3. CHALLENGES

Globalisation underlines the importance of effective international organisations. There is a growing realisation of the link between security in the Western world and the comprehensive and multidimensional poverty in developing countries. Global economic growth and population growth reinforce the international climate and environment challenges and increase the competition for energy sources and food. Diseases can spread across borders and the health of the populations requires international cooperation. Population growth in the world’s poorest countries means an even greater pressure on weak health and education systems, urbanisation and migration. And it is typically the poorest groups of people who will be most exposed to the negative consequences of globalisation. If a higher price level for food is not matched by increased incomes in developing countries, more people will be pushed into food insecurity and extreme poverty. The competition for basic resources increases the risk of social and political unrest, and the worst consequences can lead to real conflicts, especially in fragile states.

Goods such as peace, security, a stable climate, a clean environment, well-functioning food markets and health can, in other words, not only be provided within or by the nation state. They are global public goods – issues which transcend national borders. The multilateral and international organisations often have a comparative advantage in providing these global public goods, among other things because of the link between establishing norms and standards and the operational and practical work in the field.

Sub-Saharan Africa is lagging behind – a special role for the multilateral organisations. The proportion of extremely poor people fell from a third of the world’s population to less than a fifth between 1990 and 2004. If the development continues, the Millennium Development Goals for poverty reduction (halving the proportion of extremely poor people) can be achieved globally. Economic growth has been significant in developing countries since 2000. Low-income countries in Africa and South Asia have had a stronger economic growth rate than at any time since the 1960s.

Despite the positive features, the development is insufficient for Africa to meet the Millennium Development Goals. The proportion of poor people in Africa has fallen since 2000, but the high rate of population growth means that the total number of people living in extreme poverty remains high. The multilateral organisations have a special role in the fight against world poverty, and thus an obligation to work for more and better development assistance to sub-Saharan Africa.

Need for increased multilateral engagement in fragile states. While progress is being made in a number of relatively well-functioning developing countries, projections show that an increasing proportion of the world’s extremely poor people will live in fragile situations and/or fragile states in the future. With the exception of countries that are the focus of world attention, for instance Afghanistan, this group of countries does not receive official development assistance that matches their share of the burden of poverty. As a result of this, a number of fragile states are at risk of becoming totally marginalised.

The high risk of crisis and conflict is a separate issue in fragile states. Crises and conflicts lead to human rights violations and high social and economic costs, which not only have implications for the countries themselves but also have damaging effects at regional and international levels. Development assistance may contribute to preventing, reducing and resolving conflicts, but it is generally more difficult to provide assistance to fragile states than to more well-functioning developing countries. These are complex situations where coordination is required, and the entire toolbox of the international community must be applied.