Ulla Tørnæs, Minister for Development Cooperation

Transcription

1 From goals to results in Danish development assistance

2 The Government has made a priority of achieving better results from development assistance. To a high degree this is a matter of improving the efficiency and focusing the assistance, and the international Paris Declaration is an important starting point. These are changes that will take time and require a lot of effort, but we are well on the way. However, the work is far from over. The implementation of the Paris Declaration in Danish development assistance will also be in focus in the coming years. Ulla Tørnæs, Minister for Development Cooperation

3 Danish development assistance living up to the intentions? The overall objective of Danish development assistance is to contribute to reducing poverty. But in recent years there has been growing recognition of the fact that long-term effects in development cooperation are not best achieved by each individual donor, including Denmark, chasing success and results with its assistance. Donors and recipients must work together to achieve common, general objectives. These objectives were formulated and adopted by the representatives of almost 200 countries in 2000 as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and the joint framework for the development cooperation of donors and recipients was adopted in Paris in 2005 in the form of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness. Danish development assistance is to play a part in the achievement of the MDGs, and it is implemented within the framework of the Paris Declaration. But it is also guided by a number of crosscutting issues and priority areas decided by the Danish Government. The aim of this publication is to provide a brief presentation and stock-taking of the objectives in Danish development assistance with respect to Danish priorities, the Paris Declaration and the overall MDGs to which we contribute. The emphasis is on bilateral assistance in the 16 Danish programme countries, but examples from multilateral assistance are also included. The different themes under the general objective of poverty alleviation do not carry the same weight in Danish development assistance. The most important are the three crosscutting issues: uugender equality uudemocratisation, human rights and good governance uuenvironment There are a further seven priority areas in Danish development assistance: uubusiness uuinternational trade uuclimate uureproductive health uuthe rights of indigenous peoples uuchildren and young people uuprevention of violent conflicts These themes must be included in development assistance where they are relevant. The extent to which this is successful is reported every second year, and every year in the case of business. Strategies have also been drawn up in a number of other areas such as mine clearance and culture. But these themes are typically more limited and are not reported on separately. The three crosscutting issues as well as the priority area of HIV/ AIDS must be incorporated in all Danish development assistance, and annual reporting for all themes is to ensure that attention is constantly paid to the degree to which this is successful in practice. Objectives and strategies of Danish development assistance can be found on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at 1

4 1 The results of development assistance Danish development assistance is to contribute to creating a long-term effect in the form of sustainable development. The primary aim of performance management is not to demonstrate the results of Danish assistance but to check whether Danish-supported activities are proceeding according to plan or if adjustments are called for. Joint results greater effect It is important to distinguish between the immediate results of development assistance and its long-term effect. The long-term effect is, naturally, the most important, and Danish assistance best contributes to this by working closely with the recipients and other donors towards common goals. Gradually, as Danish assistance is to a higher degree granted in the form of contributions to joint programmes, we must accustom ourselves to the fact that it will become more difficult to point to immediate results of Danish development assistance in particular. On the other hand, there is a good prospect of the long-term effect being greater. Nonetheless it is important to set objectives for the results of Danish Fulfilment of targets in the programmes As an indicator of the general progress in Danish financed programmes, one target per component has been selected, making a total of 268 targets in Goal fulfilment in 2007 is, in general, satisfactory: 79 percent of the targets were fulfilled very satisfactorily or satisfactorily; meaning that more than 60 percent of the target was fulfilled. The level is very constant from 2004 up to and including 2006 is has been at percent. Percent fulfilled Target fulfilment Targets Percent Very satisfactorily Satisfactorily Less than satisfactorily Not satisfactorily development assistance and to pursue them, because this gives a very necessary indication of the extent to which the programme or project is proceeding according to plan and whether adjustments are necessary along the way. For example, if the target of a programme is to drill 100 wells in the course of a year and only 50 are drilled, the reason for this has to be examined. Was it because the recipient country ran into budget problems so that the last 50 wells had to be postponed? Or was it discovered that the planned user payment could only ensure the maintenance of 50 wells, resulting in the level of ambition being reduced? Drilling 100 wells is not a target in itself. The goal is to make sure that the population obtains better water supply. This is better achieved by drilling 50 wells that can be maintained than 100 that cannot. In other words, the immediate results only serve as a management tool, but they do not tell very much about the success or failure of a programme. This takes time to evaluate, because successful development is sustainable development. Whether this is achieved can only be assessed by, for example, seeing if the well also gives clean water five years after it has been drilled. More generally, the objective of improving the water supply is to enhance the population s state of health and to reduce poverty. These things are, however, only measured at intervals of several years and rarely in the precise group that is the target of Danish efforts. This makes it difficult to use these measurements directly in the annual monitoring of Danish development assistance. This connection is assessed by using actual evaluations. 2

5 However, this does not mean that one must simply wait until the long-term effects have been established. As mentioned, it is important to continuously assess whether things are going in the right direction. The desired results must be clear from the commencement of an activity and the achievement of results is to be continuously monitored. Denmark works actively together with its programme countries, the World Bank and the OECD to develop constantly better methods for measuring the results of development assistance and its long-term effects. Connection between objectives and results often unclear There are many complex causal relations behind the development processes and poverty in the Danish programme countries, making it difficult to assess the direct connection between efforts and results. Even in rich and well-ordered countries, many projects are more expensive than expected and still do not achieve their objectives. It is even more difficult to plan, establish and follow goals in the most impoverished countries. Danish development assistance is implemented under very different political and social conditions, and the assistance never stands alone. The most important driving force in development is the effort of the developing country itself and Denmark is typically one of several donors. The national goals for poverty reduction of each developing country constitute the overall objectives for Danish development assistance and are an indication of the development in the country. However, the picture is complicated by the fact that external factors such as conflicts and disturbances or HIV/AIDS, for example, can mean that the development takes a wrong turn. An example serves to illustrate the linkage between overall and specific objectives. One of the global MDGs is quite specifically to reduce child mortality by two-thirds from 1990 to Some partner countries have reduction of child mortality as a national objective. The Danish development assistance strategy for that country will take its point of departure in this and concretise it, for example within a health programme that may focus on certain provinces. An indicator for goal fulfilment in these provinces will be the extent to which child mortality has been reduced precisely there. This indicator can be utilised by the national authorities and in the reporting to the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is much more difficult to extract separate results in the form of better child health for the Danish-supported activities. In addition, Denmark typically joins forces with other donors and, among other things, grants budget support that better enables the recipient country to implement its own national programmes. In these cases it is difficult to point directly to concrete results and say, We achieved that! Here, like other donors, we must settle for saying, We made a contribution to that! In the end it is the final result that counts: Did the children become healthier? Cooperation saves human life In the 1990s every sixth child in Tanzania died before the age of five. Today only every ninth child in Tanzania dies before its fifth birthday. This was shown in a large-scale joint evaluation in 2007 of Tanzania s healthcare system. In contrast to earlier evaluations, this evaluation did not stop at an examination of efforts by individual donors but analysed the overall healthcare system. This means that it did not say anything about the direct results of Denmark s largescale, lengthy assistance to health in Tanzania, but a great deal about the effect of the many different players roles and contributions: the many donors, Tanzania s own government and private suppliers of health services in Tanzania. The conclusion was clear: the donors get most development assistance for their money and Tanzania gets most health when all parties work according to common objectives and plans. 3

