Q & A

What are the Millennium Project’s key
recommendations?

The Millennium Project’s report presents the most thorough and comprehensive assessment to date of what is needed to achieve the Goals. Its key recommendations include the following:

• Developing country governments should adopt development strategies bold enough to meet the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets for 2015. The Millennium Project terms these “MDG-based poverty reduction strategies.” To meet the 2015 deadline, we recommend that all countries have these strategies in place by 2006. Where Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) already exist, those should be aligned with the Millennium Development Goals.

• The MDG-based poverty reduction strategies should anchor the scaling up of public investments, capacity building, domestic resource mobilization, and official development assistance. They should also provide a framework for strengthening governance, promoting human rights, engaging civil society, and promoting the private sector.

• Developing country governments should craft and implement the MDG-based poverty reduction strategies in transparent and inclusive processes, working closely with civil society organizations, the domestic private sector, and international partners.

• International donors should identify at least a dozen “fast-track” countries for a rapid scale-up of official development assistance (ODA) in 2005, recognizing that many countries are already in a position for a massive scale-up on the basis of their good governance and absorptive capacity.

• Developed and developing countries should jointly launch a group of Quick Win actions in 2005 to save and improve millions of lives and to promote economic growth. They should also launch a massive effort to build expertise at the community level.

• Developing country governments should align national strategies with such regional initiatives as the New Partnership for Africa’s Development and the Caribbean Community (and Common Market), and regional groups should receive increased direct donor support for regional projects.

• High-income countries should increase official development assistance (ODA) from 0.25 percent of donor GNP in 2003 to around 0.44 percent in 2006 and 0.54 in 2015 to support the Millennium Development Goals, particularly for low-income countries with sound governance mechanisms in place. Aid delivery mechanisms should be improved, so that assistance is harmonized, predictable and largely in the form of grants-based budget support. Each donor should reach 0.7 percent no later than 2015 to support the Goals and other development assistance priorities.

• High-income countries should open their markets to developing country exports through the Doha trade round and help Least Developed Countries raise export competitiveness through investments in critical traderelated infrastructure, including electricity, roads, and ports. The Doha Development Agenda should be fulfilled and the Doha Round completed no later than 2006.

• International donors should mobilize support for global scientific research and development to address special needs of the poor in areas of health, agriculture, natural resource and environmental management, energy and climate. The Millennium Project estimates that total needs will rise to approximately $7 billion by 2015.

• The UN Secretary-General and the UN Development Group should strengthen the coordination of UN agencies, funds, and programs to support the Millennium Development Goals at headquarters and country level. The UN Country Teams should be strengthened and should work closely with the international financial institutions to support the Goals.