The 2010 Millennium Development Goals Review Summit

Written evidence submitted by One World Action and the UK Gender and Development Network 

Introduction

1. One World Action works with rural and urban women’s and civil society organisations and networks across four regions - Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe - to empower the world's poorest and most discriminated women, girls and other excluded groups to transform their own lives. Promoting and protecting women's human rights is central to all we do. We prioritise our support to the poorest and most excluded women who face acute and entrenched poverty due to multiple layers of discrimination - disabled women, Dalit women, women living with HIV/AIDS, informal women workers, and women living in acute rural and urban poverty.

2. Our focus is on strengthening women's voice and agency to influence the decisions that affect their lives by facilitating women's leadership, participation and political empowerment. In particular, we build the capacity of the most marginalised women to exercise their human rights and hold their local and national governments and state bodies to account for the resources and services which are theirs by right. We combine this with direct support for secure jobs and livelihoods, basic health, mobility and freedom from violence.

3. The UK Gender and Development Network (GADN) is a diverse membership network made up of leading UK-based practitioners, consultants and academics working on gender, development and women’s rights issues. The Network enables its members to share information and expertise, effectively lobby government and international bodies on gender and development issues and provide expert advice and comment on policies and projects. Our members work in partnership with development and advocacy organisations throughout the world.

4. One World Action and the GADN have played a leading role ahead of the UN summit in pushing for gender equality and women’s rights to be at the heart of the UK’s strategy to accelerate poverty reduction and step up progress towards the MDGs. This engagement has included:

a) One World Action produced a position paper on the MDGs for the UK Government entitled: 'Getting Back on Track – Putting Women at the Heart of the MDGs';

b) One World Action wrote the chapter on MDG3 for the joint European civil society position paper on the MDGs entitled ‘Towards the UN MDG Summit: Recommendations to the EU’ One World Action has also been active at the European level, engaging with DFID and with the Directorate General for Development at the European Commission. This included being the main speakers on MDG 3 at the MDGs meeting held by the Spanish European Presidency and the Spanish Platform in Madrid in May 2010;

c) The GADN set up a working group on gender equality and the MDGs, coordinated by One World Action, which produced a joint GADN statement outlining the priority actions we would like to see the UK take forward to the UN MDG summit, and engaged with DFID's Development Relations Department and Equity and Rights Team in taking these recommendations forward;

d) One World Action and the GADN, in collaboration with Amnesty International, instigated critical reflection on the post-2015 agenda by organising an event at the UN Commission on the Status of Women in New York in February 2010. The event focused on how to ensure that women’s organisations are meaningfully involved in shaping a post-MDGs vision of development.

e) One World Action played a pivotal role in the organisation of the Bond public event on MDGs in the UK with Nick Clegg and Andrew Mitchell just before the Summit.

Key outcomes from the Summit

a. The Outcome Document

5. One World Action and the GADN welcome the explicit recognition in the Outcome Document adopted by the General Assembly that 'gender equality, the empowerment of women, women’s full enjoyment of all human rights and the eradication of poverty are essential to economic and social development, including the achievement of all the Millennium Development Goals' (12, p3). We further endorse the reaffirmation of the need for the full and effective implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform.

6. In particular, we were pleased to note the clear recognition of the importance of ending impunity regarding violence against women, and strengthening the political participation of women, including by scaling up investment in women’s leadership and women’s involvement in peace-building processes.

7. However, despite these encouraging statements, we were disappointed at the subsequent narrow scope of the Outcome Document with regards to the empowerment of women and girls, which focused heavily on addressing maternal mortality to the neglect of also advancing women’s economic, social and political empowerment, and combating violence against women. We further regret the lack of attention to addressing the underlying causes of poverty – the systemic gender inequality, violence and discrimination which makes and keeps women poor. Development interventions must tackle these underlying causes, not only ‘mop up’ the consequences – the failure to do this to date is a major factor in why poverty has proven so much more intractable than anticipated.

