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The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), adopted by all heads of states in 2000, incorporates a collective vision for the expansion of economic, political and social freedoms. The set of eight quantifiable goals, emerged from the Millennium Declaration and embodies strong values and principles for equitable development.
The 2005 World Summit has reaffirmed the centrality of the Millennium Development Goals to the national and international development agenda. As a result, Governments in the Asia-Pacific are increasingly requesting UNDP to provide technical and financial support to formulate MDGs based national plans. Millennium Development Goals Initiative (MDGI) was launched by the Administrator of UNDP as a corporate strategy to roll out assistance to developing countries in incorporating MDGs into their PRSs/National Plans.
Typically, countries have used one of two approaches to assist in MDG-based planning exercises. The first, a macro-modeling approach, constructs a model of the economy and examines how various economic conditions will influence the cost ands and pace of achieving the MDGs in a particular country. A second approach to preparing MDG-based national plans was developed by the Millennium Project and is referred to as the sectoral needs investment method. This approach examines what is needed (in terms of actions / interventions and resources) for a country to reduce dimensions of poverty such as illiteracy and child mortality.
The value of the “Integrated Approach” adopted by the IPS lies in the fact that it overcomes several of the limitations associated with each. Not only does it explicitly address Goal 1 of the MDGs, it also pays detailed attention to sector needs. Essentially, the Integrated Approach combines key elements of the (1) sectoral investment needs assessment method with (2) a simple macroeconomic framework to determine a country’s MDG investment requirements, resource gap estimation, financing of the resource gap, and growth / public investment / poverty linkages. Master Trainers, from governments and the core team of Master Trainers of the project, will assist in institutionalising this tool in countries through 2007.
The three main components of the Asia-Pacific IPS programme mirror the stages of the MDG-based planning cycle:
- Setting MDG targets, estimating the cost of achieving these targets and devising a financing strategy
- Policy advice for accelerating growth, trade and the private sector
- Expanding national capacity for implementing the MDGs
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