‘Time to Roll Up Our Sleeves’ and Do What Must Be Done to Achieve Millennium

 

Development Goals, Says Communications Chief as DPI/NGO Event Concludes

Says Torch Bearers of Conference, Greatest Allies of United Nations,

Should Take What They Learned, Raise Awareness Back Home about What is at Stake

(Received from a UN Information Officer.)

MELBOURNE, 1 September -- “This is not the time to question the validity of the MDGs [Millennium Development Goals] themselves, but rather a time to roll up our sleeves and do what is necessary to attain them, and beyond that, to look at the question of ensuring that they are sustainable after 2015,” said Kiyo Akasaka, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, today at the conclusion of the sixty-third annual DPI/NGO Conference in Melbourne, Australia.

He said he also hoped “each and every one of you, as the torch bearers of this Conference, will take what you have learned here back to your organizations and communities, and help us to raise awareness about what’s at stake”.  While frustration had been expressed over the lack of enough improvement in some regions towards attaining the Millennium Development Goals, he strongly believed that the most urgent task was to help quicken the pace of progress.

The Call to Action and Declaration adopted by the Conference earlier today –- the last of three days of meetings –- was a clear statement of the organizations’ messages and concerns and of the urgent collective action that was needed to improve the health of millions of women, men and children worldwide, Mr. Akasaka said.  The Declaration should be channelled to Governments and into the inter-governmental process to impact the “MDG” Summit, to be held at United Nations Headquarters in New York later this month.

He stressed that non-governmental organization advocacy played a major role in holding Governments accountable for honouring their pledges and commitments and upholding their responsibilities to protect and save their children and people.  He thanked the non-governmental organization representatives –- from Australia, the Asia-Pacific region, Africa, Europe, the Americas and the Middle East –- for their commitment to this Conference –- the first United Nations event of this size ever to be hosted by Australia.  “You are all good friends to the United Nations.  You are our greatest allies and partners.”

He also thanked the Government of Australia, the principal sponsor of the Conference, the Victorian state government and the Melbourne City Council, as well as the diverse peoples of the city of Melbourne.  He also acknowledged the more than 50 workshops, organized by the non-governmental organizations, which had been taking place during the three-day conference.  Those interactive initiatives, said Mr. Akasaka, were a way of ensuring that all issues under the theme of the Conference -– “Advance Global Health, Achieve the MDGs” –- were covered.  The workshops featured panellists from regions around the globe and covered a wide range of health issues.

Conference Chair, Mary Norton, said she had challenged delegates at the outset to develop an outcome document and action plans to sustain gains of the Millennium Goals and stimulate those most lagging behind.  She exhorted all delegates to urgently transmit those collective recommendations to their Governments for inclusion in the upcoming “MDG” Summit.  In addition, she noted that the Conference had overwhelmingly agreed to support a two-year moratorium on debt repayment for Pakistan, which was suffering from a natural disaster of epic proportions.

Now, she said, as the end of the Conference approached, keeping in mind the work was just beginning, it was time to say “thank you”.  She asked Mr. Akasaka to present the Declaration to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and requested Phil Batterham, Convenor, NGO Focal Group, Australia, to present it to the Australian Government

Additional Statements

MICK GOODA, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, said his institution was the major human rights institution in Australia.  It was completely independent from the Government.  Its role was to monitor the human rights of Australian indigenous people and report to the Federal Parliament on those matters at least once a year.  He continued to be reminded of the need for action on critical issues, and of the importance of a global framework, such as the Millennium Declaration and Millennium Development Goals, and the underlying human rights principles on which those were based. 

He said that the campaign for health equality for indigenous Australians was based on a fundamental recognition of the poor state of indigenous health in Australia.  This was a human rights issue.  There was a life expectancy gap here of between seven to eight years between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians, as well as other statistical divides.  There were significantly higher rates of communicable diseases and poorer infant and maternal health.  That kind of inequity was also suffered by his indigenous brothers and sisters throughout the world.  Indigenous Australia, with some indicators at the level of a developing nation, was nested inside a developed country.  The indigenous people comprised 2.5 per cent of a population that enjoyed some of the best health and longest life expectancy in the world.

