Help a Village in Tanzania

Imagine a village, isolated, poor and malaria-ridden, far from any major urban center and almost devoid of navigable routes. This is Mbola in western Tanzania, a cluster of small communities living in extreme poverty.

But there's good news too. The You+Village Campaign is working with the people of Mbola in community-based initiatives to help locals lift themselves out of poverty in a sustainable way. Things this Campaign has already achieved include:

• Laying the foundations for a new medical clinic, maternity care ward, and staff housing that with the help of the Ministry of Health will soon become a fully functioning health center positioned to combat malaria, AIDS, maternal health and other challenges,


• Distributing 33,000 bed nets throughout the cluster of villages, with preliminary indications that malaria cases have already fallen,


• Distributing improved seeds and fertilizer to 6,000 farmers to help increase their overall food yields.
  

See how you can get involved here.

This Campaign is a project of Millennium Promise, a non-profit organization supporting the progress of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This campaign supports the work of Millennium Villages, a "bottom-up" approach to ending extreme poverty in Africa. See this previous post for more information.

Young, but Business Savvy - Microcredit in Turkey

Recently, UNDP has created a revolutionary micro credit program for Turkey’s youth, in partnership with the Turkish Economic Bank (TEB) and the Young Managers and Businessmen’s Association (GYİAD). The program, which will help around 500 18-35 year olds create new businesses, takes a multifaceted approach to business entrepreneurship by providing not only initial funding but also business education, vocational training, and consulting services to new companies.

The president of GYİAD, Pınar Eczacıbaşı, thanked UNDP for its efforts:

I believe that we are cooperating with the best partners in this field both in Turkey and on an international level and that we are creating a major opening for Turkey’s young population. I believe that the Micro Credit Project that was initiated in order to encourage the youth into production and entrepreneurship will be successful.

This project continues the microfinance theme, which was established in 2005 with the UN's International Year of Microcredit. UNDP Administrator Kemal Dervis pledged support for Turkey's push for youth entrepreneurship, an innovative project that will provide new opportunities for young professionals to participate in the economy.

2007 MDG Report Released

Today, halfway through the set MDG deadline, the UN released its annual Millennium Development Goals Report, which provides a progress update for the UN system and the general public.

Unsurprisingly, the report shows that progress has been uneven across the globe, with the fewest gains made in sub-Saharan Africa. That being said, all regions have made advances on at least a few of the goals, and none have moved backwards.

Though the findings of this year's report are not 100% positive, statistics show that there has been a upward spike in development indicators, such as poverty, health and education, since the Millennium Summit in 2000. This shows that UNDP's efforts--along with all of its partners--have made a difference. A comprehensive development framework has slowly been put into place which will allow exponential progress toward the MDGs in the future.

Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon had the following to say about progress on the MDGs:

"We will have time to reach the Millennium Development Goals – worldwide and in most, or even all, individual countries – but only if we break with business as usual. We cannot win overnight. Success will require sustained action across the entire decade between now and the deadline. It takes time to train the teachers, nurses and engineers; to build the roads, schools and hospitals; to grow the small and large businesses able to create the jobs and income needed. So we must start now. And we must more than double global development assistance over the next few years. Nothing less will help to achieve the Goals."

Don't ignore Desertification

The UN University in Bonn, Germany, has recently released a report drawing attention to desertification as a mounting environmental crisis. Desertification occurs as a result of overexploitation of the land by unsustainable irrigation practices and is compounded by the devastating effects of climate change on arable soil.

The study warned that lack of arable land may displace over 50 million people within the next 10 years. And not only that, but 1/3 of the world's population - concentrated in the poorest regions - are also potential victims.

What can be done: The report urges synchronization of development and environment priorities at the national level. The study suggests that sustainable management of drylands is the most important step that can be taken now. One approach is providing alternative livelihoods to dryland dwellers. The study's lead author, Zafaar Adeel explains, "we need to provide alternative livelihoods [to dryland dwellers]- not the traditional cropping based on irrigation, cattle farming, etcetera - but rather introduce more innovative livelihoods which don't put pressure on the natural resources."

