Global Integration Updates
Common Ground for the Common Good
Special News--June 2019
Global Action Plans
Healing our globe-ails?
And remembering the 75th anniversary of D-Day, 6 June 1944.
Watch the CBC ceremony highlights.
Image from website of the upcoming Sustainable Development Goals Summit
24-25 September 2019, UN General Assembly, New York
What's wrong and what's right with the world?
I am. You are. We are.
In this Update we share examples of Global Action Plans (GAPs) that focus on major issues affecting the world--our globe-ails (aka global ails, globails). Most of the GAPs are recent, reflecting a growing trend to work together broadly on serious problems that threaten all or major parts of the people-planet nexus. Increasingly the plans also emphasize the importance of monitoring-evaluation: updates-progress reports and review-accountability mechanisms.
The GAPS included in this Update are primarily from the UN, usually with significant input from civil society, and emphasize partnering and local applications, time-bound objectives, the overlapping nature of global issues, and the dire consequences of not taking action. Note that a) there are many other GAP-type efforts from different civil society groups and other UN agencies; and b) some parts can be controversial and have been contested.
The Update is organized into two parts. Part One lists the names/links to the GAPs.Part Two includes short descriptions of the GAPS and some related documents. They can help us to get a Big Picture of the many big pictures influencing our world.
How best to use these materials? A few suggestions: 1) take a tour--take 10 minutes to look over the GAP list and descriptions below; 2) don't get (too) overwhelmed by them--use them as a "GAP lens" for seeing the world; 3) choose 1-3 GAPs in particular that you want to learn more about and read their executive summaries; 4) read through at least one GAP more in depth; and 5) ask yourself, "What does this GAP, or these GAPS, have to do with my life, my work, my worldview, and our world--and vice versa. Are there any any thoughts and emotions that they may stir up? Can I connect and contribute?"
What’s wrong with the world is also what is right with the world: it is all of us--the globe-alls confronting our globe-ails. The GAPs in general combine aspirations with practical guidance. We see them collectively as rallying points for bringing out our best selves, locally through globally, building the future we want and being the people we need.
See also:
--Keeping Up with the UN (GI Update, April 2019)
--A Framework for Engaging with Our World (GI Update, December 2018)
--Doomsday: Next Stop, Global Dis-Integration? (GI Update, June 2017)
Warm greetings from Geneva,
Kelly and Michèle
Featured Resources
Global Action Plans
Healing our globe-ails?
And I wonder...I mean I really, really wonder ...would it help our GAP implementation
if we held more GAP meetings--discussion, debate, drafting, ratifying, and monitoring
--primarily in locations where fellow human beings live who are the focus of GAPs:
for example, meeting together among the estimated one billion slum dwellers
and the estimated 130+ million people in need of humanitarian assistance?
And I wonder even more, what if we ourselves lived in such settings?
Part One
Examples of GAPS
List and Links
Multi-Sectoral: Development and Wellbeing--People and Planet
-- The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (SDGs) UN (2015-2030)
a. The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2018
b. Accelerating Implementation of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda (2019)
-- Global Action Program: Education for Sustainable Development, UNESCO (2017)
-- UN Global Compact (2003)
-- United Nations Convention Against Corruption (2003)
Health Sector
-- Global Action Plan for Healthy Lives and Wellbeing for All WHO et al., (2019)
-- Global Action Plan on Physical Activity 2018-2030, WHO
-- Global Action Plan on the Public Health Response to Dementia 2017-2025, WHO
-- Global Action Plan on HIV Drug Resistance 2017–2021, WHO
-- Water, Sanitation, Hygiene in Health Care Facilities: Global Action Plan,
WHO and UNESCO (2016)
-- Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases 2013-2020, WHO (extended to 2030)
-- Mental Health Action Plan 2013-2020, WHO (extended to 2030)
Humanitarian Sector
-- One Humanity—Shared Responsibility--Agenda for Humanity, UN
-- Global Action Plan to End Statelessness, UNHCR (2014-2024)
-- Global Compact for a Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, UN (2018)
-- Securing Our Common Future: An Agenda for Disarmament,
UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (2018)
Environment Sector
-- Climate Change Action Plan 2016-2020, World Bank Group
-- UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (1994)
a. See also the UN Conventions on Wetlands, Biodiversity, and Desertification
b. COP 21, Paris Climate Change Agreement 2015, UN
c. Climate Action Summit, UN, September 2019
Part Two
Examples of GAPs
Descriptions and Links
Multi-Sectoral: Development and Wellbeing--People and Planet
