NEW YORK, 4 Septeber 2008: Important gaps remain in delivering on the global commitments in the areas of aid, trade, debt relief, and access to new technologies and to affordable essential medicines. In the countdown to 2015, urgent responses are needed to bridge the existing implementation gaps to make good on the promises made to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
A recently released report by the United Nations Millennium Development Goals Gap Task Force identifies these gaps in detail and provides recommendations to all major stakeholders on how to address these gaps.
The Task Force was created by the Secretary-General of the United Nations following the discussion of the Policy Committee on 1 May 2007 to improve monitoring of the global commitments contained in the Millennium Development Goals. The main purpose of the Millennium Development Goals Gap Task Force is to systematically track existing international commitments and their fulfillment at the international and country level in the areas of official development assistance, market access (trade), debt relief, access to essential medicines and technology.
The Task Force integrates more than 20 UN agencies, including participation from the World Bank and the IMF, as well as the OECD and WTO. The United Nations Development Programme and the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat (UN/DESA) are lead agencies in coordinating the work of the Task Force.
List of agencies represented in the MDG Gap Task Force:
Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat (UN/DESA)
Department of Public Information of the United Nations Secretariat (DPI)
Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)
Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA)
Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)
Economic Commission for Europe (ECE)
Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)
International Monetary Fund (IMF)
International Telecommunications Union (ITU)
Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS)
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
United Nations Fund for International Partnerships (UNFIP)
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)
United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR)
United Nations International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW)
United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS)
United Nations Office of the High Representative for Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS)
United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD)
World Bank
World Food Programme (WFP)
World Health Organization (WHO)
World Institute for Development Economics Research of the United Nations University (UNU-WIDER)
World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
World Tourism Organization
World Trade Organization (WTO)
To learn more about the report visit: www.un.org/esa/policy/mdggap/
Kilde: UNDP
