UN Development Research Articles

TWENTY FIVE YEARS FIGHTING FOR WOMEN’S HEALTH AND RIGHTS: SOME PROGRESS BUT STILL A LONG WAY TO GO


 
 
 The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of 25 years women’s health and rights, a difficult journey with steps forward and backwards since the landmark conference in 1994 when reproductive rights were for the first time on the menu. However, although great strides have been made in reducing maternal and child mortality since then, among others by the United Nations with the establishment of the Millennium Development Goals for 2015, showing that change is possible, many countries are still lagging behind in reaching the goals. While the new global architecture, in particular with the Sustainable Development Goals and the Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health, ensures that these issues remain high on the political agenda, this paper argues that we must move from political commitment to action, via the creation and dissemination of research evidence. As the Founding President of the Ghent Africa Platform (GAP) at Ghent University, I still believe GAP has an important role to play regarding this international collaboration and dissemination of scientific knowledge.
 KEYWORDS: WOMEN’S HEALTH, WOMEN’S RIGHTS, REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS, UN DEVELOPMENT GOALS
 
 

UN ON THE PATH TO REFORM

UN ON THE PATH TO REFORM

Rural Community Tourism: An Approach toward Sustainable Development Goals

This paper highlights on Rural Community Tourism (RCT) that can be a new approach to achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs). However, United Nations Development Program and concerned government Agency has yet started working by linking two fundamental tools of Rural Development i.e., Rural Community Development and Rural Tourism. Therefore, to identify the linkages between such tools and for developing new RCT as new approach, the study has been conducted. Methodologically, this study applied library based method for data collection and comparative review analysis method for appraising research issues. Theoretically, this study look at on 17 SDGs and RCT both are developed based on the principles of sustainable development. This study comes up with conclusion that only RCT can link entire 17 sustainable goals with nominal investment. Hence, better to apply RCT, a new approach by federal governments (federation, provincial and local levels) as well as UN development agencies and I/NGOs while planning and implementing 17 SDGs related plans, programs and projects.

Соціальне включення як вимір модернізації європейських суспільств. Автореферат дисертації на здобуття наукового ступеня доктора соціологічних наук (Социальная включенность как измерение модернизации европейских обществ. Автореферат диссертации на соискание ученой степени доктора социологических наук. Social Inclusion as Dimension of Modernization of European Societies. Synopsis of Doctoral Dissertation in Sociology)

Соціальне включення як вимір модернізації європейських суспільств. Автореферат дисертації на здобуття наукового ступеня доктора соціологічних наук (Социальная включенность как измерение модернизации европейских обществ. Автореферат диссертации на соискание ученой степени доктора социологических наук. Social Inclusion as Dimension of Modernization of European Societies. Synopsis of Doctoral Dissertation in Sociology)

Your fathers’ mistakes: Critiques of GDP and the search for an alternative

Your fathers’ mistakes: Critiques of GDP and the search for an alternative

Improving Lives by Accelerating the Sustainable Development Goals for Adolescents Living with HIV