6 2 Global development results With the adoption of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) in 2000, the world adopted common goals and a common framework for global development and thus also for development assistance. They could be called a global yardstick rod for development. The MDGs, therefore, form an excellent point of departure for examining what development assistance, including the Danish contribution, has contributed to in the 16 Danish programme countries. The end of 2007 marked that we were midway in the period designated by the global community in 2000 as the deadline for achieving the MDGs. Globally, it appears that several of the MDGs can be achieved, but equally that this will require a significantly increased development assistance effort and that the progress is very unevenly distributed. There is in particular a general problem in achieving several of the goals in sub-saharan Africa. The following is merely a selection more complete information is available on the UN websites concerning the development goals. Goal 1: Eradicate poverty and hunger Everything indicates that the overriding goal for global development efforts halving the number of people living on less than one dollar a day and those afflicted by famine will be achieved by 2015: the share of the poor had already been reduced from 29 percent in 1990 to 19 percent in 2004, and is expected to end up at approximately 10 percent in That is far more than the halving that was the target. This is first and foremost due to a number of years growth in two of the most populous nations in the world: India and China. Sub-Saharan Africa is still lagging behind, and all in all will probably not have halved poverty before In addition, the overall progress is accompanied in some areas by increased inequality between rich and poor. The share of the population who are undernourished is also showing a positive trend in many countries, although an enhanced effort is required. The positive development in a large number of countries means that within the foreseeable future Danish development assistance will be phased out in three Danish programme countries: Egypt, Bhutan and Vietnam. However, cooperation with the three countries is expected to continue in some areas such as environment and trade. Bangladesh Benin Bolivia Burkina faso Egypt Ghana Kenya Mali Mozambique nepal nicaragua Tanzania uganda Vietnam Zambia Share of population who are undernourished, programme countries (percent) no data available for Bhutan 4

7 Goal 2: Universal education Many more children are attending school in recent years in particular, and in 2005 the share of children in developing countries receiving primary education had reached 88 percent. In this area too there is a need to increase efforts if the goal of universal education is to be achieved. Denmark contributes directly to the education sector in eight countries and, as the diagram shows, great improvements have taken place in these countries in the space of a few years. In future the focus in the area of primary education will to an increasing extent be on the number of children, girls especially, who do not merely attend school but actually complete their schooling, and on the quality of the education. Goal 3: Promote gender equality and women s rights Girls access to education is a good indicator of gender equality. More girls are attending school all over the world, and in 2005 many countries achieved the goal of an equal number of boys and girls in primary school. However, in sub-saharan Africa there are still only 86 girls at school for every 100 boys. In the area of primary schooling, progress can thus be seen in evening out the inequality in the enrolment of boys and girls. In the rest of the education system, however, there have been few improvements in general, and women are still lagging behind in terms of participation in economic and political life. In Africa there has been relatively good progress in the share of women in national parliaments, even though there is still a good way to go in most countries, as shown in the diagram for the programme countries in sub-saharan Africa. Benin Bhutan Bolivia Burkina faso Mozambique nepal nicaragua Zambia Benin Burkina faso Ghana Kenya Mali Mozambique Tanzania uganda Zambia Share of children in primary school (percent) Share of women in national parliaments (percent) Source: Global Monitoring Report 2008 (World Bank), www. un.org.millenniumgoals and mdgs.un.org/unsd/mdg 5

8 2 Goals 4 and 5: Reduce child and maternal mortality Although the majority of reasons for children dying can be prevented, in the developing countries almost 10 million children under the age of five still die every year. While this is a considerable reduction from the 13 million deaths in 1990, it is very far from the two-thirds reduction that is the goal before The situation is worst in sub-saharan Africa, where 158 children out of every thousand do not live to see their fifth birthday. HIV/AIDS in southern Africa and malaria in western Africa are thought to be the most important reasons for the failure to achieve the MDG, but violent conflicts, for example at the Horn of Africa, also play a big role. However, positive stories do exist. A large-scale international campaign was instrumental in reducing mortality due to measles by 75 percent in Africa between 2000 and 2005 and by over 60 percent in the world as a whole. We are also far from the goal of a 75 percent reduction by 2015 in mortality among women in connection with pregnancy and birth. More than half a million women die every year from complications during birth. Once again the situation is worst in Africa, where maternal mortality has been reduced by a mere 3 percent over the past 15 years. Denmark contributes directly to building up health systems in six countries, but there are few real improvements in child mortality in these countries either. Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases To a great extent efforts have been successful to put a halt to the spread of HIV also in sub-saharan Africa, where the number of people infected with HIV has stabilised in many countries. Mozambique is the only programme country with Danish HIV/AIDS efforts that is still experiencing a rise in the number of people with HIV. On the global level the number of new HIV cases has fallen by 10 percent since While there are some reservations about the figures, according to UNAIDS there has also been a drop in the number of fatalities due to AIDS in 2007, when about 2 million people died of the disease, approximately 75 percent of these in Africa where AIDS is still one of the greatest causes of death. Women are worst affected with over 60 percent of the cases. Bhutan Ghana Kenya Mozambique Tanzania uganda Child mortality under five years of age (per 1000 births) Bhutan Ghana Kenya Mozambique Tanzania uganda People living with HIV (percent year olds)

9 Working together, we can still be the generation that sends extreme poverty in Africa to the history books. Desmond Tutu, Archbishop Goal 7: Ensure environmentally friendly and sustainable development The results are mixed when it comes to MDG 7. The most promising development is in access to clean drinking water. More than 1.2 billion people have obtained better access to clean drinking water since 1990, inter alia in the programme countries where Denmark supports the water sector, as shown in the diagram. On the other hand, access to improved sanitation is far from the MDG of halving the numbers without access to improved sanitary conditions. Forest cover is an indicator of environmental development. In sub-saharan Africa this has been reduced by 3 percent since Biodiversity is also heading in the wrong direction. It is still being reduced despite attempts to counter this development by increasing the overall acreage of protected areas. Goal 8: Global partnership for development With the eight and final MDG, the rich countries of the world have made a commitment to working for the interests of the developing countries, among other things through increased development assistance that is better coordinated and by better access to trade. Total development assistance from the industrialised countries has increased since 1990, culminating in 2005 due to extensive debt relief. In 2007 Denmark granted almost DKK 14 billion in development assistance. This corresponds to 0.81 % of Danish GNP, meaning that Denmark is one of the countries granting most assistance per capita and among the few that live up to the UN target that development assistance should at minimum amount to 0.7 GNP. Bangladesh Benin urkina faso Ghana Kenya uganda Vietnam Zambia Share of population with access to clean drinking water (percent) a small reduction since In 2005 the EU and the world s leading industrialised countries, the G8, declared at a summit in Gleneagles in Scotland that up to 2010 they would make a special effort for Africa being able to achieve the MDGs. Out of the concrete commitments concerning increased assistance made at the summit, the G8 countries have only delivered about 14 percent at this point in time, half-way to The development is not encouraging in the area of trade, either. In summer 2008 talks broke down in the Development Round in the World Trade Organisation, WTO. The talks commenced in 2001 and were to procure better access for the developing countries to the markets of the rich countries and ensure fairer world trade. But in relation to global wealth, things are heading in the wrong direction. In 2006 the rich countries total development assistance was only 0.31 percent of GNP, and this actually represents 7

