IACD has consultative status with the United Nations.
This means that we participate in UN meetings and consultations, to be kept in touch with and contribute to latest thinking about development issues. Since 2014 our priority has been around the UN Sustainable Development Goals. We attended several INGO consultations and were at the UN in 2015, 2016 and 2018 for the publication of the SDG targets, the High Level Political Forum, where we organised a full house official Side Event on the theme of community development and the SDGs and at the SDG Day of Action.
IACD members outside the UN in New York during the High Level Political Forum on the SDGs, July 2016.
Over the next three years IACD plans to have a presence at appropriate UN events related to progressing the SDGs. Our focus being to raise the profile of the importance of community development practice and scholarship in both strengthening the capacity of vulnerable communities, but also of enhancing governmental, non-governmental and business sector expertise as listening to and engaging with local communities and communities of interest and identity.
IACD’s overall strategy at the U.N. is to:
- Continue to profile the contribution of community development towards addressing the U.N. SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals);
- Develop IACD’s strategy for ongoing work on the SDGs and their implementation;
- Engage with appropriate international UN civil society coalitions working on the SDGs towards strengthening our contribution to the High-Level Forums and other instruments monitoring their implementation;
- Develop further our relations with the UN sections responsible for community development.
Scope of Work:
- Determining which organizations at the UN are important for IACD to make contact with.
- Assessing which UN meetings are important to attend.
- Attending those meetings and networking for IACD
- Working to raise IACDs profile at the UN
- Communicating to IACD members the relevant issues at the UN.
- Preparing written reports on issues we may want to weigh in on.
- Liaison with the other UN IACD reps
2017 ANNUAL REPORT SUBMITTED TO UNITED NATIONS
2. Intergenerational Dialogues on SDGs;
3.. Education for Global Citizenship Conference;
4.. Rethinking Social Development in light of SDGs;
5. CSW 2017 – Malawi and UN Women;
6. 20th UN Youth Assembly August 2017 chairing a panel with a focus on the role of Youth as ChangeMakers in their communities.
IACD VICE PRESIDENT AND CHAIR OF CERD SPEAKS AT UN ASSEMBLY IN 2017
THE 20th UN YOUTH ASSEMBLY at THE UN HEADQUARTERS, New York, August 2017
Tony Ssembatya Kimbowa,
IACD Delegate to the UN-New York
On 9th August 2017, the 20th Summer Youth Assembly kicked off, with the theme “Society for All: Equity and Inclusion for a Sustainable Future.” In attendance were over 1000 youth from 110 countries, all passionate about contributing to a more peaceful, equal, and environmental friendly society. The UN considers this to be the largest and most interconnected youth population in history. While young people are among those constantly affected by global challenges, they remain at the forefront of innovation and change with their unique set of skills and perspectives. Their participation, therefore, is fundamental to addressing the world’s most pressing issues, such as poverty, injustice and climate change.
There were several workshops conducted, presentations made and mentorship sessions held. These were all centered on the 2030 UN Agenda for Sustainable Development with the principle of “leaving no one behind”. The gathering provided an avenue for discussion, engagement and interaction on different initiatives Youth are engaged with in their communities. Many of the Youth in attendance have founded grassroots initiatives mainly in their home countries and are agents of change. I was greatly moved by the awardees of this 20th Session of the Youth Assembly. From a young Liberian who led the anti Ebola fight, to a Yemeni who is raising awareness on the need for education, to a Ghanaian who has founded an initiative aimed at raising awareness on mental illness in his community, one could easily notice their involvement with the grassroots communities and effecting change from their won settings, depending on the needs of their respective societies.
The gathering was centred on four interrelated tracks-social, economic, environmental and youth, all geared at creating more space for dialogue, partnership and collaboration in driving inclusive and sustainable development at both local and global scenes. I could confidently say, the Youth are working at building bridges and shaping communities and a society that is inclusive for all.
In 2016, IACD’s President, Charlie McConnell and members met with one of the World Bank’s Vice Presidents Annette Dixon to discuss the Bank’s support for community-led development around the SDGs.
