Marrakesh, Morocco – Countries should do more to address governance bottlenecks, and integrate anti-corruption strategies into their public sector service delivery to achieve the MDGs, said the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) head of Democratic Governance, today. The MDGs are eight internationally-agreed goals that aim to alleviate extreme poverty by 2015, that include action against hunger, maternal and child deaths, disease, gender inequality and environmental degradation. “Some of the major contributing factors to non-achievement of the MDGs are corruption, poor governance, or outright bad governance at local, national, and regional levels,” said Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi, UNDP’s Democratic Governance Practice Director. Fraser-Moleketi was speaking at a meeting of government officials whose states have signed up to the UN Convention against Corruption, the first legally binding international pact that promotes global cooperation on fighting corruption. More than 140 countries participated in the meeting - the fourth Conference of the State Parties to the UN Convention against Corruption – that focused on the prevention of, and fight against, corruption for the achievement of the MDGs. Fraser-Moleketi also noted that the recent economic crisis had threatened development gains made so far. “The effects of the crisis have been unevenly felt within and between regions, as well as social classes and professional groups,” she said, emphasizing that it is the poor and vulnerable sections of the population that suffer most the consequences of corruption. To support countries in their efforts to step up MDG achievement at both the national and local levels, UNDP also launched a series of reports providing an overview of corruption risks, and showcasing successful initiatives from various countries including Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, and the Philippines, that integrate anti-corruption efforts into the health, education and water sectors. In addition, UNDP is also working with transition countries in the Arab region, including Egypt, Libya and Tunisia, on how to practically use the UN Convention on Corruption as a platform to promote accountability and transparency. With more than 100 active initiatives around the world, UNDP works with countries to combat corruption by providing technical and financial support to assist develop national anti-corruption laws, enforce international conventions and establish national integrity bodies for transparency and accountability.
Posted on: Sat, 24 Aug 2013 00:08:44 +0000