Global Economic Agenda

The Track on Global Economic Agenda choose to focus on a limited set of issues around which a number of feasible proposals could be considered. The priority issues were: mobilizing development finance for MDGs; enhanced debt relief; and funding global public health. These issues were examined from the vantage point of sub-Saharan Africa.

In framing the issue for the Track, three central questions were raised: (a) what is the political process by which the MDGs are framed for the next 10 years?; (b) What particular poverty/development related issues can serve as important strategic entry points that would be appealing to diverse stakeholders who would be willing to commit resources and political support to tackle these issues?; And (c) how could the voices of the poor be heard in these deliberations?

The following topics formed the core program of the Track:

THE ROLE OF DEBT RELIEF IN MEETING THE MDG-TARGETS: Achieving the MDGs would require a substantial increase in the financing of development assistance. However, this is unlikely to happen. In this respect, the need for a renewed and vigorous approach to resolve the external debt problem of developing countries occupies an important role in the agenda of the Track. Deeper and faster debt relief could serve as de facto development finance. This means going way beyond the current HIPC Initiative, which gives the false impression that much is being done in the area of debt relief.

HEALTH AS A GLOBAL PUBLIC GOOD: Goals 4, 5, and6 of the MDG all focus on health. Poor country governments simply lack the resources to extend health services enough to control and avert preventable and treatable diseases and the millions of deaths that result from them every year. Mobilizing financial and other support to develop and strengthen health systems that aim at promoting equitable access to health-care services is central to the work of the track. The key question for track two was: how can we achieve the MDG goals in health, and what kind of new institutions are required? The track in particular focused on the issue of financing for water and sanitation since there are 2.4 billion people living in the developing world without access to adequate sanitation.

Although trade issues have not been assigned as the fourth pillar of the Track, the members of the track recognized that the issue of mobilizing development finance cannot be separated from the need to support the completion of the work program of the Doha Development Round of trade negotiations. Therefore, the issue of trade was mainstreamed in the discussion of the three principal issue areas of the track. Given the significance of agriculture, commodity trade in particular, to Africa's economy and tax base, any discussion on mobilizing finance for development must consider the urgent need of agricultural trade reform. With a level playing field, trade can be a much greater force than aid in reducing poverty. But it requires political will, followed by tangible action.