1. Marleen De Smedt, Adviser to the Director General, Eurostat
16th Meeting of the Management Group on Statistical Cooperation March Overview of the Millennium Development Goals and Post-2015 development agenda
Marleen De Smedt, Adviser to the Director General, Eurostat
Eurostat

2. Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
Eight International (worldwide) Development Goals
Established following the UN Summit in 2000 with the adoption of the UN Millennium Declaration
All 189 countries (at the time) and 23 organisations (including EU) committed to achieve them by 2015
8 goals, 21 targets and 60 official indicators
Using 1990 as baseline against which progress is measured.
W. J. Radermacher
Marleen De Smedt 2
Eurostat

3. Focus on global development objectives
To eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
To achieve universal primary education
To promote gender equality and empowering women
To reduce child mortality rates
To improve maternal health
To combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases
To ensure environmental sustainability
To develop a global partnership for development. .
Marleen De Smedt
Eurostat

4. Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
Target 1.A Halve between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less than 1 $ a day
Target 1. B Achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all, including women and young people
Target 1. C Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger. .
Marleen De Smedt
Eurostat

5. Goal 1: monitoring and results (2013 report)
Proportion of people living on less than $ 1.25 a day
Data World Bank: MDG target of having extreme poverty is met
Employment-to-population ratio Employment – by gender and by economic class – as % of total
Data ILO: The economic and financial crisis has widened the global jobs gap by 67 million people
Number & proportion of people who are undernourished
Proportion of children age under five who are moderately or severely underweight
Number and percentage of children under age five who are moderately or severely stunted
Data FAO and UNICEF: Hunger reduction target is within reach, but still 1 in 6 children under age five are underweight, 1 in 4 are stunted.
Marleen De Smedt
Eurostat

6. Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development
Target 1.A Develop further an open, rule-based predictable non-discriminatory trading and financial system
Target 1. B and 1.C Address the special needs of the least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and small island developing States
Target 8.D Deal comprehensively with developing countries' debt
Target 8.F In cooperation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies, especially information and communications.
Marleen De Smedt
Eurostat

7. Goal 8: monitoring and results (2013 report)
Official Development Assistance (ODA) from OECD-DAC countries
Data OECD: ODA in 2012 was $126 billion, the global financial crisis and euro zone turmoil continue to take a toll on ODA
Proportion of developed country imports (excluding arms and oil) from developing countries and least developed countries (LDCs) admitted duty free
Data ITC, UNCTAD and WTO: The trade climate continues to improve for developing and least developed countries in terms of duty-free access
External debt service payments, as proportion of export revenues
Data World Bank: Debt service ratios are one quarter of their 2000 level, lightening the financial burden on developing countries.
W. J. Radermacher
Marleen De Smedt 7
Eurostat

8. Inter-Agency Expert Group (IAEG) on MDGs
Consists of a number of UN agencies, various government agencies, national statisticians, international organisations
Provides annually the regional and sub-regional figures = weighted averages of country data, using the population of reference as a weight
For each indicator, (an) individual agency (ies) has/have been designated as official providers and as leaders in developing methodologies – UNSD is secretariat + sets up database and prepared the annual report.
W. J. Radermacher
Marleen De Smedt 8
Eurostat

9. Lessons learned from MDGs
Perception as a 'top-down' UN agencies' initiative
Inconsistencies goals, targets and indicators
Baseline set too far away
Global targets were wrongly perceived as national targets
The framework overlooks inequalities
Some numerical targets were too ambitious or poorly specified.
W. J. Radermacher
Marleen De Smedt 9
Eurostat

10. GDP and beyond: measuring progress in a changing world 2009 Commission Communication
Marleen De Smedt
Eurostat

11. GDP+ results achieved in the ESS
W. J. Radermacher
Marleen De Smedt 11
Eurostat

12. Challenges ahead in the ESS
Publishing simultaneously timely data for GDP and beyond (so including social and environmental indicators
Getting acceptance and use of the data by all: policy makers, media and the general public
Giving broader society time to “catch up” with the statisticians – 'Measuring the world' - (Sally Engle Merry, 2011)
Implementing forthcoming 'Stiglitz 2' recommendations on:
Income and Wealth Inequality
Multidimensional and Global Inequalities
Multidimensional Subjective Well-being
Sustainability.
Marleen De Smedt
Eurostat

13. Cooperation at international level
Joint UNECE/Eurostat/OECD TF report on Measuring sustainable development – endorsed by CES in June 2013
Support for SEEA, adopted at UN level in 2012
Follow-up of the Rio+20 outcome (2010), the future development of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the context of the post 2015 development agenda – Friends of the chair (FoC)
High-Level Expert Group (HLEG – Stiglitz 2) - first meeting Jan 2014.
Marleen De Smedt
Eurostat

14. Towards a global set of SDGs
January 2013: establishment of Open Working Group (OWG) to make a proposal for goals and targets for September 2014 (UN General Assembly)
February 2013: Commission Communication 'A decent life for all': 5 priority elements
February 2013: establishment of Friends of the Chair (FoC) on Broader measures of progress
May 2013: report of High Level Panel (HLP) on post development agenda
December 2013: informal meeting OWG-Statisticians.
Marleen De Smedt
Eurostat

15. Further information Eurostat webpages on 'GDP and beyond':
Millennium Development Goals:
Open Working Group (OWG)
Marleen De Smedt
Eurostat

16. Thank you for your attention!
Marleen De Smedt
Eurostat