NEW YORK CITY – The No Child Left Behind Act was instituted in 2001 to increase the accountability of schools and teachers to their students. It ensures that all school-aged children are reaching the required educational goals set by the state by having standardized testing each year.
At the Addressing Inequalities in the Post-2015 Developing Agenda event host by Denmark in New York, the sentiment is the same idea, leave no one behind. Anthony Lake, UNICEF Director and panel member for the meeting vehemently agrees as stated in his speech about the event, “Far too many are being left behind –children with disabilities, those living in remote or conflict-torn communities, girls and women, indigenous people.”
The July 8th meeting was a follow up to the post-2015 thematic consultation on inequalities held earlier this year in conjecture with Beyond2015 in Copenhagen. Attendees UN Women, UNICEF, and the governments of Ghana and Denmark agreed that ending discrimination should be a goal for the Beyond2015 agenda. Currently it is the facilitator for the UN’s Millennium Development Goals to halve extreme poverty rates, halt HIV/AIDS, and provide universal primary education.
Lake and others concluded that while the MDGs and post-2015 goals were an important factor to achieving sustainable economic growth, focusing on equality amongst all peoples was vital to the cause. “It helps countries build a healthy, well-educated, innovative workforce that can power their economies forward in the future,” Lake conveyed in his speech. Evidence to support this comes from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) where a 2011 study concluded that a 10 percent reduction in inequality increases the expected length of an economic growth period by 50 percent.
UN Women Director Sarawathi Menon feels that with the present level of inequality, they should consider a new development model the “Danish UN Mission” article declares. The article provided her associate Lakshmi Puri, the Assistant Secretary-General’s opinion on what should be done: a stand-alone goal on gender equality in the post-2015 Development Agenda because gender-based discrimination is the most prevalent.
The way to eradicate discrimination and bring people out of poverty is to “leave no-one behind,” a common theme conveyed at the Danish UN Mission event. Anthony Lake proposed that specified philanthropy organizations work together as a group instead of small individual interests.
Economic growth and development, environment, social development and inclusion, as well as others groups should set aside competitions for funding Lake stated, and replace it with collective cooperation to fulfill goals in a horizontal fashion. He goes to show examples of how teaming up benefits everyone, saying that “each goal helps us achieve other goals … in a virtuous upward spiral of progress.”
Overall the Post-2015 Developing Agenda meeting was viewed as a success by all contributors. The framework for post-2015 will be altered to combat inequality globally and ensure the security of every person’s future with special attention to those facing discrimination. Anthony Lake declared “addressing inequalities is not a choice –it’s a moral and practical necessity,” and they will leave no-one behind in their quest fulfill the Millennium Development Goals.
– Bridgine Johnson
Sources: UNICEF, Beyond 2015
Photo: Denmark Mission to the UN