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is one of the UN Environmental Program's initiatives to assess the impact of different aspects of climate change. It is then up to policymakers to incorporate this information into the national agenda.

The Brits, like UNDP-USA, support Pakistan

The UK's Department for International Development (DFID) has recently pledged $35 million to Pakistani NGOs in order to promote good governance and state accountability programs. UNDP in Pakistan will be responsible for administering these funds appropriately.

UNDP-USA also supported a project of its own in Pakistan last year, working on long-term efforts to support the MDGs, particularly addressing education and health care:

UNDP-USA worked in partnership with UNDP through the Global Resource Mobilization Program, identifying and leveraging private contributions in the United States, particularly from the Pakistan-American Diaspora population, to support the project in Pakistan. To date, UNDP-USA has provided $1.4 million to UNDP Pakistan in support of the work of UNDP in achieving the MDGs in Pakistan.

See here to read more about this and other UNDP-USA projects.

Creating Corporate Responsibility

Ever since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe has experienced economic growing pains. With the transition from state-controlled economies to market-centered ones, business has been in overdrive. In the push for profits, the fast growth of the private sector in this region has left behind and further marginalized some societal groups. That's where institutions and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) come into play.

UNDP firmly believes that CSR can foster social cohesion, and has therefore decided to fund a project to study and support companies that integrate social and environmental concerns into their business operations.

An important recommendation is that there needs to be greater cooperation between the government, civil society and businesses in order to ensure the future success of CSR. The project aims to advance the implementation of CSR practices in Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Lithuania, Macedonia, Poland, Slovak Republic and Turkey.

UNDP often provides services to countries at a higher policy level, putting in place trickle-down mechanisms to ensure that reforms reach the groups most in need of social or economic change.

Support for Live Earth

Climate change needs attention now! This is the message behind Live Earth, a 24-hour, 7-continent concert series taking place on July 7 that will bring together more than 100 music artists and 2 billion people. Participating cities are New York, London, Johannesburg, Rio de Janeiro, Shanghai, Tokyo, Sydney and Hamburg.

This movement, spearheaded by Al Gore and Emmy-winning producer Kevin Wall, is designed to trigger a response to issues such as global warming and the negative impact climate changes will have on the poorest populations of the world.

The UNDP is a major sponsor of the event. In collaboration with the UN Environment Program (UNEP) the UNDP works to spread awareness about the importance of addressing Millennium Development Goal 7, which is to "ensure environmental sustainability."

Proceeds from Live Earth will support a new campaign being launched to combat the climate crisis. This campaign will be led by the Alliance for Climate Protection and other international environmental NGOs. The goal of this campaign will be to mobilize organizations, businesses, governments and individuals to combat global warming.

Empowering female enterprise in Kenya

Experts argue that women are an essential yet untapped resource in fostering sustainable development. This advice seldom translates into action – that is until now.

Today, Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki launched a Sh5 billion funding partnership between Equity Bank in Kenya and the UNDP. This Women’s Fund will benefit more than 2,000 women entrepreneurs in the Small and Micro Enterprise sector, traditionally neglected and underfunded.

These funds were allocated in response to a household survey indicating that 61% of household entrepreneurs in Kenya are women. By providing loans to these women, the government hopes to spur community based and women driven economic growth.

To boost the competitiveness of female enterprise and help women identify new markets for their products the UNDP will offer women focused trainings. “The target is to increase the number of businesses owned and managed by women making them globally competitive,” says Elizabeth Lwanga of UNDP.

Paying attention to the Arctic

According to Sheila Watt-Cloutier, "Ice represents life" in the Arctic communities of Canada. This Inuit activist has recently won the UNDP's Award for Excellence in Human Development.

Watch this video for an interview in which she describes the importance of preserving the Arctic, especially given its impact on global climate change.

