PRESS CONFERENCE ON NEW WEBSITE TRACKING MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS

A new website that tracks worldwide progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) was launched at a Headquarters press conference today by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and other United Nations and business leaders.

“Having the tools to closely monitor data on the MDGs is one of the most important requirements for this endeavour to succeed,” Mr. Ban said, before pressing a laptop key to launch the new site, called the MDG monitor.  “That is what makes today’s launch of the MDG Monitor so crucial.  Now, for the first time, all information on the MDGs is available in one place, for all who seek it, with a few simple clicks of the mouse.”  (For the full text of the Secretary-General’s remarks, see Press Release SG/SM/11251.)

Joining Mr. Ban at the launch of the site, which can be found at www.MDGmonitor.org, were Kemal Derviş , Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Michael T. Jones, Google Chief Technologist for Google Earth and Maps, and Carlos Dominguez, Senior Vice-President of Cisco Systems.

The scorecard was mixed, Mr. Ban said, in the race to reach the Goals, which aimed to slash poverty and other ills by the year 2015 as agreed upon by all the world’s Governments in the year 2000.  Some regions -- particularly sub-Saharan Africa -- were not on track.  In that context, the MDG Monitor would not only help measure progress towards the Goals, it would also pinpoint areas where additional efforts were required.

The website would provide essential information for policy makers and technicians worldwide and encourage countries to learn from each other’s experiences, Mr. Ban continued.  It would also help increase attention to the Millennium Development Goals and, in so doing, encourage leaders -- from both rich and poor countries -- to honour their promises to meet the Goals.

Mr. Derviş commented that, as an economist, he knew how essential it was to have the latest data available to make informed decisions on the path ahead.  “You get what you measure,” he said.  As he spoke, a demonstration version of Google Earth zoomed in on particular countries to show development data on a wall monitor in the briefing room.

The primary agents of providing data were Government ministries, Mr. Derviş continued, but experts from the United Nations and its partners in 130 countries were helping to gather the data needed for the project, and the Statistics Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs helped work with Governments and others to collate and improve it.  UNDP was the facilitator for the project; every part of the United Nations system was involved, however.

“This is a dynamic process.  If people have comments on the numbers, if they think they are not accurate or if there is a problem, I think that one can react to them,” Mr. Dervis said.  “But the first step is to have the numbers on the table.”

Mr. Jones said his company had created Google Earth so that people could learn about their world, so it was a perfect platform for the purpose of providing the necessary data to give the best chance for a successful outcome to international Millennium Development Goal efforts, which had to do with basic human progress.

Mr. Dominguez emphasized the important role of corporate responsibility at his company.  He hoped that, through the data access provided by the MDG Monitor site, successes in the Millennium Development Goal quest could be leveraged to assist countries were progress lagged.

Asked about the budget of the project, the panel said that actual funds targeted for it were minimal, since all the resources already existed.  It was just a matter of pulling them all together.  The frameworks and systems provided by Google and Cisco were already in place, for example, as were the data collection mechanisms of the United Nations.

Replying to queries about the quality and timeliness of the data, Mr. Derviş stressed that the sources of the data would be identified.  The Department of Economic and Social Affairs had the most up-to-date figures available, but some countries were slower in updating their data than others.  In some countries, such as North Korea, there was a severe dearth of data, and that was true of certain subjects within countries where data was generally good, as well.  Improving the mechanisms involved was part of the dynamic process that MDG Monitor should spur.  “This is version 1.0”, he emphasized.

Google would be thrilled to add more features as time went on, Mr. Jones said.  The priority now was to get the data out there and start the dialogue.

Asked whether the lack of connectivity in Africa would hobble the effort there, Mr. Derviş said the ministries and other providers of data were connected to the Internet, though it was, of course, important that as many actors and other ordinary citizens as possible had access, as well.

To a question on whether systematic violations of human rights would be indicated in countries where they affected development, Mr. Derviş said the reasons for poverty would not be provided on the website, although he agreed that human rights abuses -- including violence, particularly against women -- was often a factor.  However, he hoped that the data as presented on the website would provoke much questioning and analysis.

Fore more information, please contact UNDP in New York:  Christina LoNigro at +1 212 906 5301, christina.lonigro@undp.org, or Pablo Basz at +1 212 906 6127, pablo.basz@undp.org.

* *** *

For information media • not an official record