Asia-Pacific Regional MDG Road Map 2008–2015
The main objective of the regional MDG road map is to provide a framework for ‘delivering as one’ – in the form of a regional partnership – in adding value to national development strategies and processes in the ‘off-track’ countries and in those below the Asian average in achieving the MDGs. In identifying these countries, both the trends and the absolute levels of their performance have been considered. Attention is also given to ‘on-track’ countries so that they do not fall behind, and lessons learnt from their successful experiences can be studied and disseminated. It should be emphasized that this is not a road map for the countries to reach its MDG targets. Each country, given its own circumstances, is expected to have in place a variety of development strategies, plans and programmes. The regional MDG road map takes these policies, strategies and processes as ‘given’ and aims to add value to national-level efforts by regional-level action.
Ministers and senior officials met in Jakarta in August 2005 to develop a regional strategy for achieving the Millennium Development Goals as a run-up to the UN World Summit held in September 2005. They adopted the Jakarta Declaration which, inter alia, requested the Executive Secretary to develop recommendations in the form of an action plan for achieving the goals in the Asia-Pacific region. This regional initiative was soon followed by the adoption of the UN World Summit Outcome by world leaders in September 2005 in which they reiterated their commitment to the MDGs. The Commission adopted resolution 62/1 of 12 April 2006 on achieving the Millennium Development Goals in the ESCAP region, and requested the Executive Secretary to develop recommendations in the form of a regional road map. After extensive discussion, the sixty-third session of the Economic and Social Commission of Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), held in Almaty in May 2007, favourably considered the regional MDG road map placed before it. The Commission also adopted resolution 63/4 which, inter alia, requested the Executive Secretary to further develop and refine the regional MDG road map in consultation with other partners.
An elaborate and extensive needs assessment exercise was conducted to identify the priorities and areas of concern and to further develop and refine the draft regional road map that was presented to the Commission during the sixtythird session. This needs assessment had three distinct components: (a) an assessment of the progress in achieving the MDGs, and the MDG targets/indicators in which countries were ‘off-track’ or were performing below the Asian average; (b) an analysis of national development strategies to see how well these were linked to achieving the MDGs, and to identify the gaps which were hindering the progress towards the MDGs; and (c) an assessment of the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) of selected countries to identify the priority areas of concern at the country level and the extent to which these were linked to the MDGs.
Some of the results were presented to three sub-regional MDG forums, held in 2006 and 2007 as part of the consultation process and then incorporated in the revised regional MDG road map together with the priorities in their respective sub-regional action plans. The revised draft road map, resulting from the needs assessment and the sub-regional consultation, was then circulated to all Bangkok-based UN organizations, agencies and funds within the framework of the Regional Coordination Mechanism (RCM). The RCM, headed by the Executive Secretary of ESCAP, met in Bangkok in November 2007 and agreed to work on several areas of critical concern, including the MDGs. The draft regional road map was also presented to an inter-agency meeting held at ESCAP on 28 January 2008.
The revised and refined regional MDG road map presented here is expected to serve as a platform for ‘Delivering as One’ in harnessing the knowledge, resources and expertise available within the UN system, the regional development bank, the regional organizations and other partners in support of the Millennium Development Goals by adding value to national-level strategies and processes. In focusing on the off-track countries and those falling below the Asian average, the regional MDG road map presents five types of products and services that could be offered at the regional level: (a) knowledge and capacity development; (b) expertise; (c) advocacy; (d) regional cooperation in delivering regional public goods; and (e) resources. The regional MDG road map also contains monitoring, evaluation and reporting mechanisms to assess its impact on country-level outcomes. The regional MDG road map is a resultsbased programme which is expected to be financed through three principal channels: (a) the existing partnership between ADB, ESCAP and UNDP; (b) UN organizations and agencies which have agreed to engage in specific partnerships; and (c) the UN’s Development Account. Extra-budgetary resources can also be sought, depending on country needs and priorities within the framework of this regional road map.
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- Delivering As One (PDF, 1.4 MB)