Background: The lives of adolescents in low and middle income countries would be improved by countries attaining the multifaceted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For the most vulnerable young people this presents a major challenge. In response, the UNDP has proposed a new concept of 'development accelerators': provisions that simultaneously impact multiple SDGs. These may represent an opportunity for policy and provision to maximise the return on health and social investments. This study is the first to empirically test this concept, using a highly vulnerable sample of adolescents living with HIV in South Africa. Methods: Longitudinal data from 1060 adolescents living with HIV were gathered using community tracing from clinical records in 52 government clinics (90·1% reached, 93·5% 18-month retention). Standardised measures recorded eleven SDG-aligned targets across four goals, six potential accelerator provisions, and nine socio-demographic and HIV-related covariates. Associations of provisions with SDG outcomes were established by multivariable logistic regressions controlling for baseline outcomes, with adjustment for multiple outcome testing, and potential cumulative effects were tested by marginal effects modelling. Findings: Three provisions were 'development accelerators': each associated with positive outcomes across at least three SDGs: schools without physical violence ('safe schools'), government cash transfers and high parental monitoring (all p<0·05). For 9 out of 11 SDG-aligned targets, a combination of two of these accelerators showed cumulative positive associations, suggesting 'super-accelerator' effects of combination provisions. Interpretation: Findings suggest the validity of UNDP's 'accelerator' concept, identifying and providing services with multi-SDG impacts; and extend it to super-accelerators, that have cumulative effects. For adolescent sub-populations at elevated risk, development accelerators may provide a pathway to achieving health-focused SDG targets, and simultaneously impacting multiple SDG goals. Funding Statement: Nuffield Foundation, UKAID, Janssen Pharmaceutica, International AIDS Society, John Fell Fund, Economic and Social Research Council, European Research Council, Philip Leverhulme Trust, UNICEF. Declaration of Interests: LC, MO, LCa, ET, LS, AC and DW declare no conflicts of interest. LS reports grants from Sweden/Norad, grants from NIH, grants from MRC, personal fees from Gilead, other from AIDSImpact, editorial fees from Taylor and Francis, outside the submitted work. LC reports grants from Nuffield Foundation, UKAID and Sweden-Norad, Janssen Pharmaceutica South Africa, International AIDS Society, UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa, John Fell Fund, European Research Council, Philip Leverhulme Trust, Economic and Social Research Council during the conduct of the study. Dr Webb is an employee of the UN Development Programme. Ethics Approval Statement: Ethical approval was given by the University of Cape Town (CSSR 2013/4), Oxford University (CUREC2/12-21), Provincial Departments of Health and Education and participating hospitals. All adolescents and their primary caregivers gave written informed consent at both time points in their language of choice (Xhosa or English), and read aloud in cases of low literacy.

Tendências e contradições da influência corporativa na agenda agroalimentar das Nações Unidas

Desde a virada do milênio, a participação das corporações transnacionais e entidades filantrópicas na agenda de desenvolvimento e direitos humanos das Nações Unidas (ONU) tem sido crescente. Além do Pacto Global, novos espaços de cooperação e diálogo entre empresas e agências da ONU foram criados ou estão sendo discutidos. Na governança global da agricultura e alimentação, essa interação, além de notável, apresenta perfil e dinâmicas próprias, resultado do caráter estratégico que tais parcerias assumiram na agenda tanto das corporações quanto das organizações internacionais (OIs). O artigo, portanto, discute como tem se dado a participação e a influência das corporações na governança agroalimentar das Nações Unidas. Nesta perspectiva, apresentam-se especificamente as interações políticas e institucionais entre as transnacionais ligadas ao agronegócio e três organizações/programas do sistema ONU – a Organização das Nações Unidas para Alimentação e Agricultura (FAO), o Fundo Internacional de Desenvolvimento Agrícola (FIDA) e o Programa Alimentar Mundial (PAM), expondo as razões e os mecanismos responsáveis pela aproximação entre esses atores, ao tempo que destaca algumas das contradições presentes nesta relação. Por fim, mapeia desafios analíticos que se interpõem à abordagem das contradições observadas na intersecção entre atores privados e a governança global agroalimentar.

