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Deirdre de Burca blog
cbm Disability Advocate Deirde de Burca blogs from New York where she is attending the Millennium Development Goal Review Summit and working to ensure persons with disabilities are included in the goals.New York MDG: Review Summit - Deirdre de Burca, 19 Sept 2010 I head off this morning to the UN Millenium Development Goals (MDG) Review Summit in New York with an official Irish delegation. I have been hired as the new Advocacy Co-ordinator for cbm Ireland. It is just a part of a much larger international christian organisation- cbm International - working on behalf of people with disabilities in developing countries. The summit itself is about measuring what has been disappointing progress towards achieving the Millenium Development Goals, to which governments signed up in 2000. It is also part of an effort to quicken the pace at which targets are met so that the original 2015 deadline has some hope of being achieved. I will certainly be busy over the next few days, as, along with others, I lobby and network to try to ensure that the issue of disability is properly integrated into the official text emerging from the UN Review Summit. International momentum is building to include people with disabilities within global development efforts. Unfortunately in developing countries, people with disabilities experience disproportionately high rates of poverty. They face exclusion from mainstream social, economic and political life, with limited access to key areas of development, including health, education, food, shelter and employment. Many people might be shocked to hear that 80% of disabled people live in developing countries, of which 82% live below the poverty line. Unfortunately the orginal wording of the MDGs did not mention disability. cbm is working on many fronts, and in many countries, to ensure amonst other objectives : (i) the inclusion of people with disabilities in international development (ii) the inclusion of children with disabilities in quality primary education (MDG2) (iii) The prioritisation of women's and children's health, particularly around pregnancy and birth, as so many disabilities arise from poor birthing practices. I will be writing a daily blog from New York so will give you feedback on any progress made at the Review Summit. Tomorrow I'll tell you exactly how cbm believes see disability can be effectively included in the Millenium Development Goals. New York MDG: Review Summit - Deirdre de Burca, 20 Sept 2010
After a rather noisy night's sleep in an Upper West side hotel last night, I'm about to head out to meet someone for breakfast before the day's proceedings begin at the UN Headquarters. She works for the International Disability and Development Consortium (IDDC) and has been influential, along with others, in getting the issue of disability integrated into the draft text that is likely to form the Declaration of this MDG Review Summit. That is a huge achievement as I think I mentioned in my blog yesterday that astonishingly, the original Millennium Development Goals Declaration document in 2000 didn't mention disability at all.
For the public at large it can sometimes appear strange to be fretting over whether a particular wording appears in an official document or not. However, it is hugely important. The original MDG Declaration document and the Review Summit Declaration that should emerge from this summit I am attending in New York will frame and shape global development efforts over the coming years. Governments around the world tend to take their policy direction from the priorities that are highlighted in these official international agreements.
I expect today to be a very busy day with all of the events that I am attending, and the security that will surround them! All of the Heads of State and Government are expected today so the UN Headquarters will be a hive of activity. I'd better go and not miss my breakfast appointment! Will blog later to let you know how the day has gone and what has been achieved!
New York MDG: Review Summit - Deirdre de Burca, 20 Sept 2010 Well - I just spent a full and very interesting day around the UN Headquarters where the great and the good were assembled. Security was very tight as all of the Heads of State were attending for the Opening Plenary Session. I was at a number of 'side events' that occurred on the margins so didnt see any 'celebrity' politicians - pity! The Outcome Document of the Review Summit to be approved by the summit is in circulation. It is a fairly good document. It both serves to re-affirm the international community’s commitments and obligations within the MDG Framework, but also provides for new issues of focus. For the first time ever, the issue of Disability has been included in the MDG framework. The role of the private sector in achieving the MDGs is also explicitly recognised. Finally, there is clear agreement in the document on some of the follow-up required. This includes an annual review by the UN General Assembly of progress towards the MDGs, a review summit to be organised in 2013 to ensure progress on the MDGs, and a process of reflection to be initiated by the UN Secretary General about the required framework for Development, beyond 2015. I have been given a pass for the Hunger event organised by the US and Irish Governments tomorrow (Tues) morning at which both the Irish minister for Foreign Affairs, Micheal Martin, will speak, along with the US Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton. Security will be very tight so we have been asked to be at the venue at 8am tomorrow morning. This means that I should have been in bed several hours ago. Anyway, I'm on my way there right now, so will blog again tomorrow later in the day.
New York MDG: Review Summit - Deirdre de Burca, 21 Sept 2010
It's 1am and I am just back in my hotel after a very long day. The day began with a request from the Irish Dept of Foreign Affairs to be at the Barclay's Intercontinental Hotel at 8am to go through security for the Hunger seminar with Hilary Clinton and Minister Micheal Martin. I duly turned up at 8am and was delighted to find that I would be in the main room where Secretary Clinton was speaking. The event was very well organised and made it clear that Ireland and the US are going to prioritise partnering to reduce childhood undernutrition. In fact the Minister made the announcement that 20% of Ireland's overall development aid budget would be dedicated to tackling hunger from here on. Hilary Clinton looked very well and sounded very upbeat and energetic. The room was full of ministers and other important dignitaries from international bodies such as the World Bank, the World Health Organisation, the European Union etc. The campaign to tackle childhood nutrition is being called '1000 days', as the first 1000 days of a child's life are the most important from the point of view of nutrition - damage done at this stage through lack of nutrition can be irreversible. I also met many of the Irish Aid personnel at this event who had done a really fabulous job organising the event. I spent the afternoon in a GCAP (Global Call to Action Against Poverty) side event that had been called for people representing vulnerable and excluded groups in relation to the MDGs. It was a fascinating meeting and a very 'philosophical' discussion was held about the possible title of the group and its proposed terms of reference. I then went to the Irish UN Perm Rep's building in NY where Irish Aid has offices on the 19th floor. All of the Irish Development NGO community had a face to face meeting with Ministers Micheal Martin and Peter Power and senior Irish Aid people about the MDG Review Summit outcome, the upcoming Irish budget and any global development framework that might replace the MDGs after 2015. (No firm conclusions were reached on the latter). The rest of the evening was spent socialising and I am just home now. I'm too tired to write anything interesting so I will wait until tomorrow. Goodnight and hope this post didn't put you to sleep! |
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