In the latest “Our Perspective” piece, Selim Jalan, Director of Poverty Practice at the UN Development Programme (UNDP), discusses progress on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and lessons learned.
With less than 1,000 days remaining before the 2015 deadline for achieving the MDGs, Jalan emphasizes UNDP's focus on accelerating the Goals' achievement in as many countries as possible.
25 January 2013: In the latest “Our Perspective” piece, Selim Jalan, Director of Poverty Practice at the UN Development Programme (UNDP), discusses progress on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and lessons learned. With less than 1,000 days remaining before the 2015 deadline for achieving the MDGs, Jalan emphasizes UNDP’s focus on accelerating the Goals’ achievement in as many countries as possible.
In the article titled “One thousand days of action for the MDGs,” Jalan notes the achievement of the target on halving extreme poverty, and the completion of over 400 national MDG reports. He says UNDP is closely monitoring MDG progress and using lessons learned to guide improved policies, accelerate implementation and inform the post-2015 discussions. A key lesson from UNDP’s global experience, according to Jalan, is that “nationally owned, multi-stakeholder action plans improve the rate of MDG progress.”
Jalan highlights the MDG Acceleration Framework (MAF), a flexible, systematic process for countries to identify and analyze bottlenecks in MDG progress and develop action plans to target MDG priorities. The MAF consists of four steps: identifying interventions to achieve MDG targets; identifying bottlenecks that hinder interventions; identifying high-impact, transformational solutions; and formulating action plans involving all development partners and stakeholders. The MAF focuses on disparities and inequalities, which have been identified as contributing to uneven progress on the MDGs.
The MAF has now been used in 46 countries. In Cambodia, it resulted in an action plan that supports the creation of “business incubators” and Women’s Development Centers that promote women’s economic empowerment. Colombia’s action plan stimulated cooperation between local governments and the private sector in implementing regional MDG plans in disadvantaged and poor communities. After Ghana applied the MAF, it developed an action plan to improve maternal health and provide pregnant women with free transport to health facilities. [Our Perspective] [MDG Progress Reports] [The MDG Acceleration Framework]