The Latest News from the United Nations' Development Programme

I received this in an email newsletter today. As the paragraph points out, this is an extraordinary time to focus on financing the Millennium Development Goals. When it seems that the developed world is falling apart financially, we cannot forget those who don't even notice the difference because their circumstances are so dire under normal conditions. It also reminds us that we are passing the midpoint between the adoption and the and the target for accomplishing the MDGs. There is much to do - made that much more challenging by the complexity of the global economic woes that all of us confront.

"The Doha Follow-Up Conference on Financing for Development (29 November to 2 December 2008) is set to take place close on the heels of the recent G20 meeting and in the midst of unprecedented challenges arising from the present financial, climate, food and energy crises. Delivering on the Monterrey Consensus while addressing these challenges will require a renewed and reinvigorated multilateralism that is able to break down barriers between policy domains and institutions in the pursuit of integrated and holistic solutions to our global challenges. As we pass the midpoint between the adoption of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2000 and the target for their attainment in 2015 we must ensure that we have the international institutions, policies, programmes and projects in place to deliver on the promise of the MDGs to end extreme poverty. This UNDP-sponsored side event at Doha, to be held on 29 November 2008, will bring together high-level policymakers ahead of the next G20 meeting to identify concrete ways in which the multilateral system can be renovated to respond to these pressing demands. The event will be opened by United Nations Secretary-General BAN Ki-moon and will feature a high-level panel that will include Dr Ashraf Ghani, Chairman of the Institute for State Effectiveness and former Finance Minister of Afghanistan; and UNDP Administrator Kemal Dervis. For more information

Related articles by Zemanta

• America's Best Leaders: Jeffrey Sachs, Columbia University Economist
• Highlights from the G20