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OAS Secretary General Calls for Global Cooperation to Continue Working towards Development

The Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza, today called on countries to cooperate to foster a global partnership towards development to further the fulfillment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). In an analysis of data collected by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), which follows the progress of the MDGs in the region, the head of the hemispheric organization expressed concerns because the “least met of all objectives, which is not a social but a political objective—the global partnership against poverty—is further behind than when the Millennium goals were defined.” Nevertheless, Insulza recognized the important achievements in the region in the fight against poverty.

Secretary General Insulza joined a debate with regional authorities on the issues of development, the economy and healthcare held at OAS headquarters. It focused on the achievements, challenges and recommendations for the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on the fulfillment of the Millennium Development Goals. The debate was based on a report, titled, “Achieving the Millennium Development Goals with Equality in Latin America and the Caribbean: Progress and Challenges,” prepared by ECLAC and presented to an audience at the XXV OAS Policy Roundtable.

Upon welcoming the panelists, the OAS Secretary General explained the relevance of the report in relation to the preparatory work being conducted at the OAS for passage of the Social Charter of the Americas. “This will be a subject of great importance in the organization and as such it is very useful to know the current situation of Latin America and the Caribbean,” he said, while highlighting the work of coordination by the 18 agencies of the United Nations that participated in the report, its content and conclusions. “The subject of the MDGs is of great political importance since it allows us to organize our priorities and our work in the social sphere.”

According to the head of the OAS, one of the main concerns revealed by the statistics compiled by ECLAC is that the gap between countries in the region, between those that are ahead and those that lag behind has grown. “This shows that policies adopted in recent years far from producing progress among the farthest behind has generated a wider gap,” adding that “as a region we have the problem that there are countries that are not ready to leap forward as others have done and, clearly, they will stay behind.”

Secretary General Insulza also praised the document presented by ECLAC and affirmed that “it is very welcome, especially because it marks a change and reveals the achievements in poverty reduction, which represents a phenomenal success when compared with data from the previous 25 years, when the region was stuck.”

The debate, attended by representatives of OAS Member States, the media, civil society and other institutions committed to the subjects under discussion, began with a presentation of the report by the Executive Secretary of ECLAC, Alicia Bárcena. The report covered the years 2003-2008, "an exceptional period in the region because we achieved a sustained growth of 4.9 percent that we catalogue as a period of prosperity,” said Barcena, who nevertheless added that "during the year 2009 the region fell at least 1.9 percent, but this year we are growing by 5.2 percent."

On the MDGs, ending in 2015, the Executive Secretary of ECLAC stressed that until now "we have made progress of some 63 percent in the global reduction of poverty and in some 85 percent in the reduction of extreme poverty.” In the Caribbean, “Jamaica already reached its overall goals and that is also the case in Latin America of Brazil, Chile and Peru.”

"The region has made a major effort to fulfill the Millennium Goals, and it has been a political commitment by all countries. We are a region committed to development and fighting poverty, we go beyond the MDGs, but it is the hour of equality between Latin America and the Caribbean,” she concluded.

Bárcena emphasized that the region has made significant progress in the reduction of extreme poverty and poverty in general, which is to her of special relevance since this achievement “is the mother of all objectives.” In this sense, she added that “employment is key to overcome poverty and achieve equality.”

For his part, the Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and Assistant Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Heraldo Muñoz, said that "we have to pay much more attention to what happens inside the countries, because national averages can hide disparities." "The reduction of inequality must be a political priority through redistribution strategies, improving quality, efficiency, consensus-building, reforms to improve regressive tax structures and policies to end despair. Inequality is an obstacle to achieving the MDGs and it is important that solutions be long lasting, "he concluded.

Arturo Valenzuela, United States Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, who was invited to comment on the conclusions of the report, said that a positive aspect of the report is that “it gives us hope for the future.” Nevertheless, he pointed that to continue making progress, “greater involvement on the part of the State is needed to have better investment in infrastructure and human capital, and improved access to social protection.”

Valenzuela made special reference to the strengthening of institutions and governance to be able to achieve the goals and affirmed that “so that the adequate strategies and social and economic policies may work, it is also necessary to have strong institutions.”

The Area Manager for External Relations, Resource Mobilization and Partnerships of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Juan Manuel Sotelo, who presented the components of the report related to health care, spoke about the progress in areas such as maternal health, the fight against HIV/AIDS, education, child death and malnutrition, and affirmed that “to make progress towards the achievement of the MGDs with equality it is necessary to increase public financing in health care, extend social protection in the area of health, improve effective international help and promote South-South cooperation.” Sotelo also reiterated PAHO’s perspective that healthcare is a key element to achieve the MDGs and vice versa.

A photo gallery of the event is available here.

For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.

Reference: E-320/10