Statement

JOIN THE CAMPAIGN TO MAKE MDGS MEANINGFUL FOR WOMEN!

This campaign is focused on MDGs 3 & 5 because we feel that sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) issues are issues of gender, health and rights.

This campaign is about 3 key issues at the mid-term review of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs):

1) A lack of participatory, transparent & accountable processes for tracking progress at national, regional and international levels with all stakeholders, and a lack of mechanisms to hold governments accountable to what they have signed onto.

The Millennium Development Goals were about offering a new, concrete vision of development in the new millennium. However, at the mid-point of the implementation of the MDGs, a proper stock-taking of progress has not occurred in any participatory, transparent and accountable manner. The UN has not organized and has not asked for complete, verified and peer-reviewed country progress reports, coupled with NGO shadow reports.

Without proper stock-taking, outcome statements, plans and programmes are being conceived, developed and adopted. How beneficial and effective will these be?

2) The role of NGOs, especially women NGOs at all levels, continues to be diminished and underplayed by the UN member states.

NGOs have been sidelined within the limited reporting and monitoring processes. This has disabled us from fulfilling our role as watchdogs and has undermined our capacities to hold governments accountable to their citizens.

Even within the current ‘working’ outcome document of the MDG summit, NGOs have not been recognized fully as partners in development, except in being made responsible to ‘deliver’ on the MDGs.

It is critical to enable NGOs to give their alternative information and perspectives even if these make member state governments ‘uncomfortable.’

It is critical that NGOs from the global South, especially women’s NGOs are adequately represented in the various mechanisms in the MDG review processes.

3) Recognising rights and addressing inequalities is fundamental to achieving the MDGs. This is grossly neglected.

The Millennium Declaration, on which the MDGs are based, explicitly states that human rights should be central to development. Additionally member states have also signed onto, adopted, ratified various human rights treaties. Hence it is imperative that discussions on progress or lack of progress on the MDGs is contextualized within the human rights framework and this includes the right to health, the right of sexual and reproductive health and sexual and reproductive rights.

This is especially important with regards to access for poor, vulnerable, marginalised groups for whom the MDGs is supposed to benefit the most.

If you agree with these three key issues with regards the MDG review processes please support us in our campaign!

You can support this campaign in 3 ways:

1. Sign your organization on to our campaign by submitting your organizational profile to our website. Email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
2. If you do not belong to an organization, but would like to sign on, send us your individual profile for us to post to our website. Email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
3. If you want to create a page of alternative information on MDG 5 progress in your country, help create a shadow report for your country on our website! Email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it   and This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it   

To view alternative information on MDG 5 & 3 progress, please visit the ‘Live & Living MDG 5 Shadow Report in Asia’ at http://www.mdg5watch.org