-- The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (SDGs) U N (2015-2030) As a reminder, this is the main agenda—GAP—which the world community via the UN has consensually embraced and which serves as a reference point for all other GAPs. “We are resolved to free the human race from the tyranny of poverty and want and to heal and secure our planet. We are determined to take the bold and transformative steps which are urgently needed to shift the world onto a sustainable and resilient path. As we embark on this collective journey, we pledge that no one will be left behind. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 targets which we are announcing today demonstrate the scale and ambition of this new universal Agenda. They seek to build on the Millennium Development Goals and complete what these did not achieve. They seek to realize the human rights of all and to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. They are integrated and indivisible and balance the three dimensions of sustainable development: the economic, social and environmental.” (excerpt from Preamble)
a. The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2018. The 2018 (annual) report “found that conflict and climate change were major contributing factors leading to growing numbers of people facing hunger and forced displacement, as well as curtailing progress towards universal access to basic water and sanitation services. For the first time in more than a decade, there are now approximately 38 million more hungry people in the world, rising from 777 million in 2015 to 815 million in 2016. According to the report, conflict is now one of the main drivers of food insecurity in 18 countries. In 2017, the world experienced the costliest North Atlantic hurricane season on record, driving the global economic losses attributed to the disasters to over $300 billion. At the same time, the Report found that more people are leading better lives than they were just a decade ago. The proportion of the world’s workers living with their families on less than 1.90 per person a day declined significantly over the past two decades, falling from 26.9 per cent in 2000 to 9.2 per cent in 2017.” (quote from website)
b. Accelerating the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (UN Political Forum (HLPF), 74th Session of the General Assembly, 24-25 September 2019). “…Heads of State and Government will gather at the United Nations Headquarters in New York to follow up and comprehensively review progress in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The event is the first UN summit on the SDGs since the adoption of the 2030 Agenda in September 2015.” (quote from website)
Cover image from the GAP-ESD, UNESCO (below)
-- Global Action Programme—Education for Sustainable Development, UNESCO." Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is recognized as a key element of quality education and a crucial enabler for sustainable development. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the global community recognize the important of education in achieving their targets by 2030. Target 4.7 of SDG 4 on education specifically addresses ESD and related approaches. [This GAP is ] “the follow- up programme to the Decade of ESD (2005-2014) [and] seeks to generate and scale-up ESD and to accelerate progress towards sustainable development. The GAP aims to contribute substantially to the 2030 agenda, through two objectives: Reorienting education and learning so that everyone has the opportunity to acquire the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes that empower them to contribute to a sustainable future; [and] Strengthening education and learning in all agendas, programmes and activities that promote sustainable development." (quote from website)
-- UN Global Compact (2003). A large group of companies and businesses “...we aim to mobilize a global movement of sustainable companies and stakeholders to create the world we want. That’s our vision. To make this happen, the UN Global Compact supports companies to: Do business responsibly by aligning their strategies and operations with Ten Principles on human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption; and Take strategic actions to advance broader societal goals, such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals, w ith an emphasis on collaboration and innovation.” (quote from website)
-- United Nations Convention Against Corruption (2003) This Convention "is the only legally binding universal anti-corruption instrument. The Convention's far-reaching approach and the mandatory character of many of its provisions make it a unique tool for developing a comprehensive response to a global problem. The vast majority of United Nations Member States are parties to the Convention…The Convention covers five main areas: preventive measures, criminalization and law enforcement, international cooperation, asset recovery, and technical assistance and information exchange. The Convention covers many different forms of corruption, such as bribery, trading in influence, abuse of functions, and various acts of corruption in the private sector." (quote from website—note: the website contains with ongoing country reviews and country profiles).