10 3 Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness In 2005 several years work on streamlining development cooperation culminated when representatives of donor countries, developing countries and multilateral organisations agreed on the Paris Declaration on aid effectiveness. It lays down that Denmark and other donors must be ready to take a step back and allow the recipient countries take ownership of the development process. Development cooperation presupposes team work and is not an area suited to individual players drawing attention to themselves. What we aim at Denmark has not merely committed to the Paris Declaration, but also participated actively in the international process which led to the Declaration. Denmark is now working to ensure that the intentions in the Declaration are realised. Denmark has set compliance with intentions in the five main areas of the Declaration as a target for Danish development assistance, including achieving concrete improvements by 2010 on the ten indicators upon which the donor countries are measured. The contents of the Paris Declaration are described in more detail on page 28. What we do Progress has been achieved in the work of streamlining development cooperation but not enough. In 2008 an interim evaluation is to be conducted in Accra, Ghana of the progress made in achieving the objectives in the Paris Declaration. Evaluation and statistical surveys of donors and partner countries efforts to achieve the objectives have been carried out prior to the summit, and they conclude that significant changes have taken place in the way in which donors and partner countries work together. A large number of partner countries have improved their management of public funds, and the donors have become better at coordinating their activity in the individual countries. In general, however, the interim evaluation shows that the progress is often too slow if the goals are to be achieved. Since 2005 Denmark has worked purposively to grant its development assistance in agreement with the objectives established in the Paris Declaration, and the preliminary statistical statement from 2008 shows that progress has been made. With the Paris Declaration, Denmark has committed to achieving concrete objectives on ten different indicators by 2010, and the statement shows that the 2010 objectives in the Paris Declaration have already been achieved for five of the indicators. It is important to keep in mind that the achievement of the objectives for the Paris Declaration s indicators is not a goal in itself but a means of achieving better development assistance, which hopefully will be able to ensure swifter fulfilment of the overall goal of development assistance: to reduce poverty. Denmark s goal fulfilment of the Paris Declaration stocktaking of the individual indicators 2005 is the basis year or year 0 for the Paris Declaration, and in this year a survey was drawn up of individual country scores in relation to each of the 12 indicators. The donors have direct influence on eight of the indicators. Two of them are divided into a and b, and the donors can therefore be measured on a total of ten indicators. In 2005 figures were put on the position of the individual countries and the donors in relation to each indicator, and in summer 2008 the results were available for the degree of progress achieved on the indicators from 2005 to They are a good pointer as to where Denmark is heading in the right direction to achieve the objectives for 2010, and the areas in which even greater efforts must be made. Denmark s progress in terms of the ten indicators is reviewed below and the status in 2007 in relation to the point of departure in 2005 is illustrated. 8

11 Support reported on the national budget indicator 3 Use of national systems indicator 5a objective for objective for 2010 A great part of development assistance is disbursed outside of the state budgets of the recipient countries. This makes it difficult for the governments and parliaments of the countries to obtain a full overview of the funds available and make general priorities. The objective for 2010 is that 85 percent of the assistance is to be reported on the state budgets. In 2005 only 45 percent of the Danish development assistance that was disbursed was reported on the state budget in the recipient country. The interim result for 2007 shows that Denmark has become better at ensuring registration of Danish development assistance on the state budget, but also that continued efforts are necessary. Coordinated capacity development indicator objective for 2010 Building capacity in the recipient countries has long been recognised as an important element in development assistance, and it is important that the donors coordinate their assistance in the area and organise it according to the wishes of the recipients. Indicator 4 shows the degree to which this takes places. In 2005 Denmark had actually already largely fulfilled the objective of the Paris Declaration on this point, but is bound by the more ambitious objective of 100 percent adopted by the EU. Denmark is well on the way towards this goal, but must continue to critically examine whether the contribution to capacity building and technical assistance in particular can be improved. Previously when Denmark supported national programmes, the Danish-financed activities were often carried out according to Ministry of Foreign Affairs guidelines, bypassing the ministry concerned in the recipient country. Denmark s target is that 53 percent of the development assistance in 2010 is to use and thereby strengthen the national systems in the relevant ministries for budgeting, financial reporting and auditing. Praise and criticism for Denmark in the Paris Declaration Denmark is well on the way to realising the Paris Declaration and staff at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and at the embassies have adopted the Paris objectives. This is the conclusion of a new evaluation of the efforts of several countries to translate the Paris Declaration into practical development assistance. But the evaluation also states that in some cases the fear of corruption in the partner countries has made Denmark reluctant to utilise national systems for administering development assistance. The evaluation points out, moreover, that the many specially prioritised themes and crosscutting issues in Danish development assistance may be difficult to combine with the desire to strengthen the partner countries ownership of the development process. Finally, a contradiction may exist between the wish to transfer more responsibility to the partner countries on the one hand, and on the other hand to ensure results in the shorter term. 9

12 3 In 2005 Denmark was low: only 29 percent of development assistance was run through the national systems. Since then the embassies in all the programme countries have worked hard to alter this modus operandi, and the 2007 figures show that the national systems are used in 56 percent of development assistance. This means that the objective for 2010 has just been achieved. In concrete terms this means that over half of the Danish funds are now part of the recipient country s budget planning, and that Danish development assistance following approval by the national parliament is entered in the books of the ministries themselves. In addition, more and more audit reports are drawn up by the countries own national auditors. This has been made possible inter alia by Denmark supporting national institutions such as the National Audit Office. It is good that the objective has been achieved, but more remains to be done to strengthen this area. Use of country procurement systems indicator 5b objective for 2010 The Danish objective for 2010 is that 63 percent of the development assistance spent on procurement is to utilise the recipient countries public tendering and procurement systems. This is a much debated area because if the systems do not meet international standards corruption can occur. On the other hand, the systems will not improve if they are not utilised. But progress must take place in step with it being ensured that the national procurement systems are improved and that the staff are educated and trained. The score for Denmark on this indicator was 45 percent in 2005, while 69 percent of Danish financed procurement now makes use of the national systems, meaning that the 2010 objective has also been achieved here. Parallel implementation units indicator objective for 2010 One area where Denmark has had to make a particularly big effort is in the use of so-called parallel implementation units. Previously it was not unusual to see small Danish units in the recipient countries with a Danida adviser as boss of the Danish financed programmes and their implementation. The offices were specially set up to implement the Danish financed activity. They were not part of the relevant ministry or department in the recipient country and were typically closed down when the development assistance terminated. In 2005 Denmark had precisely 3.8 parallel units per programme country. In 2007 the average had fallen to 2.2. This is a considerable improvement but there is still a long way to the target of an average of only 1.3 parallel units per programme country by In Burkina Faso in the course of 2006 efforts were actually successful to remove all parallel units, and all Danish financed programmes in Burkina Faso are now implemented through the national structures. Predictability in development assistance indicator objective for 2010 It is important for the partner countries to get to know in good time how much development assistance is on the way from the individual donors to enable them to prioritise and plan their development activities. The Paris Declaration s predictability criterion requires that the donors give notice of their development assistance in good time and that the authorities of the partner 10

