Goal 8. All

Goal 8: All Country Cases

BangladeshAnne Castronovo, Emma Kast, Claire McQuillen and Matt Miller

In terms of aid Bangladesh received 96.1 million dollars worth of official development assistance 2008, down from 1.24 billion in 1991 (Millennium Development Goals: Bangladesh Progress Report 2008, 75). In terms of the percentage of OECD/DAC donors’ gross national income has fallen considerably from 5.7 in 1991 to 0.2 in 2006, representing a very low inflow (Millennium Development Goals: Bangladesh Progress Report 2008, 75). The proportion of total bilateral sector-allocable official development assistance to basic social services was 42 percent as of 2005 (Millennium Development Goals: Bangladesh Progress Report 2008, 75). Debt service as a percentage of exports of goods and services was 20.9 in 1991, but fell to 7.9 in 2007 (Millennium Development Goals: Bangladesh Progress Report 2008, 75). Overall Bangladesh is very dependent on aid, though it is not receiving as much as it needs.

Photo Credit: Claire McQuillen.

The technology aspect of Goal Eight has improved, but is still far below success level. There has been an increase in telephone lines per 100 people from 0.2 in 1991 to 0.92 in 2008 (Millennium Development Goals: Bangladesh Progress Report 2008, 75). While this is still allows for a very low level of users, it does represent some level of progress. Cellular subscription was at 30.8 per 100 people in 2008, a much higher usage level than landlines (Millennium Development Goals: Bangladesh Progress Report 2008, 75). The amount of internet users is much lower than cell phone users with only 3.4 people per 100 as of 2008, once again representing a low usage level (Millennium Development Goals: Bangladesh Progress Report 2008, 75).

Photo Credit: Claire McQuillen

Goal Eight is a hard goal to affirmatively declare on track or off track. Bangladesh is receiving large amounts of aid on which it is very dependent, but the aid is largely untied. In terms of technology, there has been some progress made in connecting the people of Bangladesh to each other and world, but there remains a lot of work to be done.

Bangladesh needs to receive more Official Development Assistance (ODA). The poor economic state it is in has caused multiple problems in terms of development. Due to climate change, the population, and the countries geographic location it is at an unfair disadvantage in regards to development and making it up the ladder. ODA would help turn around human development with education and health improvements for the entire, extremely large population.

Brazil
           Alexa Coleman

                The Government of Brazil has been very proactive and innovative in promoting global partnerships using South-South cooperation as a vehicle. Brazil has emerged as a world leader in attempts to create international agreements on nuclear proliferation, women’s rights, environmental protection and human rights. Former President Fernando Henrique Cordoso known for his significant political and economic reform and who also remained in office for two consecutive terms between 1995 and 2002 sought to confront major multinational drug companies and to produce cheap generic medicines to treat HIV/AIDS. His model has been used in countries in Africa and elsewhere. Brazil is an increasingly important actor in international development cooperation. Even though Brazilian international cooperation is relatively small in quantitative terms, the country is increasing it steadily. (Sousa, Lea, 2010) Brazilian development cooperation is part of its foreign policy and has its origins in the late 1960s, was expanded in the 1980s and 1990s and reinforced again since 2002 as part of the South-South cooperation focus of the Luiz Inacio “Lula” da Silva government. Due to rising per capita income levels Brazil since the 1990s has been not just a recipient but also a provider of development cooperation.

Technical cooperation, in terms of capacity building and knowledge exchange, represent the main part, while financial cooperation is still low. The Brazilian Cooperation Agency (Agência Brasileira de Cooperação) stresses the following as its overarching objectives: to contribute to the deepening of Brazil’s relations with development countries, to extend the exchange and dissemination of technical knowledge, to promote capacity building, and to strengthen the state institutions in development countries. (Sousa, Lea, 2010)                            

Brazil also aims at projecting its image beyond the region on a global level and at increasing its visibility and impact in international relations and its role as a global actor. In this sense, Brazil has entered into cooperation partnerships with South American, Caribbean and African countries as a means of seeking recognition and support for its global position and for initiatives like its lobbying efforts for United Nations (UN) reform and a permanent seat in the UN Security Council. Although reluctant to accept the Paris Declaration principles, which it perceives as being rules imposed by the traditional northern donor countries, Brazil shares key values and ideas with European donors, as in particular the promotion and protection of democracy and human rights in partner countries. In this sense, closer collaboration between Europe and Brazil at both levels, debates on overall coordination, guidelines and rule setting in the field of international development cooperation on the one hand and concrete trilateral projects with other southern developing countries on the other, could be of mutual benefit and are worthy of further exploration. Nevertheless, political and economic interests are also influencing in Brazil’s engagement in international development cooperation and should be taken into account when evaluating the potential of Brazil as a partner in international cooperation. (Sousa, Lea, 2010)

