This issue of the Drum Beat explores communication-centred thinking and action designed to address the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) - 8 goals set in 2000 to be achieved by 2015 that respond to what some consider to be the world's main development challenges. In 2005 and 2006, The Communication Initiative (The CI) published a series of Drum Beat issues focused on communication intersections with each of the MDGs, as well as a "year in review" issue at the end of each series. As we enter 2009, having passed the halfway point in the quest to accomplish the Goals, the selections below examine progress by highlighting just a sliver of the statistics, interventions, and strategies drawing on communication to make a real impact.

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The Drum Beat 479 contains:

• Selections that focus on PROGRESS towards the MDGs.
• A spotlight on specific STRATEGIES used in addressing the MDGs.
• A focus on MDG 1 and MDG 2.
• Vote in a POLL on early child education.
• A focus on MDGs 3 through 8.

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PROGRESS?

1. The Millennium Development Goals Report - United Nations (UN), 2008

"...We have made important progress towards all eight goals, but we are not on track to fulfil our commitments....[T]he tasks that remain...have now become more challenging because the largely benign development environment that has prevailed since the early years of this decade, and that has contributed to the successes to date, is now threatened. We face a global economic slowdown and a food security crisis, both of uncertain magnitude and duration. Global warming has become more apparent. These developments will directly affect our efforts to reduce poverty..."

2. Gapminder World - Global

This nonprofit online venture is an effort to facilitate increased use and understanding of statistics and other information about social, economic, and environmental development at local, national, and global levels. Specifically, in the words of its developers "[t]his software unveils the beauty of statistical time series by converting boring numbers into enjoyable, animated and interactive graphics." By visiting Gapminder World, one may view time series of development statistics for all countries. Provided by the World Bank, these World Development Indicators include: carbon dioxide emissions, child mortality, economic growth, internet users per 1,000 people, military budget, phone users per 1,000 people, and urban population.

Contact: info@gapminder.org

3. Guiding Note on Indicators for Communication for Development

This paper, published in 2005, was designed to give concrete guidance on the process of identifying relevant communication for development indicators to those involved in the preparation, implementation, and monitoring of bilateral development assistance. It was offered in the context of an effort by Danish International Development Assistance (Danida) to align its project and sector programme support to priorities articulated in the Poverty Reduction Strategies (PRS) process and the MDGs. The Note explores indicators for a strategic communication process that promotes social changes through dialogue, knowledge sharing, and the active participation of key actors both at the vertical level (between participants at national, regional, and community levels) and at the horizontal level (between peers, e.g., community members, civil society organisations, authorities, decision makers).

4. Progress out of Poverty Resource Center

The Grameen Foundation and the Ford Foundation have developed an online resource centre designed to ease access to, and comprehension of, the Progress out of Poverty Index™ (PPI™). The scorecards use a small set of what are meant to be simple, easily observable, and objective indicators - e.g., family size, the number of children attending school, and the type of housing - to estimate the share of clients who are below an absolute poverty or extreme poverty line (PPP$1/day, PPP$2/day, PPP$4/day), a national poverty line, and/or a national extreme poverty line. While the PPI is built on a universal methodology, each PPI is country-specific and based on that country's best nationally representative income and expenditure household survey.

Contact: info@progressoutofpoverty.org

5. See also: 

The MDG Monitor

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SPOTLIGHT: STRATEGIES

6. Communication for Development for MDGs: UNICEF's Global Overview

10th UN Inter-Agency Round Table on Communication for Development, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

From early 2007, this presentation from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) focuses on the relationship of the MDGs to the UNICEF mission of "A World Fit for Children". The document demonstrates statistics, via a graph, that show numbers of children that could be affected by improved sanitation and improved access to a water source, access to adequate nutrition for under-5-year-olds, and access to primary education, among other statistics. The 4 distinct areas of focus of communication for development (C4D) are listed as: 1) policy advocacy; 2) community mobilisation; 3) behaviour and social change communication; and 4) media outreach with new forms of media. The document demonstrates diagrammatically UNICEF's C4D framework.

7. MDGs in Focus - Global

A collaboration between TVE (Television Trust for the Environment) and the One World Broadcasting Trust (OWBT), the MDGs in Focus project includes a package of television, panorama DVD/video programmes, and internet resources. The programme resources were produced in partnership with broadcasters and producers eager to increase interest in, and understanding of, international development priorities, in general - and of the MDGs in particular, at the time of the 2005 United Nations (UN) Summit on the MDGs. Organisers believe that the programmes themselves remain equally relevant today, in the run-up to the High Level Event on the MDGs at the UN in New York (NY, in the United States) on September 25 2008. Programmes in 'The MDGs in Focus' address the development issues underlying each of the 8 MDGs. These films are divided into various series, each with its own web-based site - some of which enable visitors to view the films online, to learn more about the issue(s) and protagonist(s) featured in the film(s), and to discuss how to take action.