13 The challenge of the Paris Declaration is to reform the way donors and partner countries work together to meet common objectives and make best use of limited development resources. Put simply, the Paris Declaration is about changing behaviour. Richard Manning, DAC Chair in the OECD Development Co-operation Report countries actually register the assistance on their budgets. There is,thus, a close connection with indicator 3. At first sight, Danish development assistance is going in the wrong direction on this point: in percent of Danish development assistance was registered by the partner countries, while it was only 46 percent in However, the figures should be regarded with some reservations, because there are very great differences between the capacity of the countries to register development assistance on their budgets, but they still underline the fact that Denmark must make a greater effort to ensure predictability and integration of development assistance in the budgets of the partner countries. Untied support indicator objective for 2010 A great deal of development assistance was previously granted with the requirement that it should be used in the donor country for purchasing goods, equipment, consultant or other services. But if development assistance is not tied to procurement in specific places, it can be used much more flexibly and to greater effect. In percent of Danish development assistance was tied to procurement in Denmark. The share for 2007 has now been calculated at a mere 2 percent, and the objective that development assistance should be more untied has thus been achieved. Use of programme support indicator objective for 2010 By programme support is meant both budget support and development assistance granted directly to realise the recipient country s own policies and plans. This can take place by means of general sector approaches (SWAps). Even though Denmark is close to the declared objectives in this area, there is still room and a desire to align more to national strategic frameworks. Coordinated missions indicator 10a objective for 2010 To reduce pressure on the recipient countries scant resources and the so-called transaction costs of development assistance, it is important that the donors mutually coordinate the many missions they send out to review, monitor, and evaluate etc. to the greatest extent possible. In 2005 only 33 percent of Denmark s missions were coordinated with other donors. In 2007 the figure had risen to 44 percent. This actually fulfilled the Paris Declaration s objective of 40%, but is still not good enough as Denmark is obliged to use the more ambitious objective of 66 percent adopted by the EU. Coordinated analytical work indicator 10b objective for 2010 Like indicator 10a, the aim of this indicator is reduce costs in development assistance. 10b measures whether the donors draw on joint analytical reports when planning development assistance. Denmark does so to a high degree and even though it has achieved the objective in terms of this indicator, will continue its efforts. 11

14 4 Gender equality Danish development policy is to promote equality between women and men and contribute to ensuring that both genders participate in the development process on an equal footing. In order to achieve the objectives of development policy, it is crucial to build on the resources and potential of both men and women. Promoting women s position and status is a goal in itself, but it also necessary for combating poverty. In 2007 Denmark upgraded it efforts for women, among other things by earmarking DKK 140 million extra for strengthening women in Africa. What we do Denmark is now supporting special interventions to promote gender equality in 13 programme countries. The special interventions are, in particular, aimed at furthering equal rights and women s economic and political influence. Denmark can promote efforts that are quick and targeted through the special interventions. But to an increasing extent activities to promote gender equality are also being incorporated into the sector programmes. Between 1997 and 2007 Denmark financed approximately 400 efforts for gender equality and for women, of which about half took place in the programme countries. The distribution between thematic areas is shown in the diagram on the opposite page. The work of mainstreaming gender equality issues in development assistance as a whole is also well under way, as appears from a review undertaken in spring 2008 of the gender equality aspect in Danish development assistance. It also establishes that gender equality is by now well incorporated in many of the programmes, but that follow-up and documentation should be strengthened. While allowance was made for gender equality at the preparatory phase in more than half of the programmes reviewed, it is in general more difficult to document what actually emerges from this gender equality effort. But there are many good examples of successful efforts, the review concludes, and recommends that the good examples should be used as a source of inspiration in the work ahead. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has strengthened its handling of the gender equality issue in recent years, inter alia by introducing a rolling plan in all phases of the sector programmes that are to describe specific measures to integrate the gender equality issue and by drawing up a Gender Tool Box with good ideas for embassies in particular about how the gender issue can concretely be considered. What we aim for The 2004 strategy for gender equality in Danish development assistance lays down that Danish assistance is to contribute to furthering: uuequal rights for women and men uuequal access to and control of resources for women and men uuequal opportunities to achieve political and economic influence for women and men. How we do it Gender equality objectives are to be achieved by: uutaking both men and women into account during all phases of the programmes often described as mainstreaming uuimplementing at least one special intervention in each programme country with a view to creating structural changes to promote gender equality uustrengthening the capacity and network of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the Danish and international resource base in the gender equality field uuincorporating gender equality considerations in action plans for the multilateral organisations. 12

15 Gender discrimination is unjust and unwise. It is unfair to the women and girls affected, and it is costly to society at large. We cannot accept that half of a population is excluded from basic rights to own property and decide their own destiny. Ulla Tørnæs, Minister for Development Cooperation How much does Denmark spend on gender equality? Almost DKK 2.3 billion was utilised in 2007 to finance activities that directly or indirectly contribute to promoting gender equality and improving conditions for women. This corresponds to 18 percent of total Danish development assistance. About one third of the amount comprises the special interventions for gender equality. The remainder that is two-thirds of the DKK 2.3 billion is the overall estimate of the value of the mainstreaming of gender equality in other Danish development assistance efforts. Special interventions in the programme countries 217 other Gender equality efforts uuin Uganda Denmark has supported preparatory legislative work and lobbying activity for women s rights in connection with new family legislation. This resulted in, among other things, discriminating parts of the rules for divorce being amended. uuin Bolivia Denmark has supported the inclusion of women in the constitutional assembly, and this led to several provisions in the draft of a new constitution that establish women s rights. In Bolivia Denmark has also supported the prevention of violence against women, inter alia in cooperation with the transport workers trade union. uuin Nepal the share of girls enrolled in primary school rose from 42 percent in 1998 to 48 percent in 2006, and in middle school from 41 to 45 percent. This is not least due to a targeted effort through the Danish support to the education sector uuin Bangladesh Denmark supported the establishment of six crisis centres for battered women. To date 3,861 women have received treatment at the crisis centres, of which 1,868 in 200. uuin Ghana Denmark support contributed to women s participation in the 2006 elections, to many more women standing for election, and to women s share of those elected rising from seven to ten percent Equal rights 82 Better access to economic influence Better opportunities for political influence Torches for gender equality In 2008 the Danish Government launched an international campaign for the third Millennium Development Goal of promoting gender equality and ensuring women better access to political and economic influence. The purpose of the campaign is to increase the focus on gender equality and women up to the UN summit in New York in September 2008, which will undertake a mid-term review of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). During the MDG3 Campaign MDG3 torches will be handed to international celebrities from the business world, political life and international organisations, who commit themselves to making an extra MDG3 effort. 13

16 5 Democratisation, human rights and good governance Human development encompasses not only economic and social welfare, but also means the right to live in assurance of the protection that comes from respect for the rights of the individual as laid down by international conventions. The opportunity for all individuals to engage democratically in the decisionmaking processes is equally an integral aspect of human development. What we do Denmark grants direct support for democratisation, human rights and good governance in all 16 programme countries and in a number of other developing countries. Danish efforts are wide-ranging: Support for preparing and holding elections, to parliaments, to ombudsman institutions, a free press, improvements to the legal system and much more. The table on the next page presents some examples of the results of this work. In addition, consideration for human rights and democracy is well-integrated in approximately one third of Danish programmes within other sectors. This is shown by a 2008 review of the crosscutting issues in bilateral Danish development assistance. There are many examples of the way in which this is done in the different sector programmes: uueducation: Denmark is working for basic schooling being regarded as a right and for the incorporation of democracy and human rights in curricula. uuwater supply: Denmark supports user influence, for instance user groups and water committees and their democratic development uuagriculture and environment: Denmark supports the rights of local inhabitants to make use of land and forest resources as well as local groups organisation uubusiness sector: Denmark supports trade unions and better work environment Support for good governance is an integrated part of many sector programmes, where it is a natural part of building up administrative capacity. As a rule Danish development assistance is implemented by the recipient country s own national institutions, which in itself plays a part in strengthening national capacity and influence. For example, internationally recognised rules and practice for public procurement have been established in many developing countries in recent years, so that all procurement can take place according to one set of rules: their own. The extent to which the recipient countries own systems can be used to administer Danish development assistance funds is always dependent on a concrete analysis of local capacity. What we aim for In 2007 Denmark obtained a new strategy for support to good governance which lists three focus areas: uufighting corruption uudecentralisation and building local administrative capacity uupublic financial management uuthe priorities for working with human rights and democracy come from right back in Partnership 2000 : uudemocratic reforms that strengthen the possibility of popular participation uuthe establishment of a well-functioning legal system uusystematic involvement of civil society, including the development of a free press uusupport for international organisations working to promote democratisation and human rights A new strategy for democratisation and human rights is in preparation. How we do it Since the end of the 1980s promotion of democracy and respect for human rights has been one of the crosscutting issues in Danish development assistance, and democracy and respect for human rights form an important part of the ongoing dialogue with partner countries. Denmark also grants direct support for independent democratisation and human rights activities in all programme countries. 14