Ecuador

Jerry Carter, Lauren Cosgrove, Andrew Driscoll and Alyssa Malone

The fundamental basis of this goal is almost completely incompatible with Ecuador’s current government policies surrounding Buen Vivir.  Recent actions and statements by President Rafael Correa show that Ecuador is trying to break ties with the West.  At a recent UN conference in New York City, on the World Financial and Economic Crisis and Its Impact on Development, President Correa stated this in an interview with Amy Goodman of Democracy Now:

[W]e’re facing a crisis that we have not provoked, yet we are the main victims, the greatest crisis since the 1930s of last century, where there was a crisis in global capitalism. But it’s not been generated by factors external to the system, but by factors that are of the very essence of the system: exacerbated individualism, deregulation, competition and so on. This clearly shows us that something has to change. (Correa)

President Correa’s words are contributing to the growing gap between the global North and South and to the growing estrangement of the so-called “rogue states” (Noriega 2011). The term ‘rouge states’ originated during the Bush era to describe left leaning nations like Venezuela and Cuba and has since been adopted by the American Institute for Public Policy Research and other more conservative media outlets.  Along with President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and President Evo Morales of Bolivia, these ‘rogue states’ are attempting to form a partnership or a front against the encroaching global North in a partnership known as Alianza Bolivariana para los Pueblos de Nuestra América (ALBA).  This union looks to create a more united South America, a climate where the objectives of Buen Vivir are more attainable.  However, programs like ALBA signal a move away from Western- led UN initiatives like the MDGs, alienating the world’s political and economic superpowers.  ALBA and similar actions being taken by so called “rogue states” are a move toward a third major player in what Samuel P. Huntington called the Clash of Civilizations.  The developing world has a new voice and it is coming from South America.

Photo Credit: Hannah Lynch

Evident in the above analysis, is the struggle Ecuador faces to create its own identity through an aggressive development model.  This development model rests on a political and philosophical paradigm that clashes with the ideas of the West.  In choosing to make its own destiny, Ecuador seems to be stuck in a paradoxical struggle that pins aspirations of Buen Vivir against an economic history that is rooted in an export dependency of minerals to the very nations they are trying to break free from.  This clash seems to be at the forefront of national and international issues and the root cause of Ecuador’s identity crisis today.  Buen Vivir was a clear step away from the Western model, but it’s difficult to assume that the president and his people will have the will-power to see it through.  The West, already deeply entrenched within Ecuador with the dollarization of their economy in 2000, will be the chief obstacle in the successful implementation of Buen Vivir.

                Adding to the complexities of this struggle is the national tension that exists between an emerging indigenous movement and the heavy hitters within the political system.  President Correa now finds himself in a difficult situation caught between pledged allegiances to the indigenous population that helped him win his presidency and the social elite still clinging to the bureaucratic skeleton of government.  President Correa has chosen to act conservatively on domestic issues while adopting liberal views on international issues. To some of the people we spoke with in Ecuador, his actions and rhetoric are slowly beginning to look like an illusion while he proceeds with business as usual.  President Correa states, at the 2011 World Financial and Economic Crisis and Its Impact on Development in New York,

“Well, what we’ve undergone in recent decades worldwide has been totally      insane, and all of this in function of capitalism. If you look at what was done with the workforce in Latin America, it was treated as a vulgar instrument for capital accumulation.  Mechanisms of exploitation were imposed, such as outsourcing, labor intermediation, and the like. Efforts were made to destroy nation states, or at least to minimize nation states, especially in key areas such as the economy, on grounds that were closer to religion than to science, that everything would be resolved by the marketplace.” (Correa)

This remark came on the same day that a new trade negotiation was made with China over future oil shares.  As genuine as President Correa’s rhetoric might be, until he begins to act upon it, his statements are a brilliant show that continuously fool everyone. 