This is an article for IACD written by Annette Dixon.
Without Community Involvement, there is no Sustainable Development
By Annette Dixson
Jeyaranjini lives northern Sri Lanka near the city of Kilinochchi with her husband and daughter. During the Sri Lankan civil war, the family was forced to move many times and had to live in refugee camps under difficult circumstances.
The North East Local Services Improvement Project (NELSIP) is helping Jeyaranjini and her family rebuild their lives through a Community Driven Development (CDD) approach. She participates in a group to decide how to allocate local development funds based on their needs. “Each community member used to be alone, but now we learn, exchange ideas, and make decisions together. I am more confident and inspired.” The project has helped build 611km of roads, 23 km of storm drains, 400 community public spaces such as markets, parks, and playgrounds, as well providing improved access to water and electricity.
Projects incorporating CDD approaches give control over planning and investments to community groups and local governments rather than central governments. They can be a useful instrument for empowering communities to deliver services to the poor and vulnerable. Its principles can be applied to toward the realization of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which promote sustainable economic, social, and environmental development. SDGs are the new road map for governments and the international development community to engage and achieve on development issues through 2030.
South Asia has a strong tradition for local participation. For example, Nepal’s Self Governance Act in 1999 decentralized responsibilities for the delivery of education, health, drinking water, irrigation, forestry, and agriculture to the village and district levels. In Afghanistan, village Shuras (councils) receive funds and other support from the state, which they then manage to support their villages. CDD has proven useful in responding to conflict and fragility, and in post-disaster contexts, as it has shown to be fast, flexible and effective at re-establishing basic services. In fragile or conflict affected states (FCS), the approach has also helped rebuild social capital and trust within communities, and between communities and governments. The World Bank has been building on these foundations through currently supporting 33 CDD projects worth $5.5 billion in South Asia, and or including 18 projects in India worth $3.7 billion.
Transformational Community Driven Development Projects for the Future
For example, the government of India has launched an ambitious $22 billion program – the Swachh Bharat Mission – to achieve universal access to sanitation and make the country open defecation free by 2019. The World Bank is supporting it with a $1.5 billion loan and technical assistance. Open defecation is a serious issue in India: one in every 10 deaths in the country is linked with poor sanitation and hygiene; about 38% of all children under five years old are stunted and half of these are due to poor sanitation and open defecation. But success of the program will only be possible if there is large-scale social mobilization for behavior change. Lessons learned from earlier programs led to a shift from the program’s emphasis on the physical construction of toilets – the less effective assumption of only “if you build it, they will use it” approach of the past – to also changing people’s habits and behaviors in order to trigger and sustain the usage of toilets and promote safe sanitation and hygiene practices. The program taps into community leaders to serve as role models through training them on behavior change approaches, tools, techniques and monitoring. Knowledge and experience sharing across communities are being introduced and is helping replicate and expand innovative and successful approaches.
Another example is the Central Asia-South Asia Electricity Transmission and Trade Project, known as CASA-1000, which the World Bank is supporting along with other development partners. The project will help facilitate electricity trade between countries in Central Asia – Tajikistan and Kyrgyz Republic – that have hydropower surplus and countries in South Asia – Afghanistan and Pakistan – that are facing electricity shortages.
Governments have also investing in Community Support Programs to build support for the project in affected communities. Making local communities stakeholders in the project will be important for the project’s success. The program is helping share the benefits of building the transmission line and expanding electricity trade with people living along a four-kilometer wide “Corridor of Influence.” The goal is for half of all communities within the Corridor of Influence to receive improved access to electricity and for at least 65% of the direct beneficiaries of these community-focused sub-projects to be women.
In Tajikistan and Kyrgyz Republic, the Community Support Programs will help households cope with severe winters and in Afghanistan they will help some communities receive access to electricity for the first time. All four countries have committed to contributing a portion of their electricity trading revenues to community programs.