17 Consider the transformation in the space of a generation, democracy in Africa has spread from a very few countries to more than one third of the continent. It is hard to predict the future and the change will not be easy or smooth in every country, but never before in world history have so many low income countries become democracies in so short a period of time. Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf How much does Denmark spend on Democratisation, human rights and good governance For 2007, it is estimated that approx. DKK 2.5 billion or 20% of total Danish development assistance was spent on the promotion of democratisation, human rights and good governance. One billion was used in the programme countries, where about half went to targeted programmes, while the remainder was utilised as an integrated part of other sector programmes. Examples of results from programmes for democratisation, human rights and good governance in 2007 Country Activity/Indicator Targets Results Bangladesh Nepal Uganda Vietnam Benin Bolivia No. of local conflicts settled through alternative conflict resolution No. of people who received legal assistance, counselling or mediation No. of vulnerable people who received satisfactory and timely legal aid No. of criminal cases where the accused is assisted by a lawyer or a lay representative No. of municipalities publicising and informing the population about the municipal budget No. of cases dealt with by the Bolivian Ombudsman institution 11,700 13,321 1,500 3,104 4,000 6,455 2,250 2, ,000 15,105 Burkina No. of city halls built in 2007 and initiated Kenya Mozambique Kenya s placing on Transparency International s corruption register No. of ministries introducing the new system for public financial management Support for democracy from below in Nepal Civil rights groups, local radio stations and local centres for conflict mediation are among the many that have received support under the Danish programme for human rights and good governance in Nepal. The programme was launched in 2003 and has been through a couple of turbulent years. The same applies to democracy in Nepal. When the King of Nepal carried out a coup and dismissed the parliament in February 2005, Danish support to state partners such as the judiciary, the election commission and the anti-corruption commission had to be temporarily suspended. Instead, Denmark granted support to some of the many actors outside of the government offices working for a permanent solution to the country s problems. Several hundred groups have been supported throughout the lifetime of the programme, and they have contributed to strengthening democracy from below. Election and democracy have been reintroduced and Danish support to state institutions is expected to be resumed shortly. 15

18 6 The environment By defining poverty alleviation as the overall framework, the long-term aim for the entire environmental assistance is to promote sustainable development in developing countries and to alleviate negative impacts on the environment at global, national and local levels. What we do Consideration for the environment is well incorporated in the great majority of Danish-supported programmes, although there are sectors that lag behind. This is the conclusion of a thematic review from 2008 of the crosscutting issues in Danish development assistance, including the environment. The analysis is based on a review of 25 sector programmes and visits to Ghana and Vietnam, where the country programmes were examined. The review concludes that in general consideration for the environment is taken into account in the sectors that traditionally can have the greatest negative impacts: transport, energy, water and partly agriculture. In these areas it is possible to concretise environmental consideration with the help of special objectives and indicators. It is, however, somewhat more difficult to find evidence of environmental considerations in sectors such as public administration and health. In general, more knowledge is needed of how to integrate consideration for the environment better in these sectors. The review furthermore concludes that the environmental screening note introduced in 2005 is on the whole used in all sectors when new programmes are in preparation, but that it should be improved to become more relevant in sectors where consideration for the environment is not so obvious. Denmark has, inter alia, supported: uustrategic environmental analyses in Ghana, Zambia and Mozambique. For example, in Ghana an analysis has been conducted of the national water sector plan under the national poverty reduction strategy uuthe incorporation of the environment in the curriculum for the primary school in, for example, Benin and Burkina Faso uuenvironmental units in the transport sector and national capacity for carrying out environmental impact assessments of large-scale infrastructure projects in Nicaragua, Tanzania and Zambia uumonitoring of water quality in Burkina Faso and sustainable management of water resources in Kenya and Uganda. What we aim for The 2004 environmental strategy marks out three areas of focus for the effort: uuurban and industrial environment, for example waste management, physical planning, water and sanitation uusustainable energy, for example the development and alignment of environmentally friendly and efficient methods for production and use of energy uusustainable management of natural resources The main objective for the environment as a crosscutting issue is to incorporate consideration for the environment in national poverty reduction strategies (PRSP), development plans and sector strategies. How we do it Since the end of the 1980s the environment has been a crosscutting issue in Danish development assistance. Consideration for the environment must be included in all Danish development assistance and all programmes are to be analysed for potential environmental impacts. Denmark contributes through environmental sector programmes and special environmental assistance in 15 countries, nine of which are programme countries. Denmark supports specific environmental efforts through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and international NGOs. 16

19 How much does Denmark spend on the environment In 2007 Denmark spent approx. DKK 1.9 billion on the environment, corresponding to about 15% of total Danish development assistance. Almost DKK 1.6 billion was spent on the environment in bilateral assistance, the major part of which approx. two-thirds in the special environmental programmes. Examples of results of the environmental programmes from 2007 Country Activity/Indicator Targets Results Bhutan Bolivia Mozambique Nicaragua No. of municipalities supported with management training in the area of natural resources management No. of enterprises in the town of El Alto that have introduced cleaner methods of production Concrete environmental efforts in the city of Maputo in the area of waste removal, water and sanitation etc. No. of cases transferred from the public prosecutor for environment to the judgement of the courts Tanzania No. of village based permits for forest management Vietnam No. of enterprises performing efforts for cleaner production 8 8 Locally based forest management in Tanzania Denmark has supported locally based forest management in Tanzania since 2003, and in 2007 the programme covered as many as 290 villages and around 950,000 hectares of forest. Up to now 35 village councils with support from Denmark have signed agreements with the government about the management of protected forest areas or received permission to make use of the forest for their own villages. In addition, in more than 100 villages beekeeping, wood processing and other economic activities are being developed in the forests. Climate screening It was decided in 2005 that all Danish-funded programmes are to be scrutinised to see whether they make allowance for possible climate change. Climate-proofing of development assistance to the programme countries commenced at the end of 2005 and has now been implemented in all programme countries as well as Cambodia and Niger, a total of 17 countries. Climate screening examines: uuthe way in which climate change is expected to impact the countries uuthe way in which climate adjustment of the development strategies can be promoted uuthe way in which sector assistance can be adjusted and improved to make allowance for future climate change uuthe special interventions to deal with negative climate impact are to be coordinated with the countries own national climate action plans. 17

