Trends in Development Frameworks in African Countries: A Closer Look at MDGs-Based Planning Economic Development and NEPAD Division MDGs & LDCs Section Workshop on Institutional and Strategic Frameworks for Sustainable Development in Africa Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 9 March 2011

Outline Poverty Reduction Strategies MDGs-based Planning MDGs-based Planning in Ethiopia MDGs-based Planning in Nigeria Implications for other countries Next Steps

Poverty Reduction Strategies (PRS) PRS approach was initiated by the IMF and World Bank in 1999 –Importance of country ownership of reform programs and need for a greater focus on poverty reduction Five core principles underlie the PRS approach –Country-driven –Result-oriented –Comprehensive –Partnership-oriented –Long-term perspective

MDGs-based Planning Initiated at the UN World Summit and Mid-term Review of Progress towards the MDGs in 2005 –World leaders resolved that countries with extreme poverty adopt and begin to implement MDGs-based poverty reduction strategies/national development plans Four stages on how to integrate MDGs in NPRS: –Assessment –Policy-making –Implementation –Monitoring

MDGs-based Planning Cont’d UNECA has initiated multi-country studies to analyze experiences and lessons of MDGs-based planning in 10 African countries –Cameroon, Cote D’Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Mali, Morocco, Nigeria, Sudan, Tanzania Country studies have four main areas –Vision –Medium-term strategy –Sub-national dimensions/localization –Monitoring and evaluation

MDG-Based Planning: Ethiopia – Background Government has demonstrated strong ownership of development policies and strategies MDGs are formally adapted as a framework for design of national MT development strategies and programs Various problems that pose serious threats to progress toward achieving MDGs (environmental degradation, weak implementation capacity, dependence on aid, global crises) Ethiopia focusing on macroeconomic conditions for achieving MDGs and aggressive strategies to mobilize domestic resource for financing

MDGs-based Planning: Ethiopia – Findings Ethiopia meets and surpasses all parameters of MDG- based Planning –Ambitious, Needs Assessment, Assessment of Financing Scenarios and setting development targets aligned to MDGs Financial requirement to achieve MDGs is beyond local capacity – adapted different approaches to address this –Focused institutional reforms –Increased attention to domestic resource mobilization –Continuing civil service reform –Enacting fiscal and administrative decentralization –Rationalization and accountability of budget –Improving efficiency of basic service delivery

MDGs-based Planning: Ethiopia – Findings Continuous information on status of MDGs through integrating MDG monitoring with existing development monitoring systems –Baseline situation analysis and forecast into future –Assessment of inter-linkage among indicators –Cost implication of data collection –Identifying ways to address challenges –Identifying alternative indicators that are less expensive to collect Evaluation in practice is more of a donors’ agenda Drive to reach MDGs has not always been even –Disparities across gender, income groups, and Regions

MDGs-based Planning: Ethiopia – Policy Implications Highlights importance of government commitment to MDGs and adopting a Needs Assessment, 10-year plan, and MT Plan Improvements in M&E are essential in making progress toward MDGs Donors and civil society participation in PRSP process should be continuous and institutionalized to bring sustained results MT strategies need to adapt to shifting local, national and global conditions

MDGs-based Planning: Nigeria – Background Nigeria already had the equivalent of PRS – the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS) by Study examined alignment of NEEDS and other planning processes with MDGs-based planning framework. NEEDS lacked the essential bottom-up planning architecture that should underpin the national development plan process NEEDS enunciated a wide range of MDGs-friendly fiscal and institutional reforms.

MDGs-based Planning: Nigeria – Findings MDGs coordination and monitoring system is weak and disjointed Institutional and capacity weaknesses impede alignment of NEEDS with MDGs-based planning Poor data quality has hindered MDGs-based planning and monitoring MDGs Progress Reports do not link performance to amount of public spending and outputs generated OPEN initiative and debt relief from Paris Club was critical turning point for MDGs-based planning

MDGs-based Planning: Nigeria – Policy Implications Need for better incorporation of MDGs-based planning into existing national policies. Need for better monitoring of progress toward MDGs. Need for a logical framework that connects outputs, outcomes and impact. Capacity constraints must be addressed to improve alignment of NEEDS with MDGs-based planning. Capacity must be improved at the subnational level so that policymakers rely less on federal government.

Implications for Other Countries Countries should find a way to integrate MDGs-based planning into existing development strategies Important to focus on 4 stages of MDGs-based planning (Assessment, policy-making, implementation, and monitoring) Strong government commitment and financing is essential in implementing MDGs-based planning Countries can learn from the experiences of ten country case studies

Next Steps EDND is facilitating the adoption of MDGs-Based Planning Curricula for other countries to adopt Inception workshop will be held in Addis Ababa the 2 nd week of April Sub-Regional workshops will be held from May-August in East, Southern, and Western Africa

Thank you! For more information please contact: Ms. Julianne Deitch Ms. Chrystelle Tsafack