Inclusive and Equitable Representation are Necessary for Success
Inclusive and equitable representation of interests within the community is critical for success. There are also some risks associated with community development but can be minimized. Development decisions can be biased by local, unrepresentative interests, and elite capture. As an example of the development power of inclusive community participation, India introduced quotas for women to serve on village councils as members and leaders, and several studies show important positive impacts from this action. For example, the quotas were found to be associated with the growth in new female income-generating activities in household manufacturing. Female council leadership was found to balance investments away from roads, which men preferred, to water infrastructure, which women preferred. Community exposure to women council leaders was found to improve community attitudes towards women, including views on female leadership effectiveness. Female council leadership was also found to be associated with improved child survival, adolescent girls’ education attainment, and child academic test scores.
The World Bank will continue to support CDD projects to help address a variety of urgent needs, including water supply and sanitation, education and health needs, nutrition programs for mothers and infants, rural access roads, and support for micro-enterprises, among others. Incorporating CDD approaches in projects and programs will likely increase their success and thus accelerate progress toward the achievement of the SDGs. As experience and evidence suggest, there simply cannot be sustainable development without community involvement.
Community development and the U.N.
The U.N. has long pioneered and supported community development and IACD has been supporting and influencing its work since 1953. Below are the main UN programmes and agencies IACD might work with. Currently our main focus is around the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agenda.
UNDP
The United Nations Development Programme works in nearly 170 countries and territories, helping to eradicate poverty, reduce inequalities and build resilience so countries can sustain progress. As the UN’s development agency, UNDP plays a critical role in helping countries achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
UNICEF
The United Nations Children’s Fund provides long-term humanitarian and development assistance to children and mothers.
UNHCR
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees – UNHCR protects refugees worldwide and facilitates their return home or resettlement.
WFP
The World Food Programme aims to eradicate hunger and malnutrition. It is the world’s largest humanitarian agency. Every year, the programme feeds almost 80 million people in around 75 countries.
UNEP
The United Nations Environment Programme established in 1972, is the voice for the environment within the United Nations system. UNEP acts as a catalyst, advocate, educator and facilitator to promote the wise use and sustainable development of the global environment.
UNRWA
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees has contributed to the welfare and human development of four generations of Palestine refugees. It’s services encompass education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, microfinance and emergency assistance, including in times of armed conflict. It reports only to the UN General Assembly.
UN Women
UN Women merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system, which focus exclusively on gender equality and women’s empowerment.
UN-Habitat
The mission of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme is to promote socially and environmentally sustainable human settlements development and the achievement of adequate shelter for all.
UN Specialized Agencies
World Bank
The World Bank focuses on poverty reduction and the improvement of living standards worldwide by providing low-interest loans, interest-free credit, and grants to developing countries for education, health, infrastructure, and communications, among other things. The World Bank works in over 100 countries.
WHO
The World Health Organization is the directing and coordinating authority on international health within the United Nations system. The objective of WHO is the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health. Health, as defined in the WHO Constitution, is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization focuses on everything from teacher training to helping improve education worldwide to protecting important historical and cultural sites around the world. UNESCO added 28 new World Heritage Sites this year to the list of irreplaceable treasures that will be protected for today’s travelers and future generations.
ILO
The International Labor Organization promotes international labor rights by formulating international standards on the freedom to associate, collective bargaining, the abolition of forced labor, and equality of opportunity and treatment.
FAO
The Food and Agriculture Organization leads international efforts to fight hunger. It is both a forum for negotiating agreements between developing and developed countries and a source of technical knowledge and information to aid development.
IFAD
The International Fund for Agricultural Development, since it was created in 1977, has focused exclusively on rural poverty reduction, working with poor rural populations in developing countries to eliminate poverty, hunger and malnutrition; raise their productivity and incomes; and improve the quality of their lives.
UNAIDS
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS is co-sponsored by 10 UN system agencies: UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, the ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank and has ten goals related to stopping and reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS.
UNISDR
The United Nations Office for Disaster Reduction serves as the focal point in the United Nations system for the coordination of disaster reduction.
IOM
The International Organization for Migration works to help ensure the orderly and humane management of migration, to promote international cooperation on migration issues, to assist in the search for practical solutions to migration problems and to provide humanitarian assistance to migrants in need, including refugees and internally displaced people.