Economic and Social Council

Six months after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake ravaged Port-au-Prince and left some 1.6 million Haitians homeless, less than 2 per cent of the $10 billion pledged to help rebuild the country had been received, according to the Haitian Government’s Special Envoy to the Secretary-General, who addressed the Economic and Social Council today in a joint event of its operational and humanitarian segments, on transitioning from relief to development in the Caribbean nation.

Enhanced coordination was essential not only for the United Nations system to provide quality support for achievement of the Millennium Development Goals at the national level, but also to streamline relevant efforts, avoid duplication, lower transaction costs, and simplify reporting methods, senior officials from the world body’s funds and programmes stressed today, as the Economic and Social Council continued its operational activities segment.

The demands of least-developed, developing and middle-income countries required a broad mix of capacities from the United Nations, and the Organization had to evolve in its response to such new and unique needs, national policymakers stressed today as the Economic and Social Council weighed efforts to improve overall development cooperation.

Globalization had created a complex interdependence across countries, with many developing nations emerging as powerful players on the world stage, and there was now an urgent need to reflect those changes in the structures and practices of global economic governance, delegates stressed today as the Economic and Social Council continued consideration of those and related issues on day three of its coordination segment.

With the world economy still reeling from the profound repercussions of the global economic crisis, which had rocked financial markets in the North and threatened to reverse recent gains in developing countries, the Economic and Social Council today examined the United Nations short- and long-term response, which was seen as critical to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

As the world continued to adjust to changed circumstances in the wake of the economic and financial crisis — sluggish economic growth, tight-fisted lenders and wary investors — a senior International Labour Organization official suggested at Headquarters today that Governments seize the opportunity to craft policy measures to boost incomes, create new jobs and provide broad social protection.

Improving global health required a life-cycle approach, providing essential health services in an integrated package that included maternal, newborn and child health, sexual and reproductive health, and adequate budgeting for HIV/AIDS and malaria, United Nations experts stressed today as the Economic and Social Council opened its coordination segment under the theme of “implementing the internationally agreed development goals and commitments in regard to global public health”.

Reaffirming the vital role of women as agents of development, the ministers and heads of delegations participating in the high-level segment of the Economic and Social Council’s 2010 substantive session declared today that gender equality, empowerment of women, the full enjoyment of their human rights, and the eradication of poverty were essential to socio-economic development, including achievement of all of the Millennium Development Goals.

Hailing the expected creation today of “UN Women”, the agency that would become the focal point for all the world body’s activities towards ensuring gender equality and women’s empowerment, the President of the Economic and Social Council said today that the move was clear recognition that women remained at the very heart of efforts to realize the Millennium Development Goals.

In parallel meetings today, the Economic and Social Council wrapped up its Annual Ministerial Review, spotlighting actions and progress aimed at achieving the global agenda on women’s issues, as it also began its general debate, which heard nearly 50 Government delegations outline their efforts to promote higher standards of living, full employment and socio-economic progress — particularly for women and girls — at home and abroad.