Evidence and Action Issue 1
The General Assembly resolution A/RES/64/208 (12 March
January 2012
2010) recognized the significant diversity of middle-income
“Despite notable reductions in
countries, along with their achievements and the development and capacity challenges that remain. The 2011 report of
poverty levels, many middle-income
the Secretary-General on development cooperation with
countries face rising inequality, the
middle-income countries (A/66/220) called for enhanced
persistence of extreme poverty, and a lack
engagement and identified priorities in cooperation
Focus on middle-income countries
of adequate social security systems. Further
with those countries. This warrants close
efforts are needed to improve safety nets and
attention from the development
economic security.”
community, including the
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addressing High-Level Economic and
United Nations.
Social Council Meeting, SG/SM13436/ECOSOC/6471, 10 March 2011.
POTENTIAL INITIATIVE RESULTS PILOT
CHANGE
ENGAGEMENT
Achieve universal access to sexual and reproductive health, promote reproductive rights, reduce maternal mortality, and accelerate progress on the ICPD agenda and MDG 5 (A & B)
PEOPLE
RESULTS
ACTION
DEVELOPMENT
enabled by...
UNITED
PARTNER
CHANGE
FOCUS
ENGAGEMENT
CURRENT PILOT
FOCUS DYNAMISM
SOCIAL
UNITED NATIONS POPULATION FUND Programme Division 605 Third Avenue New York, NY 10158 U.S.A. Tel: +1 (212) 297-5000 Email: progdiv@unfpa.org www.unfpa.org
To improve the lives of...
DEVELOPMENT
SOCIAL
The goal...
DYNAMISM
COOPERATION UNITED FOCUS GROWTH
UNFPA Strategic Focus
INEQUALITY
PEOPLE ACTION
POLICY
MIDDLE-INCOME
Middle-income countries: achievements and challenges
UNFPA Pilot Initiative
Over the last two decades, countries have shifted out of the low- and lowermiddle-income groups into the upper-middle- and high-income groups. Many middle-income countries experienced a sharp rebound in economic growth, with the largest countries leading recovery from the 2008-2009 global financial and economic crisis. The income gains, however, have often been accompanied by ‘residual’ development challenges, including: persistent poverty, inequality, the social and economic exclusion of certain populations and an inability to address population challenges or achieve universal access to health care.
In November 2010, UNFPA launched a pilot initiative for middle-income countries. Led by the Programme Division, this initiative intends to operationalize the UNFPA Strategy Toward Middle-Income Countries (February 2010), with a particular focus on implementing the International Conference on Population and Development Programme of Action. It also aims to contribute to strengthening United Nations engagement with these countries through innovative work in three country contexts —Botswana, Brazil and South Africa — as well as possible ‘self-starter’ pilot countries. The essence of the initiative is in spearheading new approaches.
Chart by 1. Countries by World Income Groups, 1996-2001 Countries World Bank IncomeBank Groups, 1996-2011
Objectives of the pilot initiative include: Lower Middle
60
40
20
Number of Countries
Upper Middle
High
60
40
20
0
0
1996
2001
2006
2011
1996
World Bank Classification Year
2006
2001
2011
World Bank Classification Year
Source: EADS Snapshot on World Bank Income Groups, USAID, No.45, July 2011, p.1.
The bottom billion An estimated 960 million poor people or 72 per cent of the world’s poor now live in middle-income countries. They are the new ‘bottom billion’. The largest countries — India, China, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Indonesia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Pakistan — also have the largest poor populations. Out of 110 countries classified by the World Bank as middle-income in 2011, approximately one-third belong to the United Nations category of least developed countries.
Population living on $1.25 per day
Tanzania
Indonesia 66.1
14.7
14.8
18 Madagascar
Mozambique
Bangladesh 76
30.2
11.3
Nigeria 88.6
China 208
35.2 11.5
9.9
Uzbekistan
Brazil
Philippines
Next steps
Vietnam
DR Congo
36
11.5
19.7
• The middle-income context requires catalytic engagement at a strategic level from UNFPA and the United Nations. This engagement consists of an upstream policy dialogue with governments, advocacy, brokering and transfer of knowledge, national capacity development and consensus-building. • Programmatic focus and prioritization are crucial for engagement with middle-income countries. • Strong national ownership of development in these countries calls for closer alignment of United Nations priorities with national/regional priorities. • The diversity of middle-income countries demands very specific and wellcontextualized responses, which in turn requires flexibility. The notion that “not one size fits all” is key. • It is critical for United Nations operations in middle-income countries to become more efficient. This may include sharing responsibilities for technical assistance, and maintaining a presence without necessarily maintaining country offices for all agencies. • The United Nations should place greater emphasis on broad, multi-stakeholder partnerships for development, with increased mutual accountability among partners.
• Current and future programmatic focus. • Means to stimulate South-South cooperation. • Country and regional office roles and profiles. • Resource mobilization mechanisms so countries can play a more active role in development finance. • Resource allocation mechanisms for catalytic and well-targeted funding. • Management of transition from traditional to innovative approaches with new business modalities. • Results-based management to ensure that countries “do more with less”.
29.1
Nepal
Messages from the Botswana meeting include:
Innovative cooperation between UNFPA and middle-income countries would require changes/improvements in:
Ethiopia
India 456
Note: Figures are in millions of people. Source: The Guardian, www.guardian.co.uk/ global-development.
• Collate best practices and challenges in UNFPA and United Nations engagement in the pilot countries. • Outline the required changes in UNFPA and United Nations engagement with middle-income countries in terms of the focus/priorities, strategies/ modalities of engagement, resource mobilization/allocation, staffing, business models and partnerships. Particular attention should be given to the promotion of South-South cooperation. • Facilitate peer review and justify/rationalize new approaches chosen for testing. Extract lessons from each of the pilot countries and highlight similarities and differences. • Find ways to increase the agility and dynamism of UNFPA interventions/ engagement in response to specific country needs and interests. • Fine-tune the UNFPA Strategy Toward Middle-Income Countries based on findings and lessons from pilot countries. • Provide suggestions for the development of a United Nations-wide policy framework for engagement with middle-income countries as part of interagency discussions, building on the Secretary-General’s 2011 report on development cooperation with these countries.
Pakistan
South Africa
RESULTS ENGAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT WORLD
FOCUS
MODEL
UNITEDMIDDLE-INCOME
PILOT
Number of Countries
Low
80
In October 2011, participants in the UNFPA pilot initiative met in Gaborone, Botswana, to share their experiences and best practices and derive first lessons. Hosted by UNFPA-Botswana, the meeting also involved United Nations partners and key national players, including government officials, civil society representatives and academics from the University of Botswana.
PEOPLE
80
Key first lessons
COOPERATION