UN chief calls for innovative partnerships

UNITED NATIONS — UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moonMonday galvanised heads of state, business leaders and philanthropists into joint action against extreme poverty, hunger and disease, to propel the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) across the finishing line.

 “From health, food security and energy, to education, sanitation and cutting-edge innovation, the United Nations is most effective when we bring all relevant actors together — governments, international organisations, civil society and the private sector,” the UN chief said at a high-level event.

“Our goal is to provide a platform where all those in a position to contribute can come together to exchange life-saving ideas and promote concrete solutions to the most pressing challenges of our time,” he added.

The event came as the UN, governments, civil society and the private sector work to forge a sustainable development agenda beyond 2015 that builds on the success and lessons of the MDGs. It was organised ahead of a General Assembly Special Event today to consider what remains to be done to meet the 2015 MDG deadline.

Ban said that despite huge gains, progress remains incomplete in reaching the eight goals agreed by world leaders at a UN summit in 2000, which aim to slash extreme poverty and hunger, ensure access to universal health care and education, achieve gender equality, cut maternal and child mortality, secure environmental stability, reduce HIV and Aids and forge a global partnership for development, by the end of 2015.

“The quantum leaps necessary for MDG success have come, and will come, from partnerships and coalitions among a broad range of stakeholders such as those here today,” Ban said.

“Multi-stakeholder partnerships are being increasingly recognized as development game-changers, fostering a race for results,” he added.

Although many MDGs are yet to be met, Ban said that success is within reach because people working together all over the world have proved that transformational change is possible in an accelerated timeframe. – Xinhua.