At this conference, President Correa was only one of fourteen heads of states to attend.  The conference was in fact simply dismissed as a forum for developing Latin American and Caribbean nations to vent by most Western media sources.  James Bone of the Sunday Times of England dismissed it in his article noting that “the rest of the 192 UN member states will be represented at a lower level” (Bone). The demographic of the turnout shows how little the power hitters of the West identify the global South as having any political or economic weight.  Economically flourishing nations such as the United States, China, Germany, and Britain all saved their talks for the G20 Summit, which excludes the global South.

                The result of the 2011 World Financial and Economic Crisis Conference in New York signifies the difficulty faced by Ecuador and other members of organizations like ALBA to seek alternative routes of development while still remaining active on the global stage.  It is evident that substantial road blocks stand in the way of President Correa seeing Buen Vivir to fruition.  For now, he is forced to walk in the gray area of appeasing his constituents with leftist ideals while using his economist to keep a balanced check book to prevent Ecuador from falling into economic turmoil.

 

Palestine
Kate Bailey, Alexsis Regan and Trish Siplon

The oPt has a very low likelihood of achieving Goal Eight of the Millennium Development Goals. Without the creation of a sovereign country, donor aid is very difficult to come by. Even more challenging than receiving aid in Palestine is determining where the aid is going (UNDP 2014). Without a stable government it has been increasingly more difficult to see where incoming funds are going.

                The first target of Goal Eight, to develop an open financial system, has not effectively been achieved due largely to the fact an effective government has not been formed. The tension in the country has created limited opportunities for financial prosperity. In a recent report the Municipal Development Program and Palestine stated, “structural challenges in the Palestinian Territories were said to be obstacles to the emergence of a clear vision in the local government sector” (AFD 2011). The more effective way to achieve Goal Eight would be to focus on local governments rather than the national government.

                Like many other developing countries, the UNDP notes that “the uncertainty in the political situation poses challenges in achieving progress until 2015” (UNDP 2014). Until Palestine can have a stable political front, development is very difficult to measure. While the UNDP remains optimistic that the oPt can achieve Goal Eight, there are still a lot of questions left unanswered. 

Rwanda

Jason DePecol, Siham Elhamoumi, Kate Mooney, Kelsey Morse and Amanda Rohdenburg

Rwanda will continue to strengthen its partnership with existing donors, and seek new donors, especially bilateral. In addition, Rwanda is eager to build new partnerships with countries of development interest, such as East Asian countries that have recorded rapid economic growth in a relatively short time (UNDP 2007). Specifically, Rwanda hopes that funding will help in progress towards the completion of the Millennium Development Goals as well as to improve their infrastructure as they move from a LDC (Rwanda Aid 2012). The country was allocated approximately $934 million in Official Development Assistance (ODA) in 2009, with five top donors contributing to 58% of Rwanda’s core ODA (OECD 2011).

Overlooking the city of Kigali where the most
concentrated portion of the population resides.
Photo Credit: Jason De Pecol.

                The public debt remains distinguished by the predominance of the external debt which accounted for 87.9%, and 89.2% in 2004 and 2005 respectively (Ansoms 2012, 28). The remainder is made up of domestic debt. The external public debt has noticeably declined because of the cancellation of 100% of the stock of the Club de Paris debt in May 2005 (OECD 2011). The Paris Club itself dates back to 1956 when Argentina agreed to meet its public creditors in Paris, since its start the club has reached over 429 agreements with 90 debtor countries like Rwanda (Paris Club 2013). The Paris Club began to intervene in Rwanda in 1998 when they permitted Rwanda to benefit from a relief of 67% of its bilateral debt (OECD 2011). After, the setting up of a multilateral assistance fund in 1999 the group helped Rwanda value its commitments towards important creditors, the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank, and the African Development Fund (ADF) (OECD 2011).

A small village outside of Kigali, Rwanda.
Photo Credit: Jason De Pecol.

                The third target, to make available the benefits of new technologies, especially information and communications, has shown progress. The number of mobile phone users per 1,000 people increased from three in 2001 to fourteen in 2002 and sixteen in 2004. Conversely, the number of fixed telephone lines per one thousand people remained relatively constant between 2001 and 2004, reflecting the amount of money needed to install new telephones. Despite low access to computers and an increasing population rate, Rwanda is still capable of achieving Goal Eight by 2015 if infrastructure is added and aid is allocated properly throughout all regions of the country (Ansoms 2012, 10).