UN agency to address MDG’s missing links

[Punch]

The UN Economic Commission for Africa, has urged African Countries to intensify effort in building peaceful environment and accountable institutions as platforms for achieving the Post 2015 development agenda.

The Executive Secretary of the UNECA, Mr. Calos Lopes, made the remarks at the Launch of the `High Level Panel Report' on the Post 2015 Development Agenda on Monday in Addis Ababa.

"In forging global partnerships, we must take into account the need for good governance at the local, national, regional and global level.

"As the MDGs are set to expire in less than two years, a flurry of activities has been ongoing at the global, regional, and national level, aimed at identifying what should be included in a development agenda in the post MDGs era.

"The High Level Panel Report that is being launched today in Africa is one important aspect of these multi-level activities.''

Lopes said Africa must work to transform economies for jobs and inclusive growth echoes as a vision to ensure a structural economic transformation, focused at diversified economies that would create employment and add value to natural resources.

He said the MDGs Programme was silent on issues of equality which put "sustainable development at the core and recognises the significant inter-linkages between economic, social and environmental sustainability, as well importance of tackling climate change.''

Lopes told the News Agency of Nigeria that the new report was based on Meeting of the High Level Panel that took place in Monrovia, where dynamic ideas and determination were expressed towards ensuring that Africa took a centre stage in the Post 2015 Agenda.

"High level policy makers, academia, UN colleagues and CSO representatives came together to discuss the contours of the global post 2015 agenda.Taking place in Liberia, the conversations tended to focus on Africa's future, and what Africa wants.

"National building blocks for sustained prosperity", gave a special focus to economic transformation. "The Panel was able to discuss aspects of structural transformation necessary for sustained growth and development,'' Lopes added.

According to him, some the shortfalls of the MDGs had been highlighted in the report and they should form parts of the lessons learned to form the post 2015 agenda.

"The MDGs helped garner political and economic support around a set of global development issues, while framing policy discourse, shaping global partnerships and informing national development frameworks and global funding priorities.

"In developing the MDGs, we failed to anticipate the data challenges associated with monitoring real performance or lack thereof.

"Thus, without the ability to properly monitor whatever new goals, targets or indicators we come up with, the post 2015 agenda will suffer this same major shortfall.

The Punch