20 7 HIV/AIDS and reproductive health The fight against HIV/AIDS has been a special priority area in Danish development assistance for many years, and fighting HIV/AIDS as well as malaria and tuberculosis constitutes a separate goal among the eight Millennium Development Goals. To an increasing extent, the HIV/AIDS efforts are being linked with support to the promotion of sexual and reproductive health and rights. The underlying causes of HIV/AIDS and the lack of rights to sexual and reproductive health are the same, for example poverty, gender inequality and social marginalisation. What we do Denmark supports the health sector in six of the programme countries for Danish development assistance. There is both direct and indirect support for the fight against HIV/AIDS and the promotion of sexual and reproductive health and rights. Without a health service that functions reasonably well, the countries cannot themselves manage to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS and further reproductive health. In addition, Denmark grants support to targeted HIV/ AIDS activities in a number of countries. Examples of results of the programmes are shown in the table on the next page. Denmark also supports targeted activites to further sexual and reproductive health and rights. In Benin, Burkina Faso and Tanzania, for example, campaigns against genital mutilation of girls are supported, and in Kenya operations of women with birth complications receive grants. But HIV/AIDS and reproductive health are also included in the support to completely different sectors, for example in the form of information campaigns and advocacy. Some examples: uuin the transport sector Denmark has supported national HIV/AIDS strategies and projects in the form of education and information campaigns in Uganda, Benin, Nicaragua, Zambia and Ghana uuagriculture: Information about HIV/ AIDS and reproductive health as part of training activities in Vietnam, Benin, Bangladesh, Uganda and Mozambique uueducation: Incorporation of HIV/ AIDS in education plans in primary and middle schools in Mozambique, Zambia, Burkina Faso, Nepal, Nicaragua and Bolivia What we aim for In 2005 Denmark obtained a new strategy for fighting HIV/AIDS, which laid down that the support should not only go to earmarked HIV/AIDS efforts. It should be broader and be used inter alia to strengthen national capacity in the HIV/ AIDS area and to enhance health systems. A Danish strategy for the promotion of sexual and reproductive health appeared in It laid down how Denmark, internationally and in the developing countries, will support authorities and civil society, with special focus also here on women, children and young people. How we do it HIV/AIDS and reproductive health is supported by: uucontributions to international organisations uufurthering the incorporation of HIV/ AIDS and reproductive health in the countries own development plans uusupport through health sector programmes and programmes in the field of human rights, democracy and good governance uutargeted support through HIV/AIDS programmes and minor projects uuintegration of HIV/AIDS and reproductive health in the development assistance to other sectors uusupport to relevant NGOs. 18

21 To put it bluntly, these three areas: HIV/AIDS, maternal mortality and unsafe abortion are where millions of women have little choice between keeping themselves alive or facing a premature death. Graca Machel, international advocate for women s rights Examples of results from the programmes in 2007 Country Activity/Indicator Targets Results Kenya Mozambique Burkina Faso No. of nurses working with HIV/AIDS activities at health centres supported by the programme No. of additional clinics offering HIV/AIDS and reproductive health services to young people No. of people participating in debate meetings, film shows about HIV/AIDS and reproductive health International organisations HIV/AIDS and reproductive health are also a large part of Denmark s multilateral activity. Denmark supports UNICEF the United Nations Children s Fund among others, in its work with orphans in Africa, UNAIDS in its work of coordinating the fight against HIV/AIDS, and the World Health Organisation, WHO, in working with 1,120 1, N.I. 377,250 strengthening national health services. Internationally, Denmark has been among the most prominent advocates of making access to sexual and reproductive health and rights part of the Millennium Development Goals and for several years Denmark has been among the biggest donors to UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund. Clinton nurses in Kenya Under great pressure following many years recruitment freeze, the health service in Kenya has far from sufficient trained personnel to perform the many tasks that increased HIV/AIDS activities have given rise to. With support amounting to DKK 110 million over three years to on-going HIV/AIDS programmes in Kenya, Denmark is covering among other things the payroll costs for 1,120 nurses and health care workers who, in cooperation with the Clinton Foundation, have been hired on a contract basis and trained in HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment. The extra health workers have meant a great improvement in the health system. It has been possible to reopen health centres, attendance at the centres and vaccination coverage have increased, and HIV/AIDS prevention, counselling and treatment have improved. Simultaneously, access has improved to services promoting sexual and reproductive health, such as pregnancy check ups and assistance at births. Support for battered women in South Africa Violence against women including sexual abuse is still widespread in South Africa, among other things because very few rape victims report the rape to the police because of pressure from the family and the immediate environment for fear of the treatment they could be exposed to. At the same time rape is an important source of HIV infection. Denmark is supporting ten so-called Thuthuzela clinics attached to provincial hospitals and open around the clock which provide the women with competent, humane and secure reception and treatment. The women are helped to report the assaults to the police and have the violent offenders prosecuted, and clinics conduct prevention activities in the local communities with a view to reducing violence against women and children. There are plans to support a further 12 clinics in South Africa and to spread the Thuthuzela model to other countries in southern Africa. 19

22 8 Business and trade Socially balanced business development is necessary to create economic development and fight poverty. It is also a precondition for creating employment for the many young people who represent an enormous potential in many developing countries, but who can also present a threat if they cannot see any hope for the future. A just and well-functioning international system of trade can contribute to growth in the developing countries. What we do In 2007 the business sector programme for Mali was approved, and Denmark is now granting sector programme support to the business sector in five countries. As well as Mali, support is granted to Tanzania, Ghana, Kenya and Vietnam with a total portfolio of more than DKK 1.1 billion. Business sector support is broad: uupromotion of the private sector framework conditions. This includes, among other things, simplifying rules and improving the capacity of the authorities so as to make it easier to set up and run a business uuin Ghana, Tanzania and Vietnam quality assurance and the countries participation in international trade talks are supported, so that enterprises have better chances of exporting uuthe access of small enterprises to financing is being supported in Mali, Tanzania and Ghana through private partners in the financial sector uubusiness organisations and trade unions, are being supported in order to strengthen the labour market Two of the countries where Denmark supports the business sector, Kenya and Ghana, are on the top-ten list of countries who are improving their business climate most quickly. The World Bank s annual doing business index ranks 178 of the countries of the world on the basis of how easy or difficult it is to establish and operate a business in the country. Between 2006 and 2007, Kenya jumped ten places and Ghana no less than 22 places forward on the list. Of Denmark s programme countries, Ghana, as number 87, has the best placing on the global list. At number 91, Vietnam is second best. More examples of results of the programmes are shown in the table on the next page. In the area of trade, the breakdown of the World Trade Organisation, WTO s, so-called Doha Round in July 2008 was a major setback for global free trade talks, but efforts are continuing to improve the position of the developing countries in world markets, inter alia through the EU, which continues to grant trade-related technical assistance. What we aim for Denmark s objectives for private sector development are laid down in the 2006 action plan. Areas of focus include: uuframework conditions for trade and industry uuthe development of an efficient labour market uupromotion of small and medium-sized enterprises uubetter access to financing through banks and savings banks. How we do it A number of tools comprise the effort to promote the private sector and conditions of trade for the developing countries: uubusiness sector programmes in the programme countries uutargeted support to involve the private sector in other sector programmes uuthe Business-2-Business Programme (B2B) uumixed credits uuthe Programme for Public-Private Partnerships uuthe Industrialisation Fund for Developing Countries (IFU). Furthermore, Denmark works for increased liberalisation of international trade with special emphasis on improving conditions in the developing countries in line with the 2005 strategy, Trade, Growth and Development. 20

