Tag: Security

Security, justice, education and health rank as the most urgent issues for the people in Somalia

In a consultation recently conducted in Somalia, and despite the severe challenges the country is facing, most people perceived their situation in the past 12 months has improved in the country. Yet the report shows that greater attention and significant improvements must be made in security, justice, education, and health.  

The recently implemented e-consultation, a coordinated effort between the Federal Government of Somalia and UNDP, supported by the SDG Action Campaign, finds that SDG1 – poverty reduction, SDG 2 – food security and nutrition, SDG 3 – health & well-being, and SDG 4 – education, are among those goals in which progress is most notably perceived. Lowest in this ranking are SDG 11 – making cities inclusive, safe and sustainable, SDG 16 – promoting sustainable consumption and production, and SDG 12 – ensuring good and inclusive governance.

The preferred options to tackle these issues and achieve these goals: strengthening of national systems and developing clear strategies and plans. 

Cultural Barriers preventing women´s equal participation in decision making

undp_Women_Lawenforcement

That “women can bring leadership and value to development, when equally represented” was agreed among the majority of participants. The major perceived factor  preventing women’s equal participation in development in Somalia: the existence of cultural barriers, followed by lack of awareness about women’s rights and discrimination.

Why is this relevant?

This report harnesses the voices of a wide number of Somali people, their priorities and expectations, to put forward the key areas for investment in order to achieve the Goals. The initiative was specifically implemented at a first stage with the hope for furthering women’s inclusiveness and give the Federal Government of Somalia a better understanding of what is important to its citizens and the basis to create a strategy for implementing the SDGs.

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Making the people´s voices count 

Consultations allow people to participate effectively in raising their voices to their governments on priorities and on the preferred methods by which these Goals can be achieved and holding them accountable. Through this process we learned some key lessons that will help us better implement these surveys in the future:

  • Consultations are a key tool to better understand people’s perceptions and consider them in planning processes, monitoring implementation of programmes and projects by asking people about their perceptions on service delivery.
  • In order to do this, it is key to reflect what are the findings expected from such a survey: what do we want to listen to? This will help us answer important questions such as: Should the consultation be conducted at a national o local level? What segments of the population do we want to engage? what are their preferred or available options to reach out? Should civil society be engaged?
  • A consultation can support and strengthen an ongoing process and be a useful exercise for the planning and implementation of government plans. Moreover, these exercises are key to improve State legitimacy and build strong institutions.
  • Nationally-owned designed processes are much stronger when linked to global initiatives.  

Read the full report :
Somalia e-Survey NDP-SDGs

Want to take action? Register your interest to translate, distribute or even roll out the survey in your country here: http://myworld2030-citizenadvisor.nationbuilder.com

 

Dili International Conference on the post-2015 Agenda

Next week is the Dili International Conference on the post-2015 agenda, which will take place from the 25th-28th of February. This will help fill something of a gap identified in post-2015 discussions to date, by bringing attention to the priorities of fragile and conflict affected states.

The focus of the conference is “Development for All: Stop conflict, build states and eradicate poverty”, and it aims to:

“provide a country-owned and country-led forum for representatives of the g7+ and Pacific Island countries to contribute to the international conversation about the focus of development beyond 2015. The dialogue will offer a chance to connect principal stakeholders; promote fraternity between the members of the g7+, Pacific Island countries and development partners. It will provide an opportunity to test ideas and build trust, understanding and consensus for action around the areas of mutual interest for inclusion in the post-2015 development agenda.”

This conference also reflects the policy priority among the g7+ group of countries to ensure that the needs of fragile and conflict affected states are reflected in the post-2015 development agenda. The g7+ is a country-owned and country-led global mechanism to monitor, report and draw attention to the unique challenges faced by fragile states. The goal of the g7+ is to “stop conflict, build nations and eradicate poverty through innovative development strategies, harmonized to the country context, aligned to the national agenda and led by the State and its People.”

For further information on the Dili International Conference please visit the conference website here.

A recent speech given in Monrovia by Chair of the g7+, Her Excellency Emilia Pires, is available here, and provides additional background to some of the post-2015 priorities that will be on the table at the conference.