MDG Gap Task Force Report 2009: Strengthening the Global Partnership for Development in a Time of Crisis

Summary

The 2009 MDG Gap Task Force Report finds that the Global Partnership for Development has suffered important setbacks, mostly arising from the current state of the world economy. It finds that although aid can be a powerful instrument to reduce poverty, gaps in the delivery of aid and its concentration in a few countries prevent the poorest countries from making sufficient investments in education and health. Emphasizing that the increase in trade protectionism and high agricultural subsidies are limiting the market access of developing countries, the report recommends allocating aid for trade predominantly to sectors that benefit the poor in the poorest countries. It also finds that despite the significant progress in reducing the debt burden of developing countries, the economic crisis increased the vulnerability of highly-indebted and other countries.

The report comments on important initiatives to improve access to essential medicines, but large gaps remain in the availability of medicines and wide variations exist vis-à-vis the international reference prices for medicines in both public and private sectors. While important progress has been made to expand access to Information and Communication Technology (ICT), there are millions of citizens in poor countries that are left at the margins of progress due to the lack of access to information technology. The report also points out to the urgent need to expand the availability of technology to cope with the consequences of climate change, an issue that will require global coordinated action.