More Development Awards

The UNDP has recently announced the recipients of its 5 Human Development Awards, which are granted every 2 years. These awards honor National and Regional Human Development Reports that successfully influence development policy. These reports are prepared by national teams in UNDP Country Offices.

The 2006 awards were given to teams in:

1. Costa Rica, Excellence in HD Innovations-Concepts OR Measurement
2. Chhatisgarh, India, Excellence in Participation and Capacity Building Process
3. China, Excellence in Policy Analysis and Influence
4. Guinea-Bissau, Excellence in Support of the Millennium Development Goals:
5. Asia Pacific, Excellence and Innovation across HDR corporate principles for a Regional HDR

In 2006, the UNDP HD Report focused on water and its impact on poverty. This year, the theme will be 'Human Development and Climate Change,' one of the greatest challenges facing the UNDP in the upcoming decades.

Microfinance in Malawi

Lack of credit is possibly the biggest challenge for small enterprises attempting to survive in markets of impoverished nations. To respond to this, the UNDP has set up several microfinance programs in the developing world, to be managed and implemented by each individual country office.

Yesterday, the Government of Malawi and the UN agreed upon a microfinancing project to increase access to financial services for low income population groups.

In Malawi, only 3% of the population has access to saving services while a marginal 1% access credit. Insurance services are virtually absent, and the percentage of poor families with access to any financial services in rural areas is even lower.

The UNDP's newly approved microfinance project will hopefully respond to these problems by providing basic services, such as loans, savings, payment services, money transfers and insurance to poor and vulnerable people in Malawi. The UNDP and the UN Capital Development Fund will each contribute 2 million dollars to the project, which will run from 2007-2011.

An Award for Activism

Congratulations to Ms. Sheila Watt-Cloutier for winning the prestigious Mahbub ul Haq Award for Excellence in Human Development.

According to UNDP, the award is presented every 2-3 years to a leader who has demonstrated outstanding commitment to furthering the understanding and progress of human development in a national, regional or global context.

Ms. Watt-Cloutier fits the bill. As an Inuit activist and political leader, she has fought tirelessly to raise global awareness about climate change on behalf of the Arctic communities of Canada, Alaska, Greenland and Russia, which are suffering from global warming effects. Ms. Watt-Cloutier also helped launch one of the world's first international legal actions on climate change, contending that unchecked gas emissions from the US violated Inuit cultural and environmental rights. Her inspiring leadership has brought global attention to global warming. It is now up to the world's leaders to take action.

Ms. Watt-Cloutier is also nominated for the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.

Financing the MDGs

The international community has set itself a massive task: achieving all 8 Millennium Development Goals by 2015. This task is both ambitious and expensive.

The final meetings of 'Financing Development to achieve the MDGs' held yesterday in Doha, Qatar thoroughly examined this question. This conference, jointly hosted by Qatar and the President of the General Assembly, was designed to bring governments, the private sector, civil society and the UN system together to discuss new methods of advancing progress on the Millennium Declaration.

Focus was on how to make financial assistance to developing countries more predictable and consistent as well as to evaluate efforts to implement programs advancing the MDGs with this aid.

See here for information on how the UN will continue to follow-up this process, bringing the developing world one step closer to relief.

Africa Progress Panel

Despite promises of increased aid on the part of the international community and better governance on the part of the African leaders, the continent's long-term development has somehow been left behind.

Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan formed the Africa Progress Panel in June precisely to address this challenge. This independent group aims to put Africa back on track with respect to the Millennium Development Goals, ensuring that both Africans and donors live up to their commitments. The article, New group breathes fresh hope in Africa, quotes Annan:

“It is vital that Africa lead its own development process. The imperative lies with African leaders to make a difference. Africa’s effort to improve governance and place international development goals, such as the MDGs, at the centre of their policies have shown positive results.”

Other members of the panel include Michel Camdessus, Peter Eigen, Bob Geldof, Robert Rubin, Graca Machel and Muhammed Yunus, a group that includes development experts, businessmen, and Nobel Laureates.

More information on the Panel can be found here.