The simplest way to find out what the world’s poorest want is to ask them
The UN has announced that Prime Minister David Cameron, President of Liberia Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and President of Indonesia Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will co-chair a UN High Level Panel to advise the United Nations on global development beyond 2015 – the deadline for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which were set in 2000 to significantly reduce global poverty and disease.
These leaders have an important job to do – they will need to help ensure that the existing MDGs are met as far as possible – a important job we must all stay focused on – and then set the agenda for what happens next.
Responding to the announcement, Michael Elliott, President and CEO of ONE, said:
“We congratulate the three leaders who have been chosen to lead the High Level Panel, all of whom are well qualified for the task ahead.
“We want to see the panel members adopt two important principles. First, to ensure that the Millennium Development Goals are met as far as possible by 2015. It would be a travesty to set out new goals before we have done everything possible to reach the ones now in place. Second, to guarantee that the voices of the poorest are heard and acted upon in deciding what comes next. The simplest way to find out what the world’s poor want and need is to ask them, and the panel’s first item of business should be to undertake a genuine process of wide-ranging consultation to that end.
“Meanwhile, we should remember that we still have 1330 days to go before the end of 2015. During that time, governments and civil society must make a determined final push to halve global poverty and disease. Over the next three years, that will remain a primary focus of ONE and our 3 million supporters around the globe.”
Adrian Lovett, Europe Executive Director of ONE, added:
“This appointment is a recognition of David Cameron’s strong record on international development. He has demonstrated his commitment to the fight against extreme poverty and has backed his words with action.
“The Prime Minister must now take on the responsibility of global leadership. He has the chance to help set the world on a credible path towards ending extreme poverty and hunger. But to succeed, he will need to make this is a top priority in his negotiations with other leaders, in his UN role and as chair of next year’s G8.”
You can find out more about the MDGs here.
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