The MDGs: Building Momentum

• Author: Andy Berg and Zia Qureshi
• Position: Division Chief in the IMF's Policy Development and Review Department/Senior Advisor in the World Bank's Global Monitoring Secretariat

A big push on aid is not the sole answer

With just ten years to go before reaching the international community's self-imposed deadline for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)-a set of eight objectives incorporating targets for reducing poverty and other sources of human deprivation and promoting sustainable development-progress remains very uneven. China and India, the two countries with the most poor people, have grown rapidly over the past few years. As a result, East Asia has already achieved the goal of halving poverty by 2015, and South Asia is on target. Most other developing regions are also making steady progress. The exception is sub-Saharan Africa, where most countries are off track (see Chart 1). Poverty actually increased in the region during 1990-2001.

[ SEE THE GRAPHIC AT THE ATTACHED ]

Prospects for achieving the health and education MDGs are even worse. Many countries-and not just in sub-Saharan Africa-will have trouble achieving the health goals. On current trends, most regions will fall short on goals for reducing child and maternity mortality, and the number of people infected with HIV/AIDS continues to grow. Prospects are brighter for education, but the goal of universal primary education will not be met in three of the six developing regions if current trends continue. And although progress has been made on reducing gender disparities, half of the regions will not achieve the goal of gender equality in primary and secondary education by the target year.

Against this background, is it still possible to meet the goals on time? What would need to change to really make a difference? We know that rapid progress is possible. In Vietnam, for instance, poverty was reduced from 51 percent in 1990 to 14 percent in 2002. And in many lagging countries, the foundation is being laid for better performance. This year's Global Monitoring Report-produced jointly by the World Bank and the IMF to assess annual progress toward the MDGs-sets out five priorities that can help propel change.

Ownership matters

First, the scaling up of development efforts at the country level must be guided by country-owned poverty reduction strategies (PRSs) or similar national development strategies. Framed against a long-term development vision, these strategies should articulate a clear national plan for achieving the MDGs, including policy reforms, institutional strengthening, and investments. Donors should use these national strategies to align and harmonize their assistance.

To perform this role effectively, PRSs must be strengthened in many countries. Particular attention must be given to reinforcing the links between PRSs and fiscal frameworks, which in most countries will require further development of medium-term expenditure frameworks.

Growing the economy

Second,...