called the MDG Summit) that will occur this September.

Each day, there were two 3-hour hearings in the General Assembly Hall. These four hearings were themed and had panels of 6 speakers from participating organizations who spoke for ten minutes each. After the members of the panel spoke, several pre-selected speakers from participating organizations as well as representatives of governments offered short responses. In addition to the hearings, there were side events offered each day on specific themes related to the accomplishment of the Millennium Development Goals.

In this report, I will provide a brief overview of the history and current status of the MDGs. I will then summarize the basic themes that arose during the hearings and the side events. Finally, I will discuss the implications of this meeting for Susila Dharma International and share concluding thoughts.

The Millennium Development Goals: History and Current Status

In 2000, all 189 member states of the United Nations committed to carry out 8 broad development goals aimed toward ending extreme poverty worldwide. These goals, called the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), include 21 quantifiable targets measured by 60 indicators and were set to be accomplished by 2015. The areas targeted by the goals are: reduction of extreme poverty and hunger (MDG 1), universal primary education (MDG 2), gender equality and women’s empowerment (MDG 3), reduction of child mortality (MDG 4), maternal health (MDG 5), combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases (MDG 6), environmental sustainability (MDG 7), and creation of a global partnership for development (MDG 8). Although progress has been made toward these goals, it is looking less and less likely that the targets will be met by 2015. The challenges in achieving these goals are now compounded by the global financial crisis. The purpose of the upcoming MDG Summit is for world leaders to develop strategies for achieving the MDGs in the next five years.

Basic Themes from the Hearings and Side Events

Although the achievement of many of the MDGs by 2015 looks bleak, several speakers remarked that pessimism is a luxury the world’s poor cannot afford. Therefore, the tone of the hearings was urgent but also optimistic. Many speakers offered specific strategies for accomplishing the goals based on their on-the-ground experiences doing development work. There was a broad range of perspectives represented amongst the speakers. It was heartening to see that several of the representatives, while holding positions in NGOs and CSOs, also had personal experience with areas targeted by the MDGs (e.g., an HIV positive woman, a peasant farmer, a woman from an indigenous group). These perspectives were a refreshing complement to the development workers who did not, themselves, have experience with the issues in their personal histories.

Overall, there seemed to be consensus from speakers throughout the hearings on the major themes important to consider in planning the MDG Summit and in achieving the MDGs. Several points were brought up again and again by multiple speakers. Some of these included:

• The interrelated nature of the MDGs: Many of the goals are interrelated and must be treated as such;
• The importance of political will and commitment: Frustration was expressed at the perception of a lack of political will amongst governments to achieve the MDGs;
• The central role of women’s empowerment for the achievement of many of the goals;
• The need for the participation of marginalized groups not just as targets of the goals but as agents of their implementation;
• The need for collaboration across sectors: The only way the MDGs will be accomplished is through the collaboration of NGOs, CSOs, and government;
• Recognition that systemic changes must occur if the MDGs are to be accomplished: Issues such as health, education, poverty, etc… will not significantly change if efforts do not address reform at the systemic level;
• The MDGs require a human rights lens and are fundamentally rights-based issues: None of these goals can be accomplished if human rights are neglected:
• The barrier to achieving the goals is more than economic, it is structural;
• Macro-economic systems must be reformed;
• The goals must be more than the quantifiable targets. They must be measured by the lived experiences of people;
• One major barrier toward the health-related goals is the extreme shortage of health professionals in the developing world;
• Another major barrier toward the health related-goals is the issue of intellectual property rights for pharmaceuticals: Oftentimes, large companies will not release the rights to life-saving drugs, therefore making these treatments inaccessible to many who live in poverty;
• The MDGs require a holistic approach.

Implications and Concluding Thoughts

Many of the member organizations of SDIA are already oriented toward one or more of the issues covered by the MDGs. Additionally, SDIA as an organization consciously includes the MDGs in its orienting framework. Therefore, the benefit of a meeting such as this to SDIA is not to gain awareness of these issues but to be a part of the voices that are shaping the dialogue toward achievement of these goals. A part of this includes furthering our understanding of how SDIA fits into the global picture of this effort.

The fact that all of the attendees, who in fact were doing disparate work, were unified around eight broad development goals and the overarching goal of eliminating extreme poverty, created a sense of shared objectives and harmony. Personally, it gave me a better understanding of the value of the MDGs – that they create a unified sense of purpose. They streamline many different conversations (e.g., about access to education, women’s rights, or macroeconomic policy.) into one. There is a potential for great strength in bringing these voices together.

Overall, I was encouraged that a meeting such as this—to solicit input regarding the focus of a high-level summit from those doing on-the-ground development work—occurred. It is important that the voices of development workers are given a serious platform. In general, the speakers at this meeting represented a wide breadth of experience and spoke with sincerity and passion. I hope that the points raised at these sessions are seriously considered in the planning of the upcoming MDG Summit in September.