Analysis on incidence and mean age at diagnosis for Global Cancer

Objective: To analyze the age distribution characteristics of different cancers in the world according to the database from Cancer Incidence in Five Continents published by the International Association of Cancer Registries, and to compare the age differences of cancer incidence in different regions. Methods: Cancer incidence data from volume XI of Cancer Incidence in Five Continents including 339 population-based cancer registries in 65 countries during 2008-2012 have been extracted. The average age of cancer incidence in different regions, gender and cancer sites were analyzed and stratified according to the human development Index and the level of national or regional development UN Development. The Segi's world standard population (world standard) was standardized to calculate the average age of the cancer incidence and to analyze the effect of age structure of the population on the average age of cancer diagnosis. Results: This study included 4 812 008 148 person-years in the global population (including 2 367 458 302 men and 2 444 549 846 women), and 21 892 093 of the new cancer cases, including 11 450 515 men and 10 441 578 women. The analysis showed that the average age of cancer incidence in the world was 65.73 years, and men and women were 66.70 and 64.67 years old, respectively. Among them, the average incidence age of testicular cancer was the youngest, with an average age of 36.67 years, and that of gallbladder cancer was the highest with average age of 71.55 years. After adjusting for population structure, the average incidence age was highest in gallbladder cancer, followed with bladder cancer and prostate cancer, and the testicular was with the lowest average age of incidence, followed by bone cancer and brain tumor. The results showed that the average age of cancer incidence in developed countries or regions was 66.38 years old, and that in less developed countries or regions was 61.75 years old, but in China it was 63.47 years old. According to the human development index (HDI), the higher the country or region with HDI, the higher the average age of cancer incidence, and the difference is reduced after the adjustment of the age structure of the population. Conclusions: There are different characteristics of the age distribution for different cancer sites. In terms of the age of cancer incidence, those of gallbladder cancer and bladder cancer are relatively old, while those of the testis, bone and thyroid cancer are relatively young. The average age of cancer incidence in China is between developed and less developed countries. Prevention and control of cancer should be carried out according to the age distribution characteristics of different cancers.

Geography and engagement with UN development goals

It is sensible to assert that geographers ought to participate in an ongoing discussion about the UN development goals because development will be better for it. I largely agree with this sentiment but also wonder whether this means walking into an intellectual cul-de-sac of sorts, a debate where the parameters are too restrictively defined. This essay is written in response to a paper by Diana Liverman and is divided into three parts: questioning the value of engaging with development metrics, the geographic perspective and development goals, and thoughts for moving forward.

Prevalence of permanent childhood hearing impairment identified by universal newborn hearing screening: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Introduction Universal newborn hearing screening (UNHS) programmes have been implemented in many very highly-developed (UN Development Programme, 2015) countries over the last 20 years. The prevalence of permanent childhood hearing impairment (PCHI) detected by these programmes has not been systematically evaluated to assess the expected burden on audiological and other clinical services. In addition, the PCHI risk associated with Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) admission, a known PCHI risk factor, has not been estimated. We addressed these research gaps using systematic review and meta-analytical techniques to calculate the population-based prevalence of PCHI (defined as more than or equal to 26 decibels of hearing loss in both ears [≥ 26 dB HL]) identified through UNHS (defined as universal screening using otoacoustic emissions and/or auditory brainstem response testing within the first 6 months of life, followed by referral for diagnostic investigations). Our secondary objective was to compare PCHI prevalence in infants who were and were not admitted to NICU. Methods In accordance with the registered protocol (PROSPERO: CRD42016051267), six electronic databases (including Embase and Medline) were interrogated in January 2017 to identify eligible studies in very highly-developed countries to calculate prevalence of PCHI ascertained through UNHS. We identified further reports through searching citations of included papers and unpublished literature (November 2017). Eligible papers could be in any language and published on any date. Papers reporting outcomes for at-risk populations only, with no English abstract (unless unpublished) or of ineligible study type (e.g. case report or letter) were excluded. One reviewer extracted data and quality assessed all papers while two further reviewers undertook independent data extraction and quality assessment of a random sample of papers to ensure consistency; differences were resolved by consensus. Quality was assessed using criteria adapted from the Newcastle-Ottawa scale, STARD and QUADAS-2 tools. Pooled prevalence was calculated using random effects modelling, Freeman–Tukey double arcsine transformation of prevalences and Wilson (Score) method for calculating 95% confidence intervals (CIs) (Stata: Release 15; StataCorp LP). Results Literature searches identified 6195 non-duplicate references, from which 41 were eligible for inclusion (including 5 reports identified from the unpublished literature and citation searching). These reports contained data on 32 separate study populations (median size = 25,945 infants, interquartile range = 11,198, 83,691 infants). Studies took place between 1990 and 2014, with the majority in Europe (n = 23). Pooled prevalence of bilateral PCHI ≥ 26 dB HL identified through UNHS in the screened population was 1.08 (95% CI: 0.90–1.28) per 1000 infants. Infants admitted to NICU had 6.9 times (95% CI: 3.8–12.5) higher prevalence of PCHI than those not admitted, based on 3 studies reporting this information. Smaller studies were associated with significantly larger prevalences (Egger's test: P = 0.017). Key strengths of this review include use of a systematic search strategy and robust statistical methods. The findings are limited to very highly-developed countries. Conclusions In very highly-developed countries, around 1 in every 1000 infants will need referral to clinical services for investigation and management of PCHI. Infants admitted to NICU have a significantly increased prevalence of PCHI. Further analyses will evaluate screen test performance and other risk factors for PCHI. ESRC-funded PhD: ES/J500185/1.

