Opening session
At the opening of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on the senior national and international officials assembled to together forge a framework for a “sustainable world free of poverty”. “Let us put aside what divides us and overcome narrow self-interest in favour of working together for the common well-being of humanity,” he said, at the start of a four-day meeting that brings together 30 Heads of State and Government and their deputies, as well as more than 100 ministers of finance and development, lawmakers, and more than 1,000 representatives of civil society, academia and philanthropic organizations. As Mr Ban asserted, “… without resources, commitments will amount to little more than promises on paper.” The draft agenda includes a new social compact to ensure no one is left behind, along with a package for least developed countries including a commitment to increase official development assistance (ODA) and operationalize a technology bank for them by 2017. A technology facilitation mechanism (TFM) would expedite development, and transfer and disseminate relevant technologies. As he said, greater international cooperation in tax matters to stem the tide of illicit financial flows will be required as well as gender equality mainstreaming. The new agenda has not yet been fully agreed and the Secretary-General urged world leaders to exercise flexibility and compromise to meet the expectations of the people of the world. “Let us not disappoint them,” he said.
Hailemariam Dessalegn, Prime Minister of Ethiopia, who was elected President of the Conference, expressed hope that the Conference would spur the harnessing of domestic revenues, fulfilment of developed countries’ commitments, and increased South-South cooperation that prioritized the planet’s well-being. He called on the assembled to “rise to the challenge and make history”. General Assembly President Sam Kutesa drew attention to the enormity of the additional financing needed to eradicate extreme poverty, estimated at over $66 billion annually. Investments for energy, transport, water and sanitation are estimated between $5 trillion to $7 trillion annually. In Africa, the financing gap for infrastructure was nearly $95 billion per year, Jim Yong Kim, President of the World Bank, said the Conference marked an important opportunity to move “from billions to trillions” in developing spending, as the world gathered for historic summits to agree on a new development vision.
Speaking for the least development countries, Benin’s President said that mobilization of domestic resources to strengthen production capacity is ongoing, and he urged poor countries to take hold of their own destinies and champion the proper governance of the planet’s affairs, while acknowledging the catalytic role played by international aid. The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, noting the hard-won progress made in meeting the Millennium Development Goals, said Africa was witnessing a raft of changes and was at the door of great opportunity.
References related to the health, gender equality and other issues of concern to SRHR advocates in the post-2015 development agenda
During the interventions from Heads and Deputy Heads of Government, Prime Ministers, other Ministers and Heads of UN Specialized and other Agencies, the following comments were made that related to the health, gender equality and other issues of concern to SRHR advocates in the post-2015 development agenda.
Sam Kutesa specifically referred to gender equality and women’s empowerment in the context of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). More than 212 million people were unemployed globally, 30 per cent of whom were young people and youth empowerment, in particular, required more investment in education, and the promotion of entrepreneurship and skills development. Doing so, would harness the demographic dividend and enhance young people’s contribution to sustainable development.
Jim Yong Kim, said the Conference marked an important opportunity to move “from billions to trillions” in developing spending, as the world gathered for historic summits to agree on a new development vision. He noted that they must get children off to the right start, citing the success of the “Every Woman, Every Child” initiative in that regard. On the health front, the world is “woefully” unprepared to fight pandemics and urged support for the World Health Organization, building of health-care systems that could contain outbreaks around the world, putting in place pre-arranged agreements with all private-sector players and establishing a “ready source” of billions of dollars that could come together in days, not months, as had occurred during the Ebola outbreak.
Min Zhu, Deputy-Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), speaking on behalf of Managing Director Christine Lagarde, said that flexibility is needed to meet new challenges as they arise . These include fighting inequality, and empowering women, as is universal cooperation.
Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, noted progress has been made in the course of the MDGs, as well as the challenges remaining to create a better world for all. The AU’s priorities are people-centred and focus on investment in people, particularly young people, to create a “skills revolution” through education. Human energy must be well utilized, and women and girls must be empowered in this context.
