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All eyes will be on Bali this week as
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono hosts a meeting that will define the
next global development agenda. The UN High Level Panel for the post-2015
agenda, co-chaired by the Indonesian President, has already put ending
extreme poverty at the heart of their agenda — but this goal will only be
realized if they ensure the world tackles rising inequality.
In drafting their recommendations, the 27 members of the panel can
certainly draw on some of the success stories in Southeast Asia. The
region has seen the number of people living on less than US$1.25 a day
fall from 45 percent of the population in 1990 to fewer than 20 percent
today. In 1990, 1-in-14 children in Southeast Asia died before their
fifth birthday; in 2010, the number was 1-in-34.
From a global perspective, the period covered by the MDGs has been an
unprecedented human development success story. Since 1990, we have seen
600 million people lifted out of poverty, 56 million more children going
to school and 14,000 fewer children dying from preventable causes each
day.
Such tremendous improvements to the quality of life for millions of
people were inconceivable just two decades ago. Indeed, the evidence
shows that political will and commitment can bring about real change to
people’s lives.
However, vast progress at the aggregate level, including child mortality,
universal primary education and income poverty alleviation, hides unequal
progress between groups of people. In its report, “Born Equal”, published
in September 2012, Save the Children revealed that the bulk of the
improvements have actually been concentrated in the wealthiest segments
of society across all regions of the world.
As such, ahead of the meeting in Bali, Save the Children argues that
inequality must be placed at the centre of all discussions. Within the
ASEAN bloc, despite huge strides in economic growth, all eight of the
countries with Gini coefficient data showed numbers either close to or
above 40 — also known as the internationally recognized warning level of
extreme income inequality. Left untackled, this income inequality will
trickle down and affect all other parts of a child’s life.
In Indonesia for instance, almost all women in the richest quintile have
a skilled attendant at birth as opposed to just 40 percent among women in
the poorest quintile. Additionally, despite overall national improvements
in nutrition indicators, Indonesian children in the poorest households
have actually experienced deterioration in their nutritional status
between 2007 and 2010.
How has this happened and why is the situation worsening for the poorest
and most vulnerable children? Aggregate targets in the current set of
global development goals such as halving the number of people living on
less than US$1.25 a day and a two-thirds reduction in child mortality,
have led many governments and development partners to focus on the
“low-hanging fruit” — those easiest to reach and help above the poverty
line. In many cases, this has led to uneven progress even amongst the
poor, as those close to the poverty line experience improvements in their
wellbeing and resources have failed to reach the very poorest.
Inequality is a particular concern for the wellbeing of children, who are
already the most vulnerable in any situation. They are completely reliant
on their parents and governments to help meet their needs as they grow
and develop. This means that any rise in price of food will hurt their
meals the most; any change in health budgets could see them die from
preventable causes; and poor quality schools could keep them in the
poverty cycle for life.
In “Born Equal”, Save the Children also found that in addition to being
most vulnerable, children are also disproportionately impacted by
inequalities, with children in the richest households having access to 35
times the resources of children in the poorest households — a gap twice
that of the general population.
There are many things that can be done to reverse the trend of rising
inequality. National social protection schemes must ensure wide coverage
to quality services; health and education services must be made available
in all regions and to all groups of society; and economic growth plans
must maximize employment opportunities for the poor.
As demonstrated by the MDGs, global agreements can help to motivate the
changes in policies and resources required. The next round of global
development goals must move away from aggregate targets and set ambitious
objectives to reduce the gaps in progress between rich and poor, boys and
girls, rural and urban dwellers, the young, elderly and disabled, and
ethnic and religious groups in all societies.
During the discussions in Bali next week, the post-2015 High Level Panel
has the opportunity to ensure that all children have the same access to
quality education, healthcare, social protection, nutritious food and a
voice in front of lawmakers. Because every child is born equal and no
child is born to die or suffer. ●
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