23 Examples of results from business sector programmes in 2007 Country Activity/Indicator Targets Results Ghana No. of days required to set up a business Ghana No. of new micro, small and medium-sized enterprises to which loans have been granted 400 2,509 Tanzania No. of work-related conflicts resolved 500 2,500 Vietnam New private enterprises registered in the programme s four provinces 1,600 2,201 Vietnam No. of economic and commercial law cases decided in financial court instances 1,000 1,749 Danish-Vietnamese business cooperation strengthened The B2B Programme has played a large part in strengthening business cooperation between Vietnam and Denmark. This is the assessment of a review of what started out as the Private Sector Programme in Vietnam in 1996, and which became the Business-2-Business Programme in The programmes have supported approximately 100 small entrepreneurial projects and 60 longer-term partnerships between Danish and Vietnamese enterprises. The good results in Vietnam are due among other things to Danish companies great interest in investing in Vietnam, which is one of Asia s booming economies, and to the embassy making use of the B2B Programme to support enterprises with a genuine interest in long-term partnerships. New malaria medicine from Vietnam with Danish support The world is screaming for new, effective and cheap malaria medicine, and with Danish support a pharmaceutical company in Vietnam is well on its way with a new artemisin-based malaria drug for the world market. Through the B2B Programme, the Vietnamese firm, Mediplantex, has received support for cooperation with the Danish firms Dansk Farmaceutisk Industri and Eurocare Denmark. This has enabled Mediplantex to live up to the tough quality standards of the World Health Organisation, WHO, so that the export of medicine to the world market has been approved, among other things a new type of malaria medicine very soon. The support from the B2B Programme has also gone to improve the environment at Mediplantex s three factories. 21

24 9 Violent conflicts Violent conflicts have severe human, economic and environmental costs and constitute one of the greatest obstacles to a stable development effort. In recent years Denmark has strengthened its efforts to prevent, address and resolve violent conflicts and support their victims in the developing countries among other things by means of increasing engagement in fragile states. What we do There has been considerable progress with respect to the occurrence of armed conflict in Africa and the number of conflicts in the continent have more than halved since the beginning of the 1990s. Denmark s long-term development policy effort to fight poverty and inequality in the developing countries is in itself an important contribution to preventing violent conflicts. But in addition Denmark supports separate programmes for peace, stability and reconstruction, for example the national peace process in Nepal, and not merely the peace process but also economic development and the rehabilitation of the infrastructure in the northern part of Uganda. These efforts are closely linked to programmes in good governance and to Denmark s diplomatic efforts in cooperation with other partners. In countries such as Bolivia, Bangladesh and Kenya, support is granted to activities to strengthen national dialogue and prevent violent clashes, and Denmark also provides direct support to the development of marginalised population groups and their possibility for influence. Professional, well-functioning media play an important part in preventing conflicts and journalist training is a key element in programmes in Benin and Bolivia. Conflicts often stem from disagreement about rights to resources such as water and land. Therefore, support for the adoption and implementation of land reforms is part of Danish support to the agricultural sector, just as water management at local, national and inter-regional levels is included in the support granted to the water and sanitation sector. What we aim for Partnership 2000 marks out the overriding objectives of Denmark s support to the prevention of violent conflict and assistance to the victims of conflict: uucontribute to developing democratic institutions, mechanisms and regional forums for conflict resolution uumake an active contribution to conflict resolution through development assistance programmes, diplomatic initiatives and offers of financial support for negotiations etc. uusupport conflict prevention through the work of regional and international organisations uusupport holistic and development oriented humanitarian efforts that are locally embedded. How we do it Denmark s support comprises concrete development activities, humanitarian activities, efforts through diplomatic channels and peacekeeping operations. Denmark s activities are based on three principles: uulocal ownership and dialogue uucoordination with other development partners uucohesion between the different efforts In the course of 2008 new guiding principles will be issued for efforts in fragile states. 22

25 Constituting about 60% of the population of Africa and lacking adequate educational and employment opportunities, young people have also fallen prey to warlords, extremist groups and criminal networks that have over the years undermined efforts to promote good governance, economic development, peace and security. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, President of the ECOWAS Commission and member of the Danish Government s Africa Commission Examples of Danish support to preventing and addressing conflicts uuin Bangladesh Denmark supports the implementation of the peace agreement for the Chittagong Hill Tracts by supporting the indigenous population through both the water sector programme and the programme for human rights and good governance uusupport to the work of the Mekong River Commission in drawing up agreements for and planning the utilisation of the river s water resources between the four countries affected: Vietnam, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia uunepal: Support to the peace process and stabilisation after the termination of the violent conflict uuin Bolivia all sector programmes have special emphasis on supporting forums for dialogue between the government and different groups in civil society, not least indigenous peoples. In addition, Denmark supports the training of journalists, the ombudsman institution and the constitutional assembly uubenin: Support to the ombudsman institution, for holding elections and for training journalists under the programme for good governance uukenya: Support to civil society groups on the Kenyan coast promoting peace and stability and strengthening dialogue between Muslims and Christians. Support to the planning department of an East African peacekeeping stand by-brigade in Nairobi. Action behind the words Back in 2000 United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 was adopted aiming at safeguarding women s rights during violent conflicts and increasing the share of women who participate in peacekeeping activities. The resolution was regarded as a milestone in the efforts to safeguard women and children better in conflict and post-conflict situations. But the real importance of the resolution was completely dependent on the political will in the UN system and in the member states and other relevant players to comply with the objectives and recommendations of the resolution. In 2004 the United Nations Secretary-General called for more willingness on the part of the member states to translate the resolution into concrete action, and in 2005 Denmark obtained its first national action plan for resolution This was followed already in 2008 by a more detailed action plan that sets concrete objectives for the manner in which awareness of women s rights is to be heightened in the context of Danish-supported peacekeeping efforts. Development cooperation and conflict resolution Uganda is a good example of constructive interaction between a number of development assistance instruments and diplomatic initiatives. Although Uganda for many years has been regarded as a country that is heading in the right direction, a lengthy conflict in the northern part had made all development cooperation in that part of the country impossible. But now the Ugandan government through an agreement has made it possible to work on a more long-term basis in the north. Diplomatic efforts have aimed at supporting peacekeeping initiatives between the partners, while humanitarian assistance and the regions-of-origin effort have helped many people who had to flee or who were affected by the conflict in other ways. As circumstances have permitted, the Danish-supported sector programmes in agriculture, health and roads have expanded their activities to the northern districts. For example, the agricultural programme has supported that by working with reconstruction of the infrastructure, the local population have been able to earn vouchers that can be used at the local shops. 23