The UN World Water Development Report 2016, Water and Jobs: A Critical Review

The UN World Water Development Report 2016, <i>Water and Jobs</i>: A Critical Review

Operationalising planetary health as a game-changing paradigm: health impact assessments are key

Operationalising planetary health as a game-changing paradigm: health impact assessments are key

Development and Human Rights: Rhetoric and Reality in India by Joel Oestreich

Reviewed by: Development and Human Rights: Rhetoric and Reality in India by Joel Oestreich Dan Chong (bio) Joel Oestreich, Development and Human Rights: Rhetoric and Reality in India (Oxford University Press, 2017) ISBN 9780190637347, 224pages. Nongovernmental and multilateral development agencies have increasingly adopted a rights-based approach (RBA) to development over the past two decades. Has the RBA resulted in concrete changes in these agencies’ strategies and tactics in the field? How do these organizations, which have traditionally been perceived as doing “technical” and politically neutral work, navigate the politics of human rights that are inherent in the RBA? In his thoroughly researched, theoretically grounded, and concisely written book, Joel Oestreich analyzes the work of United Nations specialized agencies in India to provide insight into these questions.1 Oestreich examines how several UN development agencies—including the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), UN Women, and the World Bank—have interpreted and implemented the RBA in their work in India. He finds that there is wide variation both within and among [End Page 233] agencies in their commitment to the RBA and their translation of the RBA into practice. Despite this inconsistency, staff members at UN specialized agencies do increasingly view their mission through the lens of promoting human rights. Furthermore, this commitment to the RBA is not “mere rhetoric,” in the author’s words; it has led UN agencies to make real changes in their work in India. It would be meaningless for UN agencies simply to recast their development programming as the fulfillment of economic and social rights, because the provision of goods and services is what these agencies have always done. However, organizations like the UNDP and UNICEF are beginning to address politically sensitive issues—namely, the enforcement of civil and political rights— that require some confrontation with the Indian government. This is important for Oestreich because, as these agencies encounter resistance from national and local authorities, it demonstrates that their commitment to the RBA is real. Oestreich focuses on five specific civil and political rights that UN agencies have promoted in India: the decentralization of political power; nondiscrimination in the provision of public services; access to justice for marginalized populations; the right to information; and women’s rights.2 As they have begun to actively promote these rights, UN staff members have been forced to adopt new strategies for dealing with the political resistance that they encounter.3 For example, UN staff often “camouflage” their rights-based activities by reframing them in technical, non-controversial terms such as “building local capacity.” They use data on human rights violations from the Indian government or impartial third parties in order to bolster credibility and then promote public education through mass media. They use the good offices of the United Nations to bring conflicting parties together to resolve conflicts, and they tend to advocate for “soft” approaches to accountability, such as grassroots education and local empowerment, rather than “hard” mechanisms of legal enforcement that would invite confrontation.4 The promotion of civil and political rights by UN specialized agencies in India leads to several key conclusions in the book, which have important implications for development and human rights practice, as well as our understanding of the role of the UN in international politics. First, the RBA is an inherently political process, insofar as it challenges structures of power and involves conflicting interests and values. This is important to recognize, because both international development and human rights have frequently been cast by theorists and practitioners as technical, politically neutral activities. Development has been perceived as a nonpolitical process whereby economists and technical experts efficiently maximize growth for the benefit of everyone. The protection of human rights has been perceived as being led by independent jurists advancing nonpolitical legal standards that can be enforced equally on everyone. Neither of these perceptions is entirely accurate. Development and human rights often involve utility trade-offs, political struggles between unequal groups, and inherent conflicts over values. The RBA recognizes that both development and human rights operate in the political realm and requires the empowerment of [End Page 234] marginalized populations to advocate for their own...

