[Gcap-mujeres] Further information on round table/mas inf. sobre mesa redond

[ana]

Dear friends,
queridas amigas,
I am sending further information on the round table, highlighting those 
interventions that were important in terms of gender.
Greetings,

Queridas amigas,
envío por ahora en inglés más información sobre la mesa redonda destacando 
las intervenciones importantes sobre el tema género. Apenas lo tenga 
traducido al español se los mando.
Saludos,
Ana



UN High Level Meeting on the MDGs
Round Table 2 on Meeting the Goals on Education and Health

Report by Ana Agostino

The round table was attended by several high level government delegations 
including heads of state, ministers of various portfolios, heads of UN 
agencies, plus representatives from civil society and the private sector (4 
each). The session  was from 3 to 6 but it lasted a bit longer, as there 
were many speakers and most of them talk for longer than the 3 minutes 
assigned. Most of the speakers left after they talk, so by the time civil 
society talk (6:15) there was hardly anyone in the room. 

The chair of the round table was the Prime Minister of Kuwait and the Co-
chair was the President of Guatemala. 
The list of speakers and some of the highlights were:
-	Hungary
-	Lesotho
-	Liechtenstein (Prime Minister). He emphasized the multiple 
challenges that women face and said that their empowerment is a priority to 
reach the goals on education and health. He also mentioned the importance of 
looking into the situation of HIV/AIDS in relation to women and children.
-	Vanuatu
-	Zimbabwe (President)
-	Algeria (Minister of Foreign Affairs) – he suggested to have annual 
evaluation of progress.
-	Honduras (President)
-	Monaco (Princess Albert the II) – he emphasized the importance of 
EFA indicating that he is going to ask his government to double support for 
formal, informal and professional education. He said that to ensure access 
to education to adults, particularly women, allows them to promote their 
social integration.
-	Germany (Minister of Cooperation) – He called for a holistic 
programme to reach the MDGs. Specifically on education he emphasized 
universal primary education for boys and girls but also said that every 
additional year of education of women improves their health and the health 
of their children; that education must have a holistic approach from basic 
to adult education; and he highlighted the importance of EFA and of the Fast 
Track Initiative. He added that Germany will increase by Euros 400 million 
its contribution for maternal and child health.  
-	Cuba – He made a call to make MDG 8 the basis for the whole process.
-	Mozambique (President) – He emphasized the importance of reaching 
all EFA goals.
-	Gambia (Minister for National Planning).
-	Tanzania (Primer Minister)
-	Eritrea (Minister of Foreign Affairs)
-	Israel (Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs)
-	Kenya (Minister of Education)
-	Russian Federation
-	Saudi Arabia
-	Ghana 
-	Bulgaria (Director at Ministry of Foreign Affairs) – He introduced 
Bulgaria as a new donor country focusing on education at secondary level and 
universities. 
-	Oman (Ambassador)
-	Libya
-	Norway – He started by saying that the most dangerous moments for a 
woman are when she is born and when she gives birth, and asked if  this 
would be the same if men were the ones giving birth. He called for the 
implementation of sexual education, programmes on sexual and reproductive 
health and abortion as key for combating maternal mortality. He 
added “gender equality is good for health”. He also highlighted that climate 
change is going to affect health and it will particularly have an impact on 
women. He said also that we need a broader perspective on education going 
beyond primary, to secondary education and beyond and recognizing that it is 
key for women´s health. He closed by saying that to achieve the education 
and health goals requires paying attention to gender and environment.  
The heads of UN agencies who spoke were the following, and they all 
highlighted the link between health and education:
- WHO: She emphasized that the education of girls and women is key for 
wellbeing in general, for themselves and their communities at large, and 
that educated women have greater opportunities and contribute to their 
communities.
-	UNICEF, Anthony Lake, Executive Director: He started by saying that 
one more year of education for mothers reduces child mortality.
-	UNESCO, Irinia Bokova, Director General: She provided data on the 
links between education and health, particularly the education of women. She 
hihglighted that the disparities on education are mainly on secondary 
education and beyond and put a strong emphasis on investing in adolescents 
and girls’ education. 
-	UNFPA, Thoraya Obaid, Executive Director: She reiterated the link 
between education and health and added that investing on the education and 
health of women is also smart economics. 
-	WHO, Margaret Chan, Director General: She talked about the 
importance of the education of girls to reach the health targets, and gave 
information on the direct impact on investing on women’s education.

-	World Bank: the vicepresident o the bank, a woman, said that the 
bank is going to increase its spending on basic education 40%, mainly in sub-
Saharan Africa. 

The people who spoke for civil society and the private sector were the CEO 
of Save the Children, UK, the DG of International Planned Parenthood 
Federation, New Zealand, the Mayor of Otavalo, Ecuador, and myself. For the 
private sector the speakers were from GlaxoSmithKline, UK, Gavi Alliance 
(vaccinations), Switzerland, and Global Technology Policy, Cisco systems, US.

Talking with other civil society speakers at the other round tables, I found 
out that they all experienced for one or another reason a similar 
frustration like the one I had on Monday. They talked mainly to empty halls, 
as the same thing happened that official delegates left after their own 
interventions, some civil society speakers were never given the chance to 
talk as there was no time, or they were interrupted abruptly. We felt that 
it is necessary to debate around whether the round table system really 
grants participation or it is just part of a way of operating without any 
real impact (by the time the round tables took place the outcome document 
had already been agreed). Some people felt that having our interventions 
uploaded into the UN site was already worth the effort. They were also 
handed in to all those present in the room. 

The document I presented has had wide dissemination on various lists and 
websites. I also value having had the chance to hear first hand several of 
the heads of state and other official delegates interventions. It is also a 
good opportunity to make direct contacts. I talked to the DG of UNESCO and 
informed her about the coming ICAE world assembly as she is interested in 
adult education. 

Nevertheless, I think it would be important to evaluate further this space 
for civil society and make alternative proposals. 


Greetings to all,
Ana