26 10 Children and young people Investments in children and young people s education and rights are investments in the future and necessary for reducing poverty in the longer term. The success or failure of all development efforts are determined inter alia by how successfully children and young people have been involved in thought, word and deed. What we do Reports from Danish embassies from 2006 show, that in 15 countries efforts have been successful to incorporate consideration for children and young people in general development assistance, especially in the areas of education and health. In Ghana and Bolivia a great deal has been achieved. Consideration for children and young people has been incorporated in all sector programmes. For example, support for the transport and business sectors in Ghana include efforts against child labour, and in Bolivia the environ- ment programme contains a special effort for children and young people in mining districts. In Bangladesh support is given to organisations fighting for children s rights as part of the support to human rights, democracy and good governance. In seven of the 15 countries special activities for children and young people are supported. In northern Ghana Denmark supports a fund that grants loans to young entrepreneurs, and in Nicaragua Danish support to an ombudsman for children and to a police unit that is to protect women and children has shown encouraging results. The Africa Commission focuses on the potential of young people Almost two out of three Africans are under 25 years of age. Every fifth African is 15-24, and each year nine million young Africans enter the labour market. If they are welleducated and can get a job, they constitute Africa s most important resource. If not, they can present a threat to peace, stability and development. This is the obvious reason why the Danish Africa Commission has children and young people as well as education as special themes. The first thematic meeting of the Commission, which took place in Burkina Faso in June 2008, dealt precisely with education and the participants were leading international and African experts in the field. The conference resulted in several concrete recommendations for new and more effective means of ensuring that the young people of Africa obtain an education they can use in an African context. What we aim for Denmark actively supports the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Danish development policy is to further respect for the rights of children and young people and safeguard the possibility of children and young people for democratic influence. Danish development assistance supports initiatives that protect children and young people from abuse and exploitation and fights child labour. The effort for children and young people is closely linked to the support to education in order to promote sexual and reproductive health and fight HIV/AIDS. How we do it Denmark supports efforts in the area of children and young people on five fronts: uudenmark is building up the capacity of the programme countries to safeguard the rights of children and young people in practice uudenmark contributes to programmes to promote children and young people through UN organisations and NGOs uudenmark focuses on education and the equal right of boys and girls to receive an education uudenmark focuses on health programmes with special emphasis on children s health uuthrough humanitarian assistance, special support is granted for preventing and addressing conflicts. 24

27 11 Indigenous peoples Indigenous peoples must have genuine influence on all matters pertaining to their economic, political or cultural situation. Denmark is working to strengthen the capacity of indigenous peoples and their organisations to take part in the national and international development process. What we do On 13 September 2007, following more than 20 years preparation, the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, making this a red-letter day for indigenous peoples and their organisations. Denmark worked intensely for the declaration and will press to ensure that the declaration is complied with and implemented. For many years Denmark has supported the widely acknowledged work performed by IWGIA, the International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs. Denmark supports the International Labour Organisation, ILO, in implementing Convention 169 concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples. Work to incorporate the rights of indigenous peoples into other development assistance is taking place in Bolivia, Nicaragua, Nepal and Bangladesh. Some examples: uuin Bolivia and Nicaragua indigenous peoples rights are integrated across the board in development assistance. For example, mother-tongue teaching receives support via the education sector. This also takes place in Nepal uuin Bolivia indigenous peoples are included in the administration of protected areas in the environment programme, and the agricultural sector programme supports the wish of indigenous peoples for collective ownership of land uuin Bangladesh the rights of indigenous peoples are integrated in the programme for human rights and good governance. Denmark is supporting special interventions to promote the rights of indigenous peoples in some programme countries: uuin Tanzania a special project supports pastoralists access to natural resources uuin Bolivia the programme for indigenous peoples focuses on the distribution of land, the self-administration of indigenous peoples territories, and on strengthening their organisations uuin Nicaragua support for indigenous peoples has resulted in several organisations achieving land rights, while others have been able to profile themselves in the political arena uuin Nepal efforts are being conducted to support the rights of indigenous people, so-called janajati, and the casteless. What we aim for Denmark will strengthen the rights of indigenous peoples to manage their own development and to determine matters concerning their own economic, social, political and cultural situation. How we do it The 2005 strategy for Danish support to indigenous peoples includes: uufurther the rights of indigenous peoples through international processes uuconsideration for indigenous peoples in multilateral development cooperation uuconsideration for indigenous peoples in bilateral development cooperation uucooperation with indigenous peoples organisations and NGOs that support indigenous peoples uuconsideration for indigenous peoples in economic and trade-related issues. 25

28 12 Target and performance management the tool box Since 2001 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been working purposively on the development of a target and performance management system for Danish development assistance. The system was introduced to improve the planning of development assistance efforts and strengthen the strategic management of development cooperation. As part of the performance management, targets are established for the results expected from large-scale programmes and projects in the course of the coming 12 months, and these targets are also used to monitor the implementation of the efforts. They are most frequently output indicators such as number of children vaccinated or kilometres of road asphalted. In the annual programme and project orientation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs progress in meeting the targets can always be seen. Examples of the results from these output indicators from the programmes are reproduced in some of the previous chapters. The performance management system includes a number of tools that supplement one another. Some of the tools are wellestablished, such as external evaluations and regular reviews. Other tools have come in the wake of the new division of responsibility in the decentralised administration of development assistance. For example, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs overall strategic objectives are incorporated in the diplomatic missions annual performance contracts. In addition, the missions annually conduct an assessment of progress in the Danish development assistance programme. A general tool box has been prepared describing the individual instruments and how they, separately and together, contribute to steering towards results: Ministry of Foreign Affairs Performance Management Framework, available at This performance management framework is, however, undergoing revision to make it even more focused and aligned with the situation in the partner countries. The individual instruments are being scrutinised to see if they are still useful for resultsbased management. In general, it must be ensured that there are clearly formulated objectives against which the results can subsequently be measured. Even though this sounds logical and simple, it can present a challenge. The partner countries own systems must be used as a point of departure, i.e. the policies formulated that mark out the way in which the country intends to combat poverty, for example. Utilising the countries own systems for reporting and accounts is also an objective, but it is a fact that these systems are not fully developed in some countries. In general it can be stated that the principle of the Paris Declaration of managing for results has not yet been described concretely enough to make it easy to use operationally, and that it has not been adequately implemented in the partner countries and donors systems. This is one of the challenges to be worked on further after the summit on the Paris Declaration in Accra, Ghana in September The performance instruments in multilateral assistance The objective in the multilateral area is that the organisations themselves should formulate and pursue targets and results. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs makes use of two main instruments to evaluate the development in the work of the multilateral organisations: Organisation strategies are drawn up for the most important multilateral organisations receiving support from Denmark. The strategies clarify the common strate- 26

29 How much does Denmark spend on the crosscutting issues? It is difficult to make an accurate estimate of the funds Denmark uses on the three crosscutting issues: gender equality, the environment and democratisation. But the estimate is being carried out now as a supplement to performance measurement because the financial allocation is a good expression of the degree to which the crosscutting issues are considered in practice. It takes place in the following manner using gender equality and women as an example. If a new activity deals directly with equality and women s conditions, the whole allocation is included. In the case of all other allocations, for example for water and sanitation, on the basis of the budget an estimate is made of how much of the allocation would benefit gender equality and women. If the share is set at 20 percent, for example, 20 percent of the allocation is included as development assistance for gender equality and women. While the system is not perfect, it helps to make visible the broadbased effort for gender equality and for women and ensures that there is ongoing evaluation of the concrete success of efforts to incorporate the crosscutting issue of gender equality and women in development assistance. gic objectives and lay down the results that the Danish support is to contribute to achieving. They constitute the pivotal point of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs target and performance management concerning multilateral assistance. Multilateral evaluation forms, which provide supplementary information about multilateral organisations. The reports include three formats: (i) The diplomatic missions evaluation of the multilateral organisations efforts at country level, (ii)general evaluations of multilateral organisations, (iii) Joint donor evaluations of selected organisations efforts at country level. Denmark cooperates with ten other countries to establish a common framework for evaluating the multilateral organisations (Multilateral Organisation Performance Assessment Network, MOPAN). Up to now this work has concentrated on qualitative evaluations of the work of the organisations in the partner countries. In 2008 MOPAN has worked to further develop the tool to also include quantitative information in order to achieve a more adequate picture of the multilateral organisations results. The joint framework for evaluating the organisations will be implemented for the first time in 2009 when Denmark will function as the secretariat. 27