8. Our greatest concern is the absence of any political and financial commitments in the Outcome Document and the lack of a concrete action plan. Strong language around tackling gender inequality and eliminating social exclusion and discrimination is not followed through with tangible actions or commitments to new resources. The lack of actions, coupled with the absence of clear and binding accountability mechanisms to hold world leaders to account for full implementation of the goals, has resulted in an Outcome Document which fundamentally lacks teeth. We urge DFID to continue to push DESA for a clear list of financial and political commitments taken by governments at the Summit so that world leaders can be held accountable.

b. The Secretary General’s Global Strategy for Women and Children's Health

9. One World Action and the GADN welcome the launch at the Summit of the UN Secretary General's Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health, which aims to prevent 33 million unwanted pregnancies and 570,000 women dying of complications relating to pregnancy or childbirth, including unsafe abortion. We are especially pleased to see the explicit recognition in the strategy of the need to promote human rights, gender equality and poverty reduction as an integral aspect of work to reduce maternal mortality, as well as the particular emphasis placed on reaching those who are especially disadvantaged and marginalised.

10. It is a positive sign that over $40 billion in resources have reportedly been pledged to implement the plan over the next 5 years by governments, as well as the private sector, foundations and civil society. However, only approximately $20 billion is new money, and over half of this has been committed by NGOs, philanthropists and the business community. The UK reportedly committed £5.5 billion between 2010 – 2015, but in fact this represents only an additional £2.1 billion over five years, in addition to commitments made for 2010 and 2011 at the Muskoka Summit.

c. Commitments by the UK Government

11. One World Action and the GADN welcome the UK’s promise at the Summit to shift its development focus to put women at the heart of its aid efforts. In particular we support the high priority the UK Government has placed on driving international action to improve women's reproductive and maternal health and increase access to modern family planning. This offers a crucial chance to reverse the scandalous lack of progress made to date on MDG 5, the most off-track of the MDGs. In particular, we welcome the explicit pledges by the UK Government to:

· double the number of mothers’ and infants’ lives saved by 2015, with a target of saving at least 50,000 women in pregnancy and childbirth, 250,000 newborn babies and enabling 10 million couples to access modern methods of family planning by 2015;

· double its financial support for maternal, newborn and child health by 2012, and sustain that level to 2015, providing an annual average of £740 million for maternal, newborn and child health from 2010 to 2015, on top of the £490m committed by the UK for 2010 and 2011 at the Muskoka Summit;

· partner with the US, Australia and the Gates Foundation to reduce unintended pregnancies, and maternal and neonatal mortality, specifically by supporting 100 million more women to access modern family planning.

12. However, we are concerned and disappointed by the lack of political and financial commitment by the UK Government at the summit to MDG 3 - promoting gender equality and empowering women. An estimated 70 percent of the one billion people living in extreme poverty and hunger are women - a result of pervasive and systemic violence, discrimination and inequality. Evidence from One World Action's partners shows that those most severely affected are women and girls from discriminated groups – Dalits, women living with HIV, disabled women, minority and indigenous women, young and older women, refugee and migrant women. Improving maternal and reproductive health services will not be enough to lift these women out of chronic poverty. Instead, reducing poverty requires tackling head-on the gender inequality, discrimination and lack of power which put the gains of the MDGs beyond reach for so many.

13. In particular, we regret the lack of dedicated resources for strengthening women's participation, leadership and political empowerment. This absence is in spite of the explicit recognition in the Outcome Document of the need to "advance the economic, legal and political empowerment of women" as a necessary step to fulfil all of the MDGs (p.5). Investing in women's leadership has been proven to have a catalytic impact on reducing poverty and inequality, and accelerating development for future generations. Promoting women's leadership in local and national politics enables women to influence decisions on government priorities and spending, and gives women access to the political spaces and resources needed to advance gender equality on national agendas. It is also crucial for strengthening accountability to women and ensuring a more responsive and effective allocation of public financial resources. Yet too often the voices and solutions of women and girls are ignored in decision-making, including the shaping of national development plans. As a result, the decisions taken fail to reflect the needs, priorities and concerns of all citizens, undermining the potential of aid to deliver results for the poorest people. Truly realising this Government's commitment to putting women at the heart of development will require action from DFID to empower women in all spheres of their lives – social, economic and political.

