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By Veronica Oakeshott - 24th September 2010
In her final report from the UN summit in New York, Veronica Oakeshott examines how nations can increase development spending abroad while tightening their belts at home.
The UN Summit in New York this week marked the beginning of a five year countdown to the Millennium Development Goals due in 2015.
However, unlike the excitement associated with the countdown to the Millennium itself, this summit was a subdued affair and no-one yet is planning a party.
That’s largely because most of the goals are off track. The global economic crisis has hit the developing world harder than many of us have noticed, and high food and fuel prices exacerbate the challenge.
It is also because unlike in 2005 when aid was trendy and the economy was strong, governments now prefer to make their commitments in a low key fashion.
The British government has made the admirable decision to protect the Department for International Development despite heavy cuts in the rest of Whitehall. For that, Nick Clegg and his team were loudly praised at the summit. But the government is less keen to shout about it at home.
When on the final day of the summit Norway was applauded by delegates for a boost in funding to the Global Fund for AIDS, TB and malaria, the Norwegian Prime Minister took the unusual step of explicitly thanking his tax payers.
It looks like stealth development may become the norm.
The international charity crowd at the summit was also subdued. Kept away by the New York prices, still weary after last year’s difficult Copenhagen climate summit or simply overwhelmed by the task ahead, they were not the visible presence they can be at such events.
The conference may not have been flashy, or the game-changer that was hoped for, but it did result in some important commitments and new ways of working. The UK government for example is to team up with Australia, America and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to increase women’s access to contraception and ensure they are able to deliver their babies in a safe environment. This will help stem the hundreds of maternal deaths occurring each day in the developing world.
The Millennium Development Goal project though far from complete, has already resulted in fewer child deaths, more children in school, and more parents alive to watch their children grow. In the next five years, efforts and funding must be intensified.
If DfID is to see the project through as a leading partner on the world stage, it must take the British public with it – and the public will be proud. The UK’s plethora of charities is a key ally in this task of public persuasion.
And whilst donor governments may be tempted to do aid by stealth, the world’s poor need to keep on shouting. If anyone can motivate the action, cooperation and generosity needed to meet the Millennium Development Goals, it is them.
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