This was the title of a two hour seminar and discussion given by Myles
Wickstead on April 26th, chaired by me and hosted by our Institute for Health
and Wellbeing. It keys into some of our concerns, that is, whether the MDGs
will be met by 2015. Clearly, not all of them will be. Myles is well qualified
to present such a seminar and discussion, as he was, from early 2004 to late 2005, Head of Secretariat to
the Commission for Africa (CfA). The Commission’s Report ‘Our Common Interest’
formed the basis of the G8 Gleneagles Communique on Africa. The Commission in
September 2010 produced a follow-up Report – ‘Still Our Common Interest’ – to
report on progress against the CfA’s recommendations. Myles has a long history of involvement with, and working in,
Africa, and from 2000 to 2004 was based in Addis Ababa as British Ambassador to
Ethiopia and Djibouti.
Myles is
now Visiting Professor (International Relations) at the Open University and is
on the Boards of a number of NGOs, Trusts and Foundations. He is currently
Chair of One World Media (OWM); and Board member of the Baring Foundation, the
Comic Relief International Grants Committee, the II Foundation (International
Inspiration is delivering the Olympic legacy to reach 12 million children in 20
partner countries) and the Advisory Council of Wilton Park. He is a Specialist
Advisor to the Parliamentary International Development Select Committee.
Following the Millennium Summit in 2000, the International
Community drew up a set of 'Millennium Development Goals' (MDGs), designed to
map progress against the objective of reducing absolute poverty in the world.
Those Goals were largely around education and health outcomes. Three years
before those Goals are targeted to be achieved in 2015, the seminar looked
critically at what progress is being made. There is an obvious contradiction –
whilst economic progress is a key means of reducing poverty, especially in an era
where aid plays a reduced role, this conflicts with the goals of creating more sustainable
environments, to be debated in Rio+20. Development of the type seen in the
global North compromises the planet – and unless climate change is addressed, there’s
little point talking about health promotion of the planet’s people. So how in the
future, could goals be set which reduce poverty but also pay attention to the
planet’s health?
The global community is thinking now about what happens after
2015 – how should new goals be develop? What will be the priorities? How could
the richer countries be mobilized to achieve that halving of the numbers living
in poverty that was hoped for?
This
month, Myles Wickstead wrote an open letter to David Cameron urging more action
on the Millennium Development Goals and on developing a vision post-2015:
Read it and see what you think
No comments:
Post a Comment