14. Moreover, delivering on UK commitments to the MDGs cannot be achieved without vastly scaled up investment in MDG 3. Driving international action to tackle gender inequality and empower women and girls is one of the most effective ways of stepping up poverty reduction. Progress towards the MDG 1 commitment to halving the proportion of people who suffer from hunger, for example, could be dramatically accelerated by investing in women's empowerment and tackling the structural inequalities that prevent women - the world's greatest untapped resource - from maximising their agricultural output.  Whilst women make up 80 per cent of the agricultural workforce in sub-Saharan Africa, millions of people continue to go hungry because discrimination prevents women from owning land and other productive assets. It is estimated that agricultural production in Africa would increase by up to 20 per cent if women’s access to resources such as land, seed and fertilisers were equal to men’s.

15. Of particular concern is the fact that without tackling gender inequality and bringing about improvements in women's social, political and economic status, well-intentioned efforts to improve maternal health are destined to fail. Poor maternal health is rooted in gender inequality and other forms of social exclusion, lack of economic opportunity, systemic violence, and conservative social norms and practices. These barriers inhibit women from exercising autonomy over their bodies, negotiating the use of contraception with partners, and accessing essential healthcare education, information and services. Instead, decisions about women's reproductive lives are often made on women's behalf by their husband, father, in-laws or health care staff. Increasing the availability of modern contraception will therefore only deliver real impact if promoted alongside interventions that are explicitly women-centred and women-controlled, such as female condoms, and which seek to challenge unequal gender relations and empower women in all aspects of their lives.

16. Lastly, in spite of the strong focus at the Summit on scaling up progress to MDG 5, we note with disappointment that the issue of unsafe abortion was side-stepped, despite being a leading cause of maternal deaths. We urge the UK Government to demonstrate bold leadership on this sensitive issue by promoting women's access to safe, legal, accessible and affordable abortion services as an integral dimension of its broader reproductive and maternal health agenda.

Commitments by the EU

17. One World Action and the GADN welcome the European Union's one billion euros MDG initiative for the most off-track MDGs, however we regret the lack of detail regarding how and where the money will be spent. We urge the UK Government to take a leadership role at the European level in promoting a substantial expenditure on MDG3 as part of the MDG initiative.

The role of DFID

18. DFID should ensure maximum impact on women's lives from scaled up UK investment in MDG 5 by pursuing and championing an approach to reproductive and maternal health that has at its heart a commitment to bringing about long term improvements in women’s social, political and economic status. DFID's agenda needs to be holistic and ambitious, going beyond increasing the provision of contraception, new technologies and training of midwives, to also explicitly challenging unequal power relations and structures. In particular, stronger programmes and more resources are needed to reduce the barriers that prevent women and girls from realising their full reproductive rights, including violence against women and girls, discrimination in accessing services and inequalities in sexual relationships.

19. Achieving this will require increased political and financial investments from DFID in strengthening women's leadership and participation in formal and informal political structures, and promoting economic empowerment, particularly for 'grassroots' women. Making tackling violence against women internationally a development priority for this Government is a further prerequisite to seeing real advances in realising women's reproductive rights. Moreover, recognising the serious threat posed by unsafe abortion to reaching MDG 5, DFID must ensure that women's access to safe, legal, accessible and affordable abortion services is promoted as an integral component of its forthcoming Business Plan for Reproductive, Maternal and Newborn Health. We also hope DFID will use its position as an influential stakeholder in the Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health to work with other governments to ensure the focus on safe abortion is not side-lined at the Strategy's implementation stage.

20. More broadly, DFID must deliver on the pledge made at the Summit to put women at the front and centre of aid by tracking performance on gender equality and monitoring the delivery of equitable development outcomes. Gender equality objectives and indicators must be established at all levels – organisational, in-country and project – and results must be systematically scrutinised, including through the use of gender responsive budgeting tools. In particular, innovative indicators should be set to motivate and monitor progress for the most discriminated-against groups of women. We further recommend that DFID champions and builds capacity for improved coverage, quality, frequency and use of disaggregated data and indicators in country statistical, monitoring and evaluation systems to help identify those who are falling behind in the achievement of the MDGs, allowing policies and resources to be designed and channelled accordingly.

21. Delivering on the promise to put women at the heart of UK aid will also require an increase in funding channelled to women's organisations, both directly as well as through women's funds and development organisations working with women’s organisations. In particular, aid should be targeted so that it reaches the poorest and most discriminated groups of women, particularly Dalit women and disabled women who are almost entirely invisible in policy responses and interventions designed to achieve the MDGs .

