Stepping up efforts to reach the MDGs: the Spain-UNDP fund.

• Author: Iraola, Leire Pajin
• Position: Millennium Development Goals

There has been too little progress towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). At present, 40 per cent of the world's population is living below the minimum sanitation threshold, two thirds of all illiterate people are women and over 65 per cent of the people affected by HIV/AIDS live in Africa.

The MDGs, contained in the United Nations Millennium Declaration, were adopted by 189 countries, including Spain, in September 2000. In so doing, the international community made a commitment not only to the world's poorest women and men but also to itself.

The Goals explicitly recognize the interdependence of growth, poverty reduction and sustainable development--development supported by democratic governance, the rule of law, respect for human rights, and peace and security. The MDGs are based on measurable targets with time frames and indicators for monitoring the progress achieved. In that regard, Goal 8 -- develop a global partnership for development--expressly recognizes the shared responsibilities of both developing and developed countries, and includes a proposal that each developed country should allocate 0.7 per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP) to increase official development assistance (ODA).

Spain has embraced the MDGs, convinced that a fairer world is possible. It has therefore made an unprecedented effort in the area of development cooperation during the past four years. In its most recent review of Spain's cooperation activities, the Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) recognized this effort and Spain's commitment to more than doubling the percentage of GDP allocated to ODA, in order to reach the 0.7-per-cent target set by the United Nations by 2012. The review also recognizes that with budget allocations of 0.5 per cent of GDP for 2008, Spain ranks, in absolute terms, eighth among the world's donors and seems well placed to achieve its goals. The Government realizes, however, that some challenges remain and that, in addition to increasing ODA, Spain needs to continue its effort to improve the quality of assistance, consistency of policies and coordination of stakeholders.

Achievement of the MDGs is an ongoing effort that underlies Spain's development cooperation policy, as reflected in the Master Plan for Spanish Cooperation for 2005-2008. In December 2006, in the overall context of the inadequacy of international resources for...