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| Kofi Ann |
Observing the partial success recorded so far on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which the United Nations set out to achieve by 2015, former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called on the world's political leaders to view the goals as an essential investment in equitable growth.
''Revitalising the political will to achieve the Goals and mobilising greater resources to deliver tangible results is the linchpin to success. The private sect or, civil society and international organisations, especially the United Nations, have essential roles in this effort,'' Annan said in a statement Friday ahead of the MDGs Summit in New York.
Annan, currently chair of the African Progress Panel, noted that the MDGs had already improved the lives of hundreds of millions of people, besides inspiring partnerships, national plans and healthy debate about global priorities.
He said the MDGs had helped ''reveal gaps in our knowledge and evidence of what works if basic needs are to be met, and basic human rights fulfilled.''
But, Annan went on, "we are still far from achieving what we set out to do in 2000. Much more can be done to mobilise private and public sector resources in public goods and services, and to put investment in jobs and people, particularly girls and women, at the heart of growth and development strategies.
''Several important donors have already scaled back on their commitments or relaxed their development efforts. The Goals do not need fair-weather friends, but serious investors in for the long haul.''
According to Annan, revitalising the political will to achieve the Goals and mobilising greater resources to deliver tangible results is the linchpin to success.
"The private sector, civil society and international organisations, especially t he United Nations, have essential roles in this effort. But the primary responsibility rests with political leaders," he said, pointing out that their challenge is to re-articulate a compelling case for global solidarity and equitable growth.
''The message must be that achieving the Goals is not optional, but an essential investment in a fairer, safer and more prosperous world,'' Annan added.
''Revitalising the political will to achieve the Goals and mobilising greater resources to deliver tangible results is the linchpin to success. The private sect or, civil society and international organisations, especially the United Nations, have essential roles in this effort,'' Annan said in a statement Friday ahead of the MDGs Summit in New York.
Annan, currently chair of the African Progress Panel, noted that the MDGs had already improved the lives of hundreds of millions of people, besides inspiring partnerships, national plans and healthy debate about global priorities.
He said the MDGs had helped ''reveal gaps in our knowledge and evidence of what works if basic needs are to be met, and basic human rights fulfilled.''
But, Annan went on, "we are still far from achieving what we set out to do in 2000. Much more can be done to mobilise private and public sector resources in public goods and services, and to put investment in jobs and people, particularly girls and women, at the heart of growth and development strategies.
''Several important donors have already scaled back on their commitments or relaxed their development efforts. The Goals do not need fair-weather friends, but serious investors in for the long haul.''
According to Annan, revitalising the political will to achieve the Goals and mobilising greater resources to deliver tangible results is the linchpin to success.
"The private sector, civil society and international organisations, especially t he United Nations, have essential roles in this effort. But the primary responsibility rests with political leaders," he said, pointing out that their challenge is to re-articulate a compelling case for global solidarity and equitable growth.
''The message must be that achieving the Goals is not optional, but an essential investment in a fairer, safer and more prosperous world,'' Annan added.
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