Eval u a tion Off i c e Uni t ed Nations Devel o p m e n t Progra m m e ERA D I C ATE EXTREME POVERTY AND HUNGER ERAD I C ATE EXTREME POVERTY AND HUNGER ERAD ACH I E VE UNIVERSAL PRIMARY EDUCATION ACH I E VE UNIVERSAL PRIMARY EDUCATION ACH I E VE U PRO M O TE GENDER EQUAL I T Y AND EMPOWER WOMEN PROM O TE GENDER EQUAL I T Y AND EMPO REDUCE CHILD MORTAL I T Y REDUCE CHILD MORTAL I T Y REDUCE CHILD MORTAL I T Y REDUCE CHIL IM P R OVE MATERNAL HEALTH IMPROVE MATERNAL HEALTH IMPROVE MATERNAL HEALTH IMPROV COM B AT HIV/AIDS,MA L ARIA AND OTHER DISEASES COM B AT HIV/AIDS, MA L ARIA AND OTHER DIS ENSURE ENVIRON M E N T AL STAB I L I T Y ENSURE ENVIRON M E N T AL STAB I L I T Y ENSURE ENVIRON M E N T DEV E L OP A GLOB AL PAR TNERSHIP FOR DEVE L OPMENT DEVE L OP A GLOB AL PAR TNERSHIP FOR DE MILLENNIUM DEV E L OPMENT GO ALS REPORTS: AN ASSESSMENT VO LUME I: MAIN REPORT Evaluation Team Team Leader: A. K. Shiva Kumar Team Members: Mário Alberto Adauta de Sousa David Clapp Francis Hansford Kalyani Menon-Sen Shahrbanou Tadjbakhsh National Consultants: Albania Anesti Kashta Bolivia Flavio Escobar Cambodia Beng Hong Socheat Khemro Lesotho Dikokole Mathembiso Maqutu Mongolia Namraisdorj Batchimeg Poland Wociechtek Marchlewski Senegal Diossy Santos Yemen Taha Al-Fusail UNDP Evaluation Office Task Manager: Fadzai Gwaradzimba Evaluation Advisor 1 MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS REPORTS: AN ASSESSMENT Contents Foreword Acronyms Executive Summary iv-vii 1. Background 1 1.1 Purpose of the Assessment 1.2 Approach and Methodology 2. Main findings 5 2.1 Key findings from the Country Studies 2.2 Value addition of the MDG Reports 2.3 Content and quality of the MDG Reports 2.4 Ownership 2.5 Capacity issues 2.6 Advocacy and dissemination 2.7 Linkages and alignment of MDG Reports with national development frameworks and reporting instruments 2.8 Conclusions 3. Implications and Recommendations 23 Annexes: I. List of MDG Goals, Targets and Indicators II. Terms of Reference for the Evaluation III. Countries that have produced MDG Reports: 2001 to April 2003 IV. List of persons met and consulted V. MDG Reports: A look through a gender lens – Executive Summary VI. Statistical capacities of a sample of countries producing MDG Reports 2 Acronyms ADB Asian Development Bank BDP Bureau for Development Policy BoS Bureau of Statistics, Lesotho BWI Bretton Woods Institutions CCA Common Country Assessment CIS Commonwealth of Independent States CO Country Offices CRC Convention on the Rights of the Child CSD Council for Social Development, Cambodia CSO Civil Society Organisations DPMP Department of Population and Manpower Development, Lesotho EO Evaluation Office EU European Union GSCSD General Secretariat - Council for Social Development, Cambodia HDR Human Development Report HDRO Human Development Report Office HIPC Highly Indebted Poor Countries ICPD International Conference on Population and Development IFI International Financial Institution IMF International Monetary Fund INE National Institute of Statistics, Bolivia MD Millennium Declaration MDGs Millennium Development Goals MDGRs Millennium Development Goal Reports NGO Non-governmental Organisation NHDR National Human Development Report ODA Overseas Development Assistance OSG Operations Support Group PMATU Poverty Monitoring and Analysis Technical Unit, Cambodia PRSP Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper RBAP Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific RBEC Regional Bureau for Europe and Countries in Transition RBLAC Regional Bureau for Latin America RBx Regional Bureaux RC Resident Coordinator RR Resident Representative SADC Southern Africa Development Committee UDAPE Unit for Analysis of Social and Economic Policies, Bolivia UN United Nations UNCT United Nations Country Team UNDAF United Nations Development Assistance Framework UNDG United Nations Development Group UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNDP EO UNDP Evaluation Office UNESCAP United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific UNFPA United Nations Fund for Population Activities UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund UNRC United Nations Resident Coordinator UNSG United Nations Secretary General UNTG United Nations Theme Group WB World Bank 3 WHO World Health Organisation 4 Foreword The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are central to the mission of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and indeed the United Nations (UN) system as a whole. The MDG Reports, which track progress towards the Goals have the potential to become the centre piece of effective public campaigns to build momentum to achieve the MDGs. This evaluation report presents the findings of a forward-looking assessment of the Millennium Development Goals Reports that was conducted by the UNDP Evaluation Office between February and May 2003. The assessment originated with the request of UNDP central units and the Regional Bureaux who were concerned about improving the quality and use of the MDGRs. The evaluation has assessed the value addition of the MDGRs and their content and quality, issues of ownership and capacity, and the alignment