Statements
David Arthur Granger, President of Guyana, in supporting the draft outcome’s attention to finishing work in the areas of education, health, water and sanitation and food security, said the creation of a TFM and a dedicated forum to deliberate on the follow-up on financing for development held the potential for making the Conference outcome actionable.
Uhuru Kenyatta, President of Kenya, said that the country’s development priorities, in harmony with the proposed outcome document, included delivering on social protection and providing essential public services, scaling up efforts to end hunger through agriculture and rural development, bridging the infrastructure gap and boosting financial access to micro-, small and medium enterprises. He described Kenya’s accomplishments in empowering women, youth and vulnerable groups, as well as in building infrastructure and leveraging technology to improve the lives of all of its people.
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia, said decisions reached today would build on significant gains made over the last 15 years. In sub-Saharan Africa alone, malaria mortality had been halved and AIDS-related deaths had fallen by one third between 2005 and 2013. Primary school enrolment for girls was almost at parity with that for boys and, in more than half the countries across the region, average incomes were more than 50 per cent higher. She referred to the Common African Position, which emphasizes issues of local capacity, domestic resources, governance, accountability and the involvement of all in the exploitation and distribution of resources. She called for a people-centred agenda that cares for the planet and focuses on gender equality, technology transfer and partnerships that consideres the special needs of least developed countries.
Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, President of Somalia stressed the need for achievable goals to gradually reduce poverty, concentrating on building institutions and resolving conflicts so as to enhance children’s prospects for a better education and access to water and sanitation. It is important to combat gender inequality, ensure free primary and secondary education, upgrade the quality of teachers and achieve food security.
Hage G Geingob, President of Namibia, said that tackling inequality in his country through an all-out war on poverty is important, for which investment in infrastructure is critical, as is adaptation to rapid urbanization.
Mukhisa Kituyi, Secretary General Of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), pointed out that 15 years ago, no one thought that reducing social inequality would be good for economic growth or that green technologies would make sense for the poorest economies. Today, these realities are embraced.
Helen Clark, Administratior of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), speaking in her capacity as Chair of the United Nations Development Group, noted that ODA should have a much more catalytic impact and support both domestic and international mobilization of funds. Much more focus is also needed on health and human development.
Speaking for civil society groups, Rama Salla Dieng, Women’s Working Group on Financing for Development and Stefano Prato, Addis CSO Coordination Group, said that the outcome as it exists does not rise to expectations in many areas. The document should state clearly the principles of country leadership with the participation of civil society. In addition, there is a lack of “deliverables” in the text. Much stronger provisions on women’s empowerment are also needed, as are clear safeguards to ensure that the private sector is oriented to sustainable development. Equity must be promoted as an objective of all tax policies, and donors must not avoid their responsibilities by shifting them over to South-South cooperation. A critical examination of trade agreements for sustainability and human rights is also needed, along with action on indebtedness. Transparency is not improved enough in the text and a time frame for structural transformation is missing altogether, they emphasized.
Stefan Löfven, Prime Minister of Sweden, noted that there had been plenty of scepticism about the MDGs, but for the last 15 years, they have been the blueprint for the global community. They have helped to pool and focus efforts, and spurred progress in areas such as fighting AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis; getting more children to school than ever before; reducing maternal mortality rates; increasing access to safe water; and, more than halving poverty among the developing countries as a whole. “Goals matter. So let’s set strong new sustainable development goals,” he declared.
Sibusiso Dlamini (Swaziland) called for increased resources to be channelled to the health sector, in addition, to stemming the threat of infectious diseases.
Lenita Toivakka, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development of Finland, said that its new Government would invest in four themes: gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls; well-functioning democracies; energy, water and food security; and thriving responsible private sector. Regarding gender equality, she called for the implementation of equal inheritance, ownership and tenure laws.