Southern Voice Alert 8: September 2013

• SV members at ‘African Perspectives on the Post-2015 Development Agenda’

On 13 September 2013, in Cape Town, South Africa Southern Voice members Dr. Hoseana Lunogelo, Executive Director, Economic and Social Research Foundation (ESRF), Tanzania, Dr. Ibrahima Hathie, Director of Research,Initiative Prospective Agricole et Rurale (IPAR-Senegal), Senegal and Dr. Sarah Ssewanyana, Executive Director,Economic Policy Research Centre (EPRC), Uganda attended the meeting on “African Perspectives on Post-2015 Development Agenda”, organised by the High-evel Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda. The meeting was co-organised by UNDP and two research units of University of Cape Town (UCT) – Graduate School of Development Policy and Practice and Development Policy of Research Unit (DPRU). Professor Crain Soudien, Deputy Vice Chancellor, UCT delivered the opening remarks, and Ms Molly Elgin-Cossart, Chief of Staff of the Secretariat, High-level Panel made a presentation on the HLP Report. Professor Haroon Bhorat, Head of Research Specialist for the Secretariat, High-level Panel and DPRU, UCT also spoke at the meeting.

• Preparations of the European Report on Development (ERD) 2014

The core research team for preparing the European Report on Development (ERD) 2014 had their kick-off meeting on 18 September 2013 at the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), London. The theme of the upcoming report is “Financing and other means of implementations in the Post-2015 context”. SV is a part of the research consortium which has been awarded the contract for preparation of the ERD 2014. The other members of the consortium are ODI, European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM), Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) and University of Athens. SV will be carrying out the country consultations led by its member institutions for this Report.

• SV participates in the high level meetings in UNGA sessions

Chair of Southern Voice Dr. Debapriya Bhattacharya provided closing remarks along with Ms Amina Mohammed, Special Adviser to the UN Secretary General on Post-2015 (UN) and Hungarian Ambassador H E Csaba Kőrösi, Co-Chair of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals at the “Dialogue on Advancing Regional Recommendations on Post-2015” on 22 September 2013 in New York. It was the final event of the long process of worldwide civil society consultation conducted by the United Nations Non-governmental Liaison Service (UN-NGLS) along with Executive Office of the UN Secretary General (EOSG). Dr. Debapriya in his remarks reflected on the MDGs and the need for a ‘final push’ to achieve them, while analysing their ’fault lines’. He also reflected on a few lessons which should be taken forward from the MDGs into the post-2015 agenda, including the macroeconomic framework, issues of productive capacity and employment, the multidimensional nature of poverty, and the need to address inequalities . He concluded by raising the question of how civil society will participate as the post-2015 sustainable development discussion is taken forward in the intergovernmental front.

•  SPDC’s research quoted in the Pakistan’s provincial reports

The research undertaken at Social Policy and Development Centre (SPDC), Pakistan has been extensively cited in the MDG Reports of Pakistan’s four provincial governments – Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pukhtunkhwa and Balochistan. These Reports were jointly published with UNDP Pakistan. Links of the four provincial reports and the page numbers of citations are given below for reference:

• Government of Sindh and UNDP Pakistan. (2012).“Report on the Status of Millennium Development Goals Sindh. . Available at:http://www.undp.org/content/dam/pakistan/docs/MDGs/UNDP-PK-MDG-SindhReport-2012.pdf Cite: Pp. 7-8.
• Government of Balochistan and UNDP Pakistan. (2011). Balochistan Millennium Development Goals, Report 2011. Available at: http://www.undp.org/content/dam/pakistan/docs/MDGs/UNDP-PK-MDG-BalochistanReport-2011.pdf Cite: Pp. 9-12 & 20
• Government of Punjab and UNDP Pakistan. (2011). Punjab Millennium Development Goals. Available at:http://www.undp.org/content/dam/pakistan/docs/MDGs/UNDP-PK-MDG-Punjab-2011.pdfCite: Pp. 11-12.
• Government of Khyber Pukhtunkhwa and UNDP Pakistan. (2011). Report on the Status of Millennium Development Goals Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Available at: http://www.undp.org/content/dam/pakistan/docs/MDGs/UNDP-PK-MDG-KP-2011.pdf Cite:Pp. 11-13.