The idea behind the “Closing The Gap” campaign, he said, was to bring that inequality to an end.  The goal was to close the life expectancy gap by 2030.  The campaign would do that through adoption by the Australian Government of a comprehensive plan of action, proper resources and the goal of achieving a health target by 2030.  The campaign’s approach was based on empowerment and respect for indigenous culture, with a particular focus on the right to health.  A plan must be developed and implemented by the Australian Government in partnership with the indigenous peoples. 

Princess MUNA AL-HUSSEIN of Jordan, via video link, said that the Conference’s approach had set the tone for more inclusive dialogue.  The world was changing in unprecedented degrees, and mobility, migration and global markets brought opportunity, but also vulnerabilities.  Today, more than ever, the knowledge and the most sophisticated technologies for treating disease and prolonging life were available, yet the gaps in health outcomes grew wider.  People living in poverty faced problems beyond those targeted by the Millennium Development Goals.  The World Bank estimated that one-third of those living in poverty died prematurely from non-communicable diseases, because they were more exposed to different risk factors coupled with less responsive health services. 

Noting that life expectancy could vary by as much as 40 years between developed and developing countries, she recalled the statement of the Secretary-General in his report in June, this year, that improvements in the lives of the poor had been “unacceptably slow”.  Indeed, only half the population of the developed world had access to improved sanitation and the safety of the water supply remained a challenge.  Greater efforts must be made to meet Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5, aimed at reducing maternal and child mortality.  Inequities in maternal care persisted.  Maternal mortality was highest in regions where care by skilled providers and adequate supplies and equipment were lowest.  More than one-third of maternal deaths were due to haemorrhage and could be prevented.

For the first time in human history, the majority of the world’s population lived in cities, with about 1 billion living in urban slums, she said.  Natural and manmade crises had increased and might affect any one at any time.  Governments would be more successful at achieving the Millennium Development Goals if human rights principles were incorporated into national development strategies.  Non-governmental organizations should be involved in monitoring and evaluating national strategies to achieve the Goals.  They represented the communities that would best benefit from achievement of the Goals. 

GEORGE A.O. ALLEYNE, Chancellor, University of the West Indies and United Nations Special Envoy for AIDS in Latin America and the Caribbean, said that practitioners of, or advocates for, global health had to be committed to the idea that it meant health for all people and reducing health inequities globally.  That was “the nub and the pith” of the actions needed to achieve global health.  Existing inequalities within and between countries “shame human conscience” and he was comforted that the Conference was wedded to the idea that there was a moral imperative to reduce those inequalities that were iniquitous and unjust.  He hoped that especially the young people would take that as an inescapable charge and challenge.

He said that the inequities that impeded progress in global health were seen in the Millennium Development Goals –- all of them –- because he subscribed to the thesis that the Goals were indissolubly interconnected, and therein lay a major challenge.  He raised the question as to how to deal with the specificity needed in terms of procedures, systems and technologies to be applied to the individual Goals and still retain the vision of a collective approach to human progress and development.  He was pleased to note that there could be close cooperation among non-governmental organizations that were theme-specific.  Although the Goals were interconnected and collectively pointed to improvement in human well-being, there was no fixed hierarchy or sequence to them.  “It is essential that we keep our eyes fixed on the need to reduce or eliminate poverty, but let us be equally firm in the conviction that we do not all have to be rich before we become healthy,” he insisted.  There could be significant improvement in global health that was not inextricably linked to an increase in national wealth. 

