PRESS CONFERENCE:  Millennium Development Goals Award

to General Assembly president

 

With much work to be done and many lives hanging in the balance, the international community truly faced a “development emergency” if it were to achieve the United Nations Millennium Development Goals by 2015, the outgoing General Assembly President told correspondents at a Headquarters press conference today, held to announce plans for a United Nations Millennium Development Goals Awards Festival in June 2008.

Presented with an award in special recognition of her work to promote the Millennium Development Goals, Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa of Bahrain, stressed that, while the situation was serious, there was hope.  At the midpoint to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015, it was a pivotal year.  By acting together, it would be possible to reverse the alarming trend.

Without decisive action, however, by 2015 millions of people would still be struggling on less than one dollar a day, and millions of children would still go hungry.  The common purpose must be to build a global alliance, a global partnership and a truly lasting political consensus to achieve the Goals on time.  “This is truly the greatest gift that we could give to humanity,” she said.

The award was presented by Grammy Awards producer and Lifetime Achievement Award winner Nile Rodgers on behalf of the Public-Private Alliance Foundation, which was established in 2006 to support the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

Saying she was “duty-bound” to accept the award on behalf of all United Nations Member States, Sheikha Haya noted that, without Member States commitment to poverty eradication, progress would not be made.  During the sixty-first session, she had convened thematic debates on “Partnership towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals” and “Financing Development to achieve the MDGs”, which had increased the Assembly’s profile and impact and had opened up the institution to fresh thinking and outside perspectives.

The debates had also brought together Member States with representatives from the private sector, civil society, non-governmental organizations and faith groups, allowing the message on the Goals to reach a wider audience, she added.

Stressing the need to forge a global coalition that included the private sector, non-governmental organizations and civil society, including organizations such as the Public-Private Alliance and the Millennium Project, she thanked the Permanent Representatives of Madagascar and the Dominican Republic, countries that had taken the lead by piloting innovative partnerships with the private sector to accelerate progress towards the Goals.  Many other countries were waiting to join the scheme.  “So we should not lose hope, for I believe that great hope arises from great hardship,” she said.

Francis Lorenzo, Permanent Representative of the Dominican Republic to the United Nations, said it was an honour to be part of the award presentation, noting that the Assembly President had taken the lead by convening the Assembly’s thematic debates.  It was important to recognize how important the Goals were to countries such as the Dominican Republic and Madagascar.

Noting that 2015 was an achievable date, he said achieving the Goals would reduce infant and maternal mortality, reduce hunger, ensure access to drinking water and sanitation.  Achieving the Goals by 2015 would also pave the way for ending the type of suffering that so many people faced around the world.  Working with civil society in partnership with the private sector and government would be the only way to achieve the Goals.

The Dominican Republic had been the first country to have a presidential commission on the Millennium Development Goals, he added.  President Leonel Fernandez had recognized the importance of a needs assessment report, which had allowed the country to understand its problems, its priorities and how best to use its resources.  He hoped to continue working with Madagascar and other countries that had requested to become a part of the Public Private Alliance for Rural Development.

Madagascar’s Permanent Representative Zina Andrianarivelo-Razafy said that the award was well-deserved.  He looked forward to working closely with the General Assembly President.

Presenting the award, Mr. Rodgers said it was his great honour to be involved with such a project.  His first show business job -- working for Sesame Street -- had given him the chance to learn about entertainment and bringing good messages to people.  Everything he had done in show business had been “swimming upstream”, and all of his jobs had been difficult.  While meeting the Millennium Development Goals would be difficult, with such an amazing team in place it would be possible to achieve everything they had set out to achieve and more.

The Public-Private Alliance Foundation was established in 2006 to support achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, and especially to support the principles of the United Nations Public-Private Alliance for Rural Development.  Madagascar and the Dominican Republic are pilot countries for the United Nations Alliance, as recognized in resolutions of the Economic and Social Council.

Responding to a question, Sheikha Haya said tremendous efforts had been made by the United Nations to achieve the Goals.  Many people from outside of the United Nations had expressed interest in participating in efforts to eradicate poverty.  Funds had been established and many efforts made.  She hoped that many lives would be improved by 2015.

Asked what he would do specifically to help meet the Goals, Mr. Rodgers noted that at the proper time another press conference would be held to show the bigger project, which he was sort of “sidestepping”.  The next stage was a global awareness awards ceremony that would be on the leading edge of information.  It would be both entertaining and informative.  The project would give a lot of horsepower to the effort.  An entire production team was being put together for the event.  “Something pretty good is coming”, he said.

Elaborating on future plans, the Executive Director of the Millennium Development Goals Committee, Michael Jacobson, said the Committee would be producing an entertainment and education-based campaign that would reach out to the global community and help bring greater awareness to the Goals.  They would be providing opportunities such as free downloads, newspaper inserts available to all newspapers in the global community.

He explained that they were also working on a major event, which would promote greater awareness and general enthusiasm for the Goals to the world community.  The Committee looked forward to sharing information on the activities step by step.  The idea would be to create awareness outside of the United Nations home base to the world community.  Everybody in the room could help make it work.

“It will certainly be exciting -- I promise,” he said.  “I’ve never not delivered on anything I’ve said.  It’s going to be good stuff.”

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For information media • not an official record