and linkage with other country level reporting processes. The evaluation raises pertinent issues and concerns for improving reporting at the country level. The findings and lessons of this evaluation are important contributions to the ongoing debates on how the UN and development partners’ efforts towards the attainment of MDGs can be substantially strengthened. Significantly, the report underlines the need for better convergence and stronger links between the monitoring and reporting processes of MDGs, Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs), other national comprehensive development frameworks and reporting instruments such as the National Human Development Report (NHDR), Common Country Assessment (CCA) and the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF). UNDP Country Offices (COs) in particular will need to focus on better coordination and harmonisation of UN wide efforts in support of MDGs and PRSPs and their alignment with national development frameworks. A number of people have contributed to the success of this evaluation. We are grateful to the evaluation team which comprised the core team: Shiva Kumar (Bolivia and Mongolia) team leader, David Clapp (Albania & Poland ), Mario Alberto Adauta de Sousa (Lesotho), Francis Hansford (Bolivia), Kalyani Menon-Sen (Mongolia) and Shrarbanou Tadjibakhsh (Senegal). This core group teamed up with eight national consultants for the eight case studies as indicated in brackets: Anesti Kashta (Albania), Flavio Escobar (Bolivia), Beng Hong Socheat Khemro (Cambodia), Dikokole Mathembiso Maqutu (Lesotho), Namaraisdorj Batchimeg (Mongolia), Wociechtek Marchlewski (Poland), Diossy Santos (Senegal) and Taha Al-Fusail (Yemen). We owe a debt of gratitude to the governments of the eight countries studied , the United Nations County Teams (UNCTs), donor partners and national stakeolders for their valuable insights. I would also like to extend special thanks to all the UNDP Resident Representatives and the MDG focal points in the eight countries which were studied and the 24 country offices which provided inputs to the questionnares. Their cooperation and facilitation of the studies was invaluable. Colleagues in all the UNDP Regional Bureaux and central units provided valuable feedback thoughout the process. In the EO, special thanks are due to Fadzai Gwaradzimba, Evaluation Advisor and task manager, who guided and managed the entire exercise including the finalisation of this report; Anish Pradhan, Hajera Abdullahi, Elvira Larrain and Flora Jimenez, for providing technical, administrative and logistical support throughout. Saraswathi Menon Director UNDP Evaluation Office 5 Executive Summary CONTEXT In September 2000, the member states of the United Nations (UN) adopted the Millennium Declaration, which set out, among other things, a series of clear commitments, goals and targets for the achievement of human development. These goals were subsequently transformed into the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The MDGs, which include a call to halve the proportion of people living under extreme poverty, halt and reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS and achieve universal primary education for both boys and girls by the year 2015, reflect growing international consensus on what constitutes human development1 (http://www.undp.org/mdg/). In this respect, the MDGs are very much at the core of United Nations Development Programmes’s (UNDP) mission and that of the entire UN system. A number of initiatives have been set in motion to generate sustained commitment and support country level efforts, and among these are the MDG Reports (MDGRs). MDG reporting is important to the UNDP because the United Nations Secretary General (UNSG) has assigned the Administrator, in his capacity as chair of the United Nations Development Group (UNDG), with the role of coordinating the UN system’s work on the MDGs. The initiative for reporting on the MDGs started in 2001 with Cambodia, Chad, Tanzania and Vietnam producing the first MDGRs. By April 2003, 23 countries had produced MDGRs. Of these, seven were produced in 2001, 16 in 2002 and by April 2003, another three had been released. Two countries, Cameroon and Vietnam, have already produced two MDGRs in the course of 2001 and 2002. At present another 50 countries are in the process of preparing MDGRs due for release by the end of 2003.2 This report presents the findings of the rapid assessment of the MDGRs that was conducted by the Evaluation Office (EO) of the UNDP between February and May 2003. The assessment was undertaken at the request of UNDP central units and Regional Bureaux (RBx) to examine the reporting processes in place and assess the quality, relevance and the value added of the MDGRs in order to assist UNDP and the United Nations Country Teams (UNCTs) to improve reporting on the progress being made towards the attainment of MDGs. It focuses on the following aspects of the MDGRs: (a) value added; (b) content and quality of the MDGRs; (c) country ownership; (d) capacity; (e) advocacy and dissemination; and (f) alignment and linkages with other country level reporting processes.