A theme throughout the debates was that there could be no progress in reducing the inequities in the Millennium Development Goals without international action in health, he noted.  The international action now must be grounded in a pluralism that gave power to the work of the non-governmental organizations and civil society.  The demonstrated commitment of this gathering would convince any doubter that “international” must no longer be coterminous with “inter-governmental” and that there were other actors besides Governments in the nations of the world, which must cooperate among themselves to achieve the Goals.  Progress in the area of HIV had been a classic example of the power of international cooperation and collaboration among civil society groups.  The growth and strength of pluralism at the national and global levels was one aspect of the changing world that must be taken into account as steps were taken to achieve the Goals.

He concluded by emphasizing the following four points:  achieving global health with the emphasis on reducing inequity was a major task, but measurable progress was only possible through addressing all the Millennium Development Goals; and the necessary genuine international cooperation had to be rooted in a pluralist approach.  Also, global health and the essential health goals of the Millennium Development Goals would not be achieved without addressing the issue of non-communicable diseases; and a major underlying concern must be a realignment of the health systems –- a reconceptualising of primary health care with emphasis on chronic care and universal coverage, with access to the sanitary and social measures to which all citizens had a right.

CHRISTOPHER VARNEY, former Australian Youth Ambassador, said the Conference had clarified many questions.  The question now was “how bright is your hope”?  During the Conference, 75,000 children had died preventable deaths.  It must be ensured that the actions of Governments, civil society and all sectors ended that tragic waste of lives.  He had come to this Conference filled with hope and, indeed, young people here had shown more than ever that they were equal partners in fulfilling the Millennium Development Goals.  He charged that young people should be celebrated and not tolerated; mentored and not ridiculed; included and not exploited; inspired not disappointed.  The Millennium Development Goals had not just equipped young people with a time-bound plan for halving poverty, but had ignited an incredible sense of global understanding and consciousness.

He said that the NGO campaign “Making Health Global” sent a clear message that children and mothers had “a special vulnerability requiring special attention”.  Such campaigns were vital to helping the United Nations bring its principles and instruments to everyday people.  The United Nations and non-governmental organizations had always worked together in a fellowship, within which, young people played a vital role. 

In terms of global health, the world now stood at a crossroads, he said, with so much to gain and so much to lose.  Success would provide his generation with a signal of hope that would inspire them for the rest of their lives.  In 2015, he saw a room filled with people determined to act for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.  On the road ahead, there would be naysayers.  Tothose who say there were too many problems facing global health, he suggested “tell them we are talking of promises and not problems.”  To those who say the task is unrealistic, tell them a story about a child transformed.  To those who say the United Nations is a waste of time, tell them that its true worth is in the things we cannot see.  To those who say your hopes are too high, tell them you would rather be filled with hope than riddled with fear, guided by light than accepting the darkness, he concluded.

“Thank you for coming to Melbourne!” said JAMIE CLOUT, Deputy Director-General of the Australian Agency for International Development (AUSAID).  He said the Australian Government had been honoured to have hosted the Conference.  New friends had been made; there had been learning and sharing and inspiration -– to advance global health and achieve the Millennium Development Goals.  The Government wished to thank its counterparts at the United Nations and the countless non-governmental organizations in Australia and abroad for making the event such a success.  His Government also thanked every one of the 97 volunteers –- the youth of Melbourne, as well as Phil Batterham, the Convenor of the Australian NGO Focal Group on behalf of the Australian NGO community. 

JEFFREY HUFFINES, Chair of the NGO/DPI Executive Committee, speaking on its behalf, expressed profound gratitude to the 1,717 participants representing some 350 non-governmental organizations in more than 70 countries, who took part in the three-day Conference.  He also paid tribute to the Government of Australia and AUSAID, the city of Melbourne, the state of Victoria, as well as Australian civil society and thanked them for their warm welcome.  Among other things, the Conference had demonstrated that youth should always be at the centre of public life; they offer the greatest scope for innovation, have fresh courage to inspire, and are capable of an amazing amount of voluntary energy and effort.  He was also deeply inspired by the passionate debate among non-governmental organization representatives.  He informed the Conference that next year’s would be in Bonn, Germany in early September and that the theme of “Sustainable Societies:  Responsive Citizens” had been agreed. 

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For information media • not an official record