A Mountain Worth Climbing: Reforming the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs

The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) is a key multilateral organisation for development. Since 2015, DESA has had the unique mandate of facilitating the efforts of all UN member states towards achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by supporting the High-level Political Forum. It is tasked to provide intellectual leadership through research and analysis, support norm-setting by the main UN bodies on development – the General Assembly (GA), the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) – and coord¬inate with the broader UN development system. However, DESA has yet to unlock its full potential in playing a politically relevant and analytically authoritative role in sustainable development beyond the conference rooms of New York. DESA’s organisational structures have become increasingly outdated and inefficient. Since the founding of DESA in 1997, the department has been curiously exempt from the ongoing reforms of the world organisation. In addition, there is little transparency and analysis of actual reform needs and options. Our reform vision is that DESA should become a more prominent voice of the UN in sustainable development and help to credibly raise ambitions for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda globally. Tasked with economic and social affairs, DESA could serve as the multilateral hub for advancing universality, assisting all countries (including high-income countries) in striving for sustainable devel¬op¬ment and coordinating global policies towards advancing the global common good. This vision calls for a department that is intellectually brilliant, politically capable and impartial in bringing together the whole UN system. As a basic condition, DESA reform requires vigorous and consistent support from member states. The power of the Secretary-General (SG) and his heads of department to reorganise the structures are limited by member states’ oversight, which is mainly executed in the UN’s budgetary bodies. Moreover, DESA’s substructures have expanded organically around mandated tasks, creating a highly decentralised entity with various overlapping activities, thereby raising the stakes of reform. The most recent reform attempts of DESA have stag¬nated in a geopolitical climate of mistrust and opposing priorities along the divisions between countries from the political North and South. DESA has been the home base of developing countries – organised as the Group of 77 and China (G77) – at the UN Secretariat, making it an advocate of developing-country interests. Since 2015, several countries from the political North (e.g. United States and EU countries) have called for DESA reform in terms of increasing effectiveness and efficiency, while the G77 has pushed back, suspecting attempts to diminish their power by cutting funding and staff. The situation has become increasingly complex, with growing speculation on the intentions of China, whose diplomats have been leading the department for the last decade. In order to prepare the ground for a comprehensive DESA reform that is beneficial to all stakeholders, we suggest three steps to the SG and his reform team that build upon each other: create greater transparency, substantive knowledge and participation on DESA reform interlink DESA reform with ongoing UN reform processes generate political support from member states and long-term payoffs from DESA reform.

The relationship between modern Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) and development in Africa

This study explores the link between the consumption of Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) and development in Africa. It operationalizes development in terms of the human development index (HDI) and includes as utility services, the mobile phone, fixed phone, broadband internet and wireless internet. The data on utility services came from the online database of the International Telecommunication Union; while those on the HDI originated in the UN Development Programme. The results from logarithmically transformed bivariate (r2 between 0.50 and 0.60) and multiple regression analyses (R2 = 0.72) confirmed the hypothesized positive link between ICT and development.

Sexual orientation and gender identity in Nepal: Rights promotion through UN development assistance

ABSTRACTUnited Nations (UN) development agencies have been actively working to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) rights in Nepal, despite having no official mandate to work on these rights. This presents an important example of how such agencies are able to act independently to set their own agenda and illustrates the “open system” approach to international bureaucracies. It also suggests that these agencies have the potential to be important instruments of LGBTI rights promotion outside the traditional human rights machinery such as the Human Rights Council and various committees. Based on extensive interview research as well as documentary evidence, this article traces the origins of the UN's engagement with LGBTI rights. It then discusses the work of UN agencies in South Asia, and Nepal in particular, focusing on the UN Development Programme, the UN Children's Fund, UNAIDS, and UN Women. Political changes in Nepal since 2006 have opened it up for change in its approach to these rights, and UN agencies have worked actively to change both legal norms and social attitudes. The conclusion considers whether these lessons are applicable to other states and whether the UN development machinery must be considered an important ally in pursuing LGBTI rights worldwide.

