2005 International Youth Day Celebration At: Advance Information Technology Institute Ghana-India Kofi Annan Center of Excellence in ITC Theme: Youth and the MDGs: Opportunities and Challenges for Youth Participation Presentation By: UNDP Resident Representative Friday, August 12, 2005

August 12, Introduction I praise you, the youth, for your interest in the MDGs, and your efforts to sensitize young people around the country of the existence and meaning of the MDGs. There is the need therefore for you to help in the process of achieving the MDGs. UNDP is privileged to have you in Ghana.

August 12, Outline Background to the MDGs Millennium Development Goals MDGs: What is Different? The Strategic Framework Status of MDGs Activities in Ghana What You Can Do

August 12, Background to the MDGs At the Millennium Summit in September 2000, the largest gathering of world leaders in history (189 UN member countries, including Ghana) adopted the Millennium Declaration, committing their nations to reduce poverty; improve health; and promote peace, human rights, and environmental sustainability. The Millennium Declaration articulates in a single framework, the major development ‘challenges facing humanity at the threshold of the new millennium’ and the measures designed to achieve them. The MDGs are concise set of crosscutting, mutually reinforcing goals; time-bound, quantitative targets and verifiable indicators – Eight goals, 18 targets and 48 indicators: (few, stable and clear)

August 12, The Millennium Development Goals set out a mutual commitment between developed and developing countries to make sustained progress towards achieving this vision. Specifically, the Millennium Development Goals aim to reduce poverty, reduce mortality, fight disease and hunger, get girls and boys in school, empower women and give more people access to safe water. African countries need to make the most progress if they are to meet these Goals. Background to the MDGs

August 12, The Millennium Development Goals Goal 1:Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women Goal 4: Reduce child mortality Goal 5: Improve maternal health Goal 6: Halt and begin to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability Goal 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development The MDGs are the world’s first shared set of integrated, quantitative and time-bound goals shared by developing and developed countries for poverty reduction

August 12, The Millennium Development Goals can be achieved by 2015, even in the poorest countries, if swift, strategic action is in place in The Millennium Development Goals

August 12,  Concrete expression of common vision and commitment of world leaders to a peaceful, secure, and poverty-free world - Millennium Declaration. Unprecedented political buy-in.  More systematic implementation of broad development goals set at major global conferences of the 1990s.  Explicit links, coherence and shared responsibility among various development issues.  Mainstreaming technical issues (poverty, hunger, education, health, water, environment etc.) into central political debates.  Transforming relationships between industrialised and developing countries into partnerships with reciprocal obligations.  Extra-ordinary framework for cooperation, coordination, monitoring and accountability of activities of all development partners.  Connecting all major development stakeholders (Govts., PS, Labor, CSOs, DPs, etc) and frameworks (GPRS, NEPAD, UNDAF etc.) to universally agreed outcomes (MDGs). MDGs: What is Different?

August 12, There 5 guiding principles – Consistency with broader norms of MD – Consistency with national aspirations – Equal importance of the eight goals – Broad national ownership and participation – Active and broad-based partnerships based on mutual responsibility and accountability. The Strategic Framework

August 12, For effectiveness, action is required at 4 levels –Analysis of policy implications and options, institutional reforms, investments and strategies for reaching the MDGs –Monitoring of progress, using competent and authoritative data, on a systematic and regular basis –Advocacy to raise awareness and mobilize the commitments and capabilities of all stakeholders –Operational Activities to provide strategic interventions based on strategic partnerships, to bolster national efforts and address gaps. The Strategic Framework

August 12, Status of the MDGs Activities Ghana has been committed to achieving progress, not just in achieving the MDGs via the GPRS, but also setting the stage for a quick and smooth take off the Millennium Project (MP) in Ghana. As a consequence of her commitment to the MDGs, Ghana has achieved the following milestones: – Had various MP missions (Kenya and NY) to assist and support the MDG process – Millennium Project has selected Ghana as Case Study included in the MP Report, which was launched globally on January 17, In Accra was launch on January 18, 2005

August 12, – Prepared two MDG Reports for 2002 and 2004 – Put in place a National MDG Core Team under the overall leadership of the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, and the technical coordination of the MDG/GPRS unit of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning. The National MDG Core Team provides overall platform for the synchronization of strategies and interventions towards the attainment of the MDGs. Building on the current work by different actors (Government, civil society, UN Agencies and other development partners), the team helps to enhance coordinated action at both policy and technical levels to bolster Ghana’s efforts to attain the MDGs Status of the MDGs Activities

August 12, – Started a Need Assessment (NA) of the MDGs by five (5) sector groups and two (2) national consultants, who coordinated the MDG process. – Contracted Synthesis and costing consultant – CSOs Consultation Workshop on MDGs (April 21 st to 23 rd, 2004) – MDGs seminar for Journalists (February 25 th and 26 th, 2005) – Youth Link organization participated in an MDG Consultation Forum in Dakar, Senegal Status of the MDGs Activities

August 12, What You Can Do In your efforts to ensure the achievement of the MDGs, your campaign should be directed toward Human Development (HD) issues. – Improvement in human lives by not only enhancing income but also expanding the range of things that a person can be and do, such as to be healthy and well nourished, to be knowledgeable, and to participate in community life. – “People are the real worth of nations” For you to be useful tools for national development and activities, I encourage you be informed persons, focus and proactive Sensitize the youth about the MDGs through the organization of youth camps and forums

August 12, THANK YOU