Contact: Dina Junkermann dina.junkermann@tve.org.uk

8. Why Languages Matter: Meeting Millennium Development Goals Through Local Languages

Published in the International Year of Languages (2008), this document provides readers with stories about how literacy programmes in local languages are intending to achieve the MDGs. The 9-page brochure also highlights how partnerships can revitalise local languages. According to the brochure: "The MDGs focus the work of advocates, aid workers, governments, and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), as they partner with local communities. Language-based development plays a significant role in giving communities the tools to work out steps to meet these goals. Many of the [economically] poorest people speak mother tongues that are not national or international languages. Poverty, lack of access to primary education, inequality, and disease are daily challenges for them."

9. See also:

Faces, Voices and Places - Caribbean, Latin America, North America

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MDG #1: Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger

10. Selected Figures [UN, 2008]:

•  The number of extremely economically poor people in the world fell from 1.8 billion in 1990 to 1.4 billion in 2005.
•  The proportion of extremely poor people fell from 41.7% to 25.7% over the same period. 
•  If progress continues at this pace until 2015, the world will achieve the overarching Goal of reducing extreme poverty by half, but the proportion of people in sub-Saharan Africa living on less than US$1 per day is unlikely to be reduced by the target of one-half.

11. Poverty Requiem - Global
This global initiative draws on the connecting power of song, dance, film, and artwork to give people the opportunity to raise their voices, thus making an artistic and political statement for fighting world poverty. A "global chain" of choral music was held in 51 performances that took place in 23 countries on October 17 2007, the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. Beyond that event, an interactive, multi-lingual, multi-media website has been created to share details of ongoing projects as part of Poverty Requiem that use communication to call attention to MDG #1. In 2007, 43.7 million people joined the Global Call for Action against Poverty (GCAP), and in 2008 116.7 million people joined Stand Up and Act against Poverty, also with GCAP.

Contact: Irfan Mufti irfan.mufti@civicus.org OR Sylvia Borren borren4@xs4all.nl

12. See also:

The Drum Beat 336 - MDG #1 - Addressing Poverty and Hunger 

The Drum Beat 288 - MDG #1 - Addressing Poverty and Hunger

The Drum Beat 463 - Food Scarcity/Food Security

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MDG #2: Achieve Universal Primary Education

13. Selected Figures [UN, 2008]:

• In all but 2 regions, primary school enrolment is at least 90%.

14. Example:

Taking the MDGs Off Paper

by Bunker Roy

In this article from July 2007, the author advocates a creative, bottom-up approach to meet the MDGs. With regard to MDG #2, he indicates that reporting only on the performance of formal educational structures put in place by international donors and national governments will not satisfy 60% of rural children who work, rather than attend school, and suggests that "[o]ther outside-the-box innovative solutions have to be found. [R]unning schools at night for the convenience of the children and training semi-literate but unemployed rural youth in villages to become part time 'barefoot teachers' in these night schools is one such simple answer. The Barefoot College in India has started these night schools."

15. See also:

The Drum Beat 340 - MDG #2 - Achieving Universal Primary Education

The Drum Beat 292 - MDG #2 - Achieving Universal Primary Education

Teachers Living with HIV

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Please VOTE in our newest POLL on Early Child Education:

When children are first entering school, it is most important to teach:

•  technological aptitude (e.g., how to use computers). 
•  languages other than their native one. 
•  emotional/social skills. 
•  healthy living.

 VOTE and COMMENT click here.

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MDG #3: Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women

16. Selected Figures [UN, 2008]:

• The gender parity index in primary education is 95% or higher in 6 of the 10 regions, including the most populous ones.
•  Of the 113 countries that failed to achieve gender parity in both primary and secondary school enrolment by the target date of 2005, only 18 are likely to achieve the goal by 2015. 
•  Almost two-thirds of employed women in the developing world are in vulnerable jobs (e.g., unpaid family workers).
•  In one-third of developing countries, women account for less than 10% of parliamentarians.

17. Example:

Because I am a Girl: The State of the World's Girls 2008

This report was published for the purpose of bringing global attention to the fact that progress towards meeting the MDGs is being hampered by a continued lack of investment in girls and young women. It intends to show how conflict affects girls differently from boys and how their rights are ignored, their responsibilities changed, and their lives altered by war. The report also contains policy and programme strategies for the action campaign "Because I am a Girl", including seeking to improve the enforcement procedures of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UN CRC) or Children's Convention. It addresses humanitarian legal protections of girls through the Children's Convention and international law and gives updates and indicators of national legislation related to girls and women by country.

