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Coordination of global and national efforts

The MDGs provide a framework for the entire UN system to work coherently together toward a common end. UNDP, global development network on the ground in 166 countries, is in a unique position to advocate for change, connect countries to knowledge and resources, and coordinate broader efforts at the country level.

• First, campaigning & mobilisation - supporting advocacy for the MDGs and working with partners to mobilise the commitments and capabilities of broad segments of society to build awareness on the MDGs.


• Second, analysis - researching and sharing best strategies for meeting the MDGs in terms of innovative practices, policy and institutional reforms, means of policy implementation, and evaluation of financing options.


• Third, monitoring - helping countries report advancement towards the MDGs and track progress.


• Fourth, operational activities - goal-driven assistance to support governments to tailor MDGs to local circumstances and challenges; address key constraints to progress on the MDGs.

UNDP supports MDG-based national development strategies

The UN System is helping countries improve their capacity to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). To support this effort, UNDP has designed a comprehensive set of services to support MDG-based national development strategies. These services focus on three pillars:

• First, MDG-based diagnostics and investment planning (technical and financial assistance needed to achieve the MDGs over the long term);


• Second, widening policy options and choices (sectoral and cross-sectoral policy reforms and frameworks needed to accelerate growth with equity and promote long-term human development); and


• Third, strengthening national capacity (enable effective service delivery at the national and local levels).

Partnerships

Partnerships are particularly important for UNDP's work and for achieving the MDGs. The eighth MDG, "To develop a global partnership for development," explicitly calls for partnerships, which are essential at all levels-local, national, global-for the attainment of the other seven goals and the values and actions set out in the Millennium Declaration.

UNDP's partners include governments, other UN agencies, international financial institutions, bilateral agencies, the private sector and civil society. Across countries and regions, UNDP as the UN's global development network, uses its global presence to bring together partners from many different backgrounds to share expertise, launch joint ventures and develop long-term solutions.

Key Messages

• Five years of concerted action could mean a better life for billions.


• Since the Millennium Declaration, the world has spent a decade planning, piloting, evaluating and reporting on the MDGs. The next five years must be about doing.


• For women and men living in poverty, the MDGs have never been abstract or aspirational targets. They are a pathway to a better life — a life with access to food and income, basic education, health services, clean water and sanitation.


• A successful Summit should generate a renewed political commitment and a global plan, specifying clear roles for everyone, in order to support countries to achieve the MDGs.



• The Millennium Development Goals can be achieved.


• With the right policies, effective investment and international support, the MDGs can be achieved.


• This is true even in the poorest countries and those recovering from conflict and natural disasters.


• The MDGs show us that the world can come together to end poverty.


• No country in sub-Saharan Africa is on course to achieve all the Goals by 2015. Multiple global crises as well as national, regional shocks - conflicts, natural disasters - can threaten efforts to accelerate and sustain progress.



• It will take everyone working together to achieve the MDGs.


• Change must be led from within countries. Governments need to take the lead. Business and civil society have a critical role to play, too.


• The UN can help strengthen the capacity of people and institutions, which is the exit strategy from poverty.


• We need a global trade deal that works for poor countries. We need a climate deal that protects the planet and the people that depend on it.


• Governments need to prioritise investments in the MDGs. Donors must meet the promise they made to help.



• UNDP proposes an eight-point plan in its International Assessment to achieve the MDGs.


• 1. Support country-led development — national ownership, institutional capacity, and localised MDG support


• 2. Foster inclusive economic growth — promote employment-intensive growth and address rural-urban inequalities by supporting agriculture and rural development


• 3. Increase public investments in education, health, water and sanitation, and infrastructure


• 4. Invest in women and girls — ensuring that girls have access to health and education helps progress across all the MDGs, as does ensuring women’s access to land and other productive rights


• 5. Scale up targeted interventions, including social protection and employment programmes


• 6. Support climate adaptation, enhance access to energy and promote low-carbon development


• 7. Accelerate domestic resource mobilisation to finance the MDGs — establish progressive taxes and increase efficiency of public funds allocation


• 8. Ensure the global partnership creates an enabling environment for the MDGs — deliver on financial commitments, improve the predictability, effectiveness, division of labour and modality of disbursement of aid, strengthen policy coherence and ensure trade works for development



• Evidence from more than 50 countries shows there are some big wins. For instance, investing in women and girls and improving access to energy can keep children and mothers healthy, increase household income and help more girls stay in school.



• Critical to all this is the capacity of nation states to lead change.


• Evidence shows that institutions that respond to the needs of poor people can quicken progress, reduce gender inequality and break down the disparities between urban and rural areas.


• UNDP is working with partners to strengthen the capacity of individuals and institutions in order to meet the MDGs.



• UNDP helps countries pursue their own MDG priorities.


• It is critical that developing countries get the support they need to tackle obstacles in the way of progress. That's what UNDP does.