Millennium Development Goals: Who's in charge here?

The table in today’s Vox column by Helmut Reisen illustrates the lack of accountability in development assistance — when everyone is responsible, no one is.

Table 1 Unclear institutional assignment to the MDGs

Selected multilaterals working on the Millennium Development Goals
MDG / Thematic area	Main multilaterals	Other multilaterals with a role
MDG1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger	UNDP, World Bank, AfDB, AsDB, IFAD, EC, FAO, WFP	CGIAR, IADB
MDG 2: Achieve universal primary education	World Bank, UNICEF, UNESCO	UNFPA, UNRWA
MDG 3: Promote gender equality and empower women	UNDP, World Bank, UNIFEM, UNICEF	UNFPA
MDG 4: Reduce child mortality	WHO, UNFPA, UNICEF	World Bank, WFP, UNRWA
MDG 5: Improve maternal health	WHO, UNFPA	World Bank, WFP
MDG 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases	UNAIDS, World Bank, WHO, UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF	UNIFEM
MDG 7: Ensure environmental sustainability	UN Habitat, World Bank, AsDB, UNDP	CGIAR, UNIDO
MDG 8: Develop a global partnership for development	World Bank, EU, UNDP, UNIDO, ILO, UNCTAD	UNDP
Human rights	OHCHR	UNIFEM
Conflicts and humanitarian emergencies	UNCHR, OCHA, ECHO, WFP, UNICEF, WHO	UNDP

Source: OECD Development Centre, “Financing Development: Whose Ownership?”, Paris, 2008, Chapter 2.

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