18. See also:

The Drum Beat 344 - MDG #3 - Promoting Gender Equality and Empowering Women

The Drum Beat 296 - MDG #3 - Promoting Gender Equality and Empowering Women

HIV-Positive Women, MDGs and Reproductive Rights

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MDG #4: Reduce Child Mortality

19. Selected Figures [UN, 2008]:

• About one-quarter of all children in developing countries are considered to be underweight and are at risk of having a future blighted by the long-term effects of undernourishment. 
• Deaths from measles fell from over 750,000 in 2000 to less than 250,000 in 2006, and about 80% of children in developing countries now receive a measles vaccine.

20. Example:

Demystifying Community Mobilization: An Effective Strategy to Improve Maternal and Newborn Health

by Lisa Howard-Graham

This document, published in February 2007, describes the use of community mobilisation, demonstrating its application through 3 projects that reduced infant and maternal mortality by 30%-50%. As detailed here, community mobilisation can work with complementary programme strategies including mass media, services strengthening, and policy advocacy. Examples include a project in Egypt that surveyed mothers of healthy-birth-weight infants to share findings with women's groups and community groups and encourage dialogue and action on prenatal care. The document cites success factors, such as a programme staff that includes community members; trainers and training materials, including manuals, booklets, picture cards, and audio-video aids, among other educational materials; a media budget for radio shows, street drama, and other media; and a training budget.

21. See also:

The Drum Beat 349 - MDG #4 - Reducing Child Mortality

The Drum Beat 301 - MDG #4 - Reducing Child Mortality

Reducing Maternal, Newborn and Child Deaths in the Asia Pacific: Strategies that Work

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Craving more? Here are a few of the ways to explore the MDGs on The CI website:

•  See these previously published Drum Beat issues:

The Drum Beat 379 - Communication and the MDGs: 2006 Overview

The Drum Beat 334 - Communicating Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 

 Search our Drum Beat archives

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MDG #5: Improve Maternal Health

22. Selected Figures [UN, 2008]:

•  More than 500,000 prospective mothers in developing countries die annually in childbirth or of complications from pregnancy.

23. Example:

Global Business Plan for Millennium Development Goals 4 & 5 - Advocacy Plan

by Rachel Grellier, Ann Pettifor, Katie Chapman, Devjit Mittra, Elizabeth Ransom, Sarah Javeed, and Justin Nguma Published in October 2007, this report describes research done in preparation for developing an advocacy plan to support the Global Business Plan (GBP), developed to get MDGs 4 and 5 on track. Amonst the recommendations include: encouragement of journalists, through providing a stream of compelling stories, data, and briefings; developing a "singular, positive brand and associated messaging"; focusing on the advocacy of men and showcasing the positive role of fathers and sons in caring for wives and children; establishment of an international research institute and collaborative forum as a strong institutional lead in data collection and dissemination; and framing the debate on both "the '[economic] opportunity cost' of lives lost or damaged by childbirth, and by poor health", and "the injustice of the drastically reduced life chances of women, babies and children...in the context of resources devoted to providing military hardware to those countries" rather than resources to enhance the lives of mothers and children.

24. See also:

The Drum Beat 353 - MDG #5 - Improving Maternal Health

The Drum Beat 305 - MDG #5 - Improving Maternal Health

Promoting Healthy Timing and Spacing of Births in India through a Community-based Approach

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MDG #6: Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Other Diseases

25. Selected Figures [UN, 2008]:

•  The number of deaths from AIDS fell from 2.2 million in 2005 to 2.0 million in 2007, and the number of people newly infected declined from 3.0 million in 2001 to 2.7 million in 2007;
•  Malaria prevention is expanding, with widespread increases in insecticide-treated net use among children under 5 in sub-Saharan Africa: in 16 out of 20 countries, use has at least tripled since around 2000;
•  The incidence of tuberculosis is expected to be halted and begin to decline before the target date of 2015.