South-South Cooperation and Change in International Organizations

Using the examples of the UN Development Programme and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, this article aims to analyze how the role of international organizations (IOs) is being changed through the incorporation of South-South cooperation (SSC) narratives and practices into their activities. Despite increased interest in the role of SSC in global governance, few empirical researchers get inside these organizations to see and analyze how this form of cooperation impacts IOs and how the latter adapt to these changes. Based on fieldwork and participant observation, the article presents some results on the mechanisms of IOs in their efforts to permanently readapt to the international environment and, at the same time, participate in the configuration of the international scene. The main argument is that the revival of SSC by rising powers has offered them an opportunity to establish individual and collective strategic partnerships with IOs. In doing so, these powers used SSC modalities to engage severa...

Vertical Funds: New Forms of Multilateralism

AbstractThe United Nations and other multilateral organizations have always been prominent in the health field. UN agencies like the World Health Organization (WHO), however, have come increasingly under the influence of major individual donors which provide earmarked funding. Since 2000, two major vertical funds in the health field – the Global Fund and the GAVI Alliance – provide new models of multilateralism and their funding patterns, together with those of WHO, are examined in some detail. We review the extent to which the two new funds and WHO conform to traditional definitions of multilateralism by reference to several test areas: degrees of concentration of funding sources; the influence of individual funders; sustainability; and transparency. We also draw lessons from the analysis for the UN development organizations.

SOLAR SYSTEMS FOR RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS IN ACCORDANCE WITH OPERATING CONDITIONS OF THE REPUBLIC OF BELARUS

Solar systems are actively applied for heat supply of buildings in Europe. Usage of solar energy for heat supply of residential buildings is considered as rather efficient for the Republic of Belarus because total amount of direct and scattered solar radiation entering horizontal surface is equivalent to an average European index for the climate of Belarus. The paper analyzes an existing dependence on determination of solar system efficiency and proposes an amended formula for calculations while designing solar consumption systems and its legitimacy has been experimentally proved. A scheme of an experimental unit with explanations and a brief description for execution of experiments and main results of the completed investigations have been presented in the paper. Experiments have been carried out for solar systems with natural and forced coolant circulation. Attention has been paid to obtaining maximum possible temperature potential of the coolant during operation of the solar system within periods of high and low solar radiation intensity. Recommendations on practical application of solar systems for multi-storey residential buildings houses and mansion-type houses have been given in the paper. The paper presents technological principles of constructing “passive” solar heating devices. A comparison of traditionally applied and proposed alternative solar systems has been made for operational conditions in Belarus. The paper proposes a solar system for hot water supply of multi-storey buildings. The proposed system has found its first realization in the Republic while designing and constructing an energy-efficient demonstration 10-storey residential building in Mogilev within the framework of the UN Development Program project and Global Environment Fund “Improvement of energy efficiency for residential buildings in the Republic of Belarus”

Development Cooperation: Between the Global and Regional Institutions: The Case of the UN Development Cooperation Forum and the OECD Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation

This paper is a first attempt to apply the regime complex analysis to the issue area of international development cooperation mainly applied for the study of international trade and environment regimes. We focus on the interactions between the UN Development Cooperation Forum (DCF) and the OECD-led Global Partnership for Effective Development (GPEDC). Following a synthetic approach combining the realist and institutionalist IOs theories, and drawing also from the literature on the interrelations between global and regional institutions, we tried to relate the strategic actions of state actors, mainly traditional and emerging development cooperation providers, to the dynamics of the interaction between the DCF and the GPEDC, and its observed patterns: cooperation, competition and division of labour.