Montenegro

MDGs must be nationalized

The aforementioned 2006 regional report summarized national reports and presented a generalized overview regarding progress towards achieving the MDGs (analysis of progress being made in the South East Europe sub region can be found on pages 49 – 53).

But the report did more than merely report - it billed itself as a, “Framework for Action.”  The authors demonstrated that they agreed that it is wise to think globally but act locally by stating that MDGs had to be ‘nationalized’ or ‘localized’:

“The numerical indicators associated with the MDGs were designed with underdevelopment that characterizes most of Africa and parts of South and Southeast Asia in mind. In the spirit of social solidarity and the belief that human development can only be sustained if poverty is addressed on the national level, this points to the need to adjust MDG targets and indicators to the conditions of the region.”(foreword page V)

The report’s authors elaborated on the necessity to nationalize or localize MDGs and did so emphatically:

“The battle for the implementation of the MDGs will be won or lost at the local level, where people actually live and work. If communities and civil society organizations do not learn about the MDGs and participate in the design and implementation of MDG strategies, the MDGs will not be achieved. Individuals and communities are often best placed to identify major development trends, challenges, problems and needs, to articulate their own priorities and preferences, and determine what skills and capacities are lacking. The MDGs therefore need to be adapted to local, as well as national, conditions.” (page 74)