26. Example:

The History and Challenge of HIV Prevention

by Michael H. Merson, Jeffrey O'Malley, David Serwadda, and Chantawipa Apisuk

This report assesses strategies that have emerged throughout the history of efforts to respond to the global HIV and AIDS epidemic. The authors' primary claim is that the response has for the most part been delayed, fragmented, inconsistent, and - in general - insufficient. One way they make the case for this is through tables (e.g., the estimated number of people living with HIV, 2007), figures (e.g., estimates of the yearly number of new HIV infections and HIV incidence rate, 2005), maps (e.g., HIV prevalence in individuals aged 15-49 years in 2001 and in 2007), and panels (e.g., social and community structures and vulnerability to HIV/AIDS). The authors note that the UN General Assembly in 2008 made refinements to the core indicators agreed on by countries in 2001 to monitor the progress toward achieving universal access to prevention, treatment, and care by 2010 and reaching MDG #6. Also, they explain that 15 additional indicators for monitoring programmes have been proposed by major bilateral and multilateral agencies for use at the national level. They conclude that revitalising the global HIV prevention movement requires that future efforts be grounded in both an awareness of past missteps and in a better understanding of how to combine behavioural, structural, and biomedical approaches - an understanding that is based on scientifically derived evidence as well as the wisdom and ownership of particular communities.

27. See also:

The Drum Beat 357 - MDG #6 - Combating HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Other Diseases

The Drum Beat 309 - MDG #6 - Combating HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Other Diseases

Communication for Malaria Prevention and Treatment

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MDG #7: Ensure Environmental Sustainability

28. Selected Figures [UN, 2008]:

•  Some 1.6 billion people have gained access to safe drinking water since 1990;
•  The use of ozone-depleting substances has been almost eliminated and this has contributed to the effort to reduce global warming;
•  Some 2.5 billion people, almost half the developing world’s population, live without improved sanitation;
•  More than one third of the growing urban population in developing countries live in slum conditions;
•  Carbon dioxide emissions have continued to increase, despite the international timetable for addressing the problem.

29. Example:

Akvo - Global

This internet-based, global online water and sanitation resource and collaborative platform can be described as being "like a Wikipedia, eBay and YouTube for water and sanitation projects, rolled into one." The objective is to provide free and open working knowledge, a collaborative community, micro-finance solutions, and a marketplace designed for - and owned by - the entire water and sanitation community. Akvo is a response to organisers' conviction that, even when people want to participate in helping meet MDG #7, "[o]ften people don't know how to participate, and they don't understand where the money they invest goes. There isn't a one-size-fits-all answer to water and sanitation problems because environmental, technical and cultural contexts vary dramatically. The collective knowledge does exist to specify appropriate solutions for each situation, but it's not accessible to those who need it. And though funds are available, not enough are matched with actual projects..." As of August 2008, Akvo had attracted more than Euro 70,000 of funds for field projects.

Contact: Anna Norén anna@akvo.org OR Peter van der Linde peter@akvo.org OR Thomas Bjelkeman-Pettersson thomas@akvo.org / thomas@bjelkeman.com

30. See also:

The Drum Beat 362 - MDG #7 - Ensuring Environmental Sustainability

The Drum Beat 314 - MDG #7 - Ensuring Environmental Sustainability

The Soul Beat 117 - Environment and Communication

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MDG #8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development

31. Selected Figures [UN, 2008]:

•  The share of developing countries' export earnings devoted to servicing external debt fell from 12.5% in 2000 to 6.6% in 2006, allowing them to allocate more resources to reducing poverty;
•  Developed countries' foreign aid expenditures declined for the second consecutive year in 2007 and risk falling short of the commitments made in 2005;
•  International trade negotiations are years behind schedule and any outcome seems likely to fall far short of the initial high hopes for a development-oriented outcome;
•  The private sector has increased the availability of some critical essential drugs and rapidly spread mobile phone technology throughout the developing world.

32. Example:

Global Justice (GJ) - United States, Global

GJ mobilises a movement of students and young people to promote solutions to the world's most pressing problems, including AIDS, trade, and child survival. By uniting the creative energy and courage of young people with the knowledge and expertise of academia and professionals, GJ acts as an umbrella organisation for a growing number of student advocacy campaigns, such as the Student Trade Justice Campaign, a national network of students committed to achieving responsible, sustainable and equitable trade policy. Participants engage campuses and communities through education and informed advocacy.

Contact: Patricia Nixon pnixon@globaljusticenow.org OR info@globaljusticenow.org

33. See also:

The Drum Beat 366 - MDG #8 - Develop a Global Partnership for Development 

The Drum Beat 318 - MDG #8 - Develop a Global Partnership for Development 

Market Forces Alone Won't End the Digital Divide

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 This issue of The Drum Beat was written by Kier Olsen DeVries.

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The Drum Beat seeks to cover the full range of communication for development activities. Inclusion of an item does not imply endorsement or support by The Partners.

Please send material for The Drum Beat to the Editor - Deborah Heimann dheimann@comminit.com

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