By Steen Jorgensen and - -
WASHINGTON, Feb 1 2005 (IPS)

Economic growth is essential for the world to meet the social agenda spelled out 10 years ago in Copenhagen and the objective of reducing global poverty by 50 percent by 2015, writes Steen Jorgensen, Director of Social Development at the World Bank. In this article, Jorgensen writes that growth needs to be socially balanced and therefore development efforts must generate institutions that promote an inclusive approach to economic development, sound governance structures by which authorities are accountable to regular citizens, and a decision-making process that favours consensus-building instead of division and exclusion, which lead to conflict and marginalisation. There is now empirical evidence that social progress is, in many cases, not only a key factor but even a precondition to sustained economic growth. Social investments during good times paid off during crisis and enabled communities to bounce back faster. Decades of development experience have shown that when societies are guided by the key principles of inclusion, cohesion, and accountability, development efforts are more successful and lasting.

The gap between rich and poor has widened in spite of the progress made in many developing countries since the 1995 Copenhagen Summit on Social Development.

This week, as the world community comes together at the United Nations Headquarters for the 10-year review of the Copenhagen Commitments, millions are still suffering from poverty, natural disaster, war, disease, and violence. Many young men and women around the world feel excluded from the promises of globalisation.

Many are not able to reap the benefits of increased access to world markets and globalisation. In some countries in Latin America, for example, the income of the wealthiest 20 percent of households is 30 times greater than that of the poorest 20 percent.

In East Asia, more than 700 million people in the region live on less than 2 dollars a day, with the tsunami now adding an additional burden for the poor.

Africa is the region worst affected by HIV/AIDS, with 70 percent of the world’s 42 million infected people. The pandemic has killed 25 million Africans so far and orphaned more than 12 million others.

Economic growth is essential for the world to meet the social agenda spelled out 10 years ago in Copenhagen and the objective of reducing global poverty by 50 percent by 2015, defined by the Millennium Declaration five years ago.

However, growth needs to be socially balanced and therefore development efforts must generate institutions that promote an inclusive approach to economic development, sound governance structures by which authorities are accountable to regular citizens, and a decision-making process that favours consensus- building instead of division and exclusion, which lead to conflict and marginalisation. By developing more cohesive, inclusive, and transparent social institutions the prospects of sustained economic growth will be enhanced.

The world won’t meet the promise of the MDG’s without a social dimension to economic growth. People need to have hope that they will have a stake in development and for that they need to have a chance to participate in how their own future will be decided.

There is now empirical evidence that social progress is, in many cases, not only a key factor but even a precondition to sustained economic growth. For example, several developing countries are showing the way forward. Costa Rica in Latin America and Botswana in Africa, countries with the highest human and social development standards in their respective regions, according to the UN, have invested in broad-based access to social services and encouraged active participation in decision making as a way to ensure that the economic dividends of growth benefit the majority of citizens.

A recent independent study of projects financed by the World Bank during the last 30 years shows that when development initiatives address social dimensions in a comprehensive way (such as gender, youth, inclusion and participation), along with economic factors projects result in higher returns which are sustained over time, and more people are lifted out of poverty. In fact, 90 percent of development programmes which included at least four key social dimensions were successful.

Moreover with the increase in the number of crises in the world today, social development is critical to ensuring long-term human security. After all, and as was clearly demonstrated after the tsunami tragedy, stronger communities can better respond to crisis in a more effective and resilient way. When disaster struck in India on December 26th, over 36,000 of fishing households in six districts of the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh saw their livelihoods wiped out in less than one hour by the devastating tsunami.

However, a strong organisation of women quickly established links with development agencies resulting in an effective rehabilitation effort. Strong governments and strong communities came together to respond quickly. In the face of the tsunami disaster, a story of local resilience, and unprecedented cooperation between communities, government, NGOs, financial institutions, and donors emerged.

Social investments during good times paid off during crisis and enabled communities to bounce back faster. Decades of development experience have shown that when societies are guided by the key principles of inclusion, cohesion, and accountability, development efforts are more successful and lasting. This three pillar approach puts people and their security at the centre of the development agenda. This means taking into account local contexts, value systems, and culture, and making them central to development efforts.

2005 can become the year of development, the year of hope, the year of the development breakthrough. Rich countries from the G-8 are elevating the fight against poverty in domestic agendas. In the meantime global icons from Nelson Mandela to Bono and global civil society are campaigning in favour of translating words into deeds.

The international community has a unique opportunity in 2005 to honour the commitments we made in Copenhagen a decade ago and make a real difference in ensuring that the promises made in global gatherings become a reality for the poor and marginalised people of the world.

We need to ensure that people have hope and gain a stake in the development of their societies, and this will only happen if development efforts are based on poor men and women’s needs and aspirations. (END/COPYRIGHT IPS)

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