22. Recognising that supporting gender equality and women’s empowerment are powerful multipliers of development efforts and catalysts for the achievement of all the MDGs, DFID must seize the historic opportunity of the creation of UN Women to build an agency with the capacity and budget to deliver real impacts for women and girls. DFID should lobby internationally to scale up the annual budget to at least $1 billion within the first few years of UN Women to ensure it has the resources to carry out its mandate effectively. In order to reflect the UK Government’s high-priority commitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment worldwide, DFID should commit significant financial support to UN Women – considerably increasing the contributions made to UNIFEM in the past. Funding to UN Women should be at least comparable to the amount the UK funds UNICEF.

23. Whilst we appreciate that DFID must have priority focuses, we also urge the department to exercise caution when considering future donor relationships with countries. In particular, we urge DFID to ensure that Middle Income Countries (MICs) and States not currently considered to be ‘fragile’ do not fall off the development radar. The recent political unrest in Honduras reminds us that whilst many States are not officially classed as ‘fragile’ or ‘low-income’, they remain nonetheless on the very margins of stability. Recent research from IDS has also revealed that a startling three-quarters of the world’s poorest women and men are in MICs. Moreover, some of the most widespread and gravest abuses of women's sexual and reproductive rights occur in Latin American countries. For a government so clearly committed to saving women's lives, the Latin American region should not be overlooked, especially condsidering the high levels of inequality prevalent in this region.

The role of the UN

24. The UN must play a leading role in developing clear and binding accountability mechanisms to hold world leaders to account for implementation of commitments made on the MDGs. The first step must be to ensure greater transparency around commitments made at the Summit, including financial commitments, to enable civil society to effectively hold Governments to account. Progress against commitments made should be reviewed annually.

The role of the EU

25. The EU should ensure that allocation of the one billion euros MDG initiative for the most off-track MDGs provides ambitious funding for MDG 3, including strong financial support for the EU Action Plan on Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment in External Affairs, which is currently un-resourced. We further urge the EU to immediately release details of how the money will be spent, and of the monitoring and accountability mechanisms in place to track spending.

Looking ahead to post 2015

26. With only five years left to keep the promises made to the world's poorest people, the focus on meeting the MDGs by 2015 must not be diluted. Stepping up progress towards the goals must remain the top priority for governments worldwide. Nonetheless, it is crucial that there is an ambitious, progressive framework in place post-2015, with clear global targets and indicators to eliminate poverty and inequality, as well as binding accountability mechanisms to ensure that promises made are promises kept.

27. Learning from the lessons of the past, however, the need for concrete targets and indicators must not come at the expense of a truly ambitious and political framework capable of catalysing action to tackle the most entrenched and systemic development challenges, including the structural causes of poverty and women's inequality. It is imperative that a post 2015 framework prioritises action to challenge the underlying causes of poverty – inequality, discrimination and lack of power – rather than addressing only the symptoms of poverty.

28. Challenging inequality and promoting human rights must be at the heart of a post 2015 framework. A priority is to set clear targets to spearhead action on fundamental development challenges neglected in the current MDGs framework; in particular, tackling pervasive and endemic women's human rights abuses such as violence against women, denial of property, land and inheritance rights, and unsafe abortion. Innovative indicators are also needed to motivate and monitor targeted actions and resourcing for specific discriminated-against groups of women to ensure the most vulnerable people are not left on the margins yet again.

29. Particular consideration must be given to ensure that the process which is set up to develop a new vision and framework for development is inclusive, genuinely participatory and transparent. UN consultative practices must enable and facilitate meaningful civil society involvement, including through the establishment of formal, truly-participatory mechanisms and spaces for involving civil society – especially women’s organisations and those representing marginalised groups such as disabled people, people living with HIV, Dalit communities, refugee and migrant groups, and indigenous people – in developing and monitoring the new development framework. This is especially crucial in light of evidence systematically showing that the UN consistently fails to tear down the barriers to effective participation for grassroots stakeholders working on gender equality. Genuine participation from the widest possible range of stakeholders, both at the design and monitoring stages, is not only essential to creating an environment where accountability is possible, but to also shaping an agenda and framework which is truly responsive to the realities of the poorest and most marginalised people. The new UN Women's agency should be a critical player in facilitating this process, using its intellectual leadership and strategic relationship with women's organisations to support the women of the world to shape the future development agenda.