Health Sector
--Global Action Plan for Healthy Lives and Well-Being for All (2018) is a joint initiative of several global health and development organizations, coordinated by WHO, “uniting to accelerate progress towards the health-related SDGs.” It is still in formation, received a major focus at the May 2019 WHO World health Assembly, and the final plan is to be delivered to the UN General Assembly in September 2019. (quote from website)
-- Global Action Plan on Physical Activity 2018-2030, WHO. This GAP “responds to the requests by countries for updated guidance and a framework of effective and feasible policy actions to increase physical activity at all levels. It also responds to requests for global leadership and stronger regional and national coordination, and the need for a whole-of society response to achieve a paradigm shift in both supporting and valuing all people being regularly active, according to ability and across the life course. The action plan was developed through a worldwide consultation process involving governments and key stakeholders across multiple sectors including health, sports, transport, urban design, civil society, academia and the private sector.” (excerpts from the Executive Summary)
-- Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance, WHO (2018). "Antimicrobial resistance threatens the very core of modern medicine and the sustainability of an effective, global public health response to the enduring threat from infectious diseases. Systematic misuse and overuse of these drugs in human medicine and food production have put every nation at risk. Few replacement products are in the pipeline. Without harmonized and immediate action on a global scale, the world is heading towards a post-antibiotic era in which common infections could once again kill. Alert to this crisis, the May 2015 World Health Assembly adopted a global action plan on antimicrobial resistance, which outlines five objectives: to improve awareness and understanding of antimicrobial resistance through effective communication, education and training; to strengthen the knowledge and evidence base through surveillance and research; to reduce the incidence of infection through effective sanitation, hygiene and infection prevention measures; to optimize the use of antimicrobial medicines in human and animal health; and to develop the economic case for sustainable investment that takes account of the needs of all countries and to increase investment in new medicines, diagnostic tools, vaccines and other interventions. With this approach, the main goal of ensuring treatment and prevention of infectious diseases with quality-assured, safe and effective medicines is achievable." (quote from website)
-- Global Action Plan on the Public Health Response to Dementia 2017-2025, WHO. This GAP “aims to improve the lives of people with dementia, their carers and families, while decreasing the impact of dementia on communities and countries. It provides a set of actions to realize the vision of a world in which dementia is prevented and people with dementia and their carers receive the care and support they need to live a life with meaning and dignity. Areas for action include: increasing prioritisation and awareness of dementia; reducing the risk of dementia; diagnosis, treatment and care; support for dementia carers; strengthening information systems for dementia; and research and innovation.” (quote from website)
-- Global Action Plan on HIV Drug Resistance 2017–2021. “Preventing and managing the emergence of HIVDR is a key component of a comprehensive and effective HIV response, and should be integrated into broader efforts to ensure sustainability and greatest impact. It is essential that actions to monitor, prevent and respond to HIVDR are implemented at the clinical, programme and policy levels to address the many drivers of HIVDR. The goal of this Global Action Plan is to articulate synergistic actions that will be required to prevent HIVDR from undermining efforts to achieve global targets on health and HIV, and to provide the most effective treatment to all people living with HIV including adults, key populations, pregnant and breastfeeding women, children and adolescents. The Global Action Plan has five strategic objectives....” (quote from website)
-- Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene in Health Care Facilities: Global Action Plan, W HO and UNESCO (2016). “In 2015, for the first time, WHO and UNICEF assessed the status of WASH in health care facilities in low- and middle-income countries. With a significant proportion of facilities without any services at all, WHO, UNICEF and partners committed at a global meeting to address the situation, with the aim of achieving universal access in all facilities, in all settings, by 2030. (quote from the two page overview) See also UNICEF’s information and resources for WASH.
-- Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Disease 2013-2020), WHO, (extended to 2030). “Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) – mainly cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes – are the biggest cause of death worldwide. More than 36 million die annually from NCDs (63% of global deaths), including 14 million people who die too young before the age of 70. More than 90% of these premature deaths from NCDs occur in low- and middle-income countries, and could have largely been prevented. Most premature deaths are linked to common risk factors, namely tobacco use, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and harmful use of alcohol. To strengthen national efforts to address the burden of NCDs, the 66th World Health Assembly endorsed the WHO Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of NCDs 2013-2020 (resolution WHA66.10). The global action plan offers a paradigm shift by providing a road map and a menu of policy options for Member States, WHO, other UN organizations and intergovernmental organizations, NGOs and the private sector which, when implemented collectively between 2013 and 2020, will attain 9 voluntary global targets, including that of a 25% relative reduction in premature mortality from NCDs by 2025. The WHO Global NCD Action Plan 2013-2020 follows on from commitments made by Heads of State and Government in the United Nations Political Declaration on the Prevention and Control of NCDs (resolution A/RES/66/2), recognizing the primary role and responsibility of Governments in responding to the challenge of NCDs and the important role of international cooperation to support national efforts.” (quote from website) See the recent Political Declaration on NCDs and a Civil Society NCD Coalitions's response to it ( September 2018). Note also that WHO now includes air pollution as a major risk factor for NCDs and also Mental Health conditions in its overall 5 X 5 approach to NCDs.
-- Mental Health Action Plan 2013-2020, WHO (extended to 2030). “The 66th World Health Assembly, consisting of Ministers of Health of 194 Member States, adopted the WHO’s Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan 2013-2020 in May 2013. The action plan recognizes the essential role of mental health in achieving health for all people. It is based on a life-course approach, aims to achieve equity through universal health coverage and stresses the importance of prevention. Four major objectives are set forth: more effective leadership and governance for mental health; the provision of comprehensive, integrated mental health and social care services in community-based settings; implementation of strategies for promotion and prevention; and strengthened information systems, evidence and research…. Each of the four objectives is accompanied by one or two specific targets, which provide the basis for measurable collective action and achievement by Member States towards global goals. A set of core indicators relating to these targets as well as other actions have been developed and are being collected via the Mental Health Atlas project on a periodic basis”. (quote from website)
Humanitarian Sector
-- Agenda for Humanity (the Annex in One Humanity—Shared Responsibility Agenda for Humanity), UN (2016). "The Agenda for Humanity is a five-point plan that outlines the changes that are needed to alleviate suffering, reduce risk and lessen vulnerability on a global scale. In the Agenda, humanity—people’s safety, dignity and the right to thrive— is placed at the heart of global decision-making. To achieve this, global leaders and all humanitarian actors are called upon to act on five core responsibilities...[It] advocates for a number of strategic and normative transformations under each core responsibility that are necessary in order to make it a reality. The individual and joint commitments made at the Summit will support the implementation of these strategic transformations.” (quote from website) See the annual Synthesis Reports 2017, 2018.
-- Global Compact for a Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, UN (2018). “[This] is the first-ever UN global agreement on a common approach to international migration in all its dimensions. The global compact is non-legally binding. It is grounded in values of state sovereignty, responsibility-sharing, non-discrimination, and human rights, and recognizes that a cooperative approach is needed to optimize the overall benefits of migration, while addressing its risks and challenges for individuals and communities in countries of origin, transit and destination. The global compact comprises 23 objectives for better managing migration at local, national, regional and global levels. The compact: a) aims to mitigate the adverse drivers and structural factors that hinder people from building and maintaining sustainable livelihoods in their countries of origin; b) intends to reduce the risks and vulnerabilities migrants face at different stages of migration by respecting, protecting and fulfilling their human rights and providing them with care and assistance; c) seeks to address the legitimate concerns of states and communities, while recognizing that societies are undergoing demographic, economic, social and environmental changes at different scales that may have implications for and result from migration; d) strives to create conducive conditions that enable all migrants to enrich our societies through their human, economic and social capacities, and thus facilitate their contributions to sustainable development at the local, national, regional and global levels. The list of the 23 objectives can be found in paragraph 16 of the Global Compact for Migration.” (quote from website)
-- Global Action Plan to End Statelessness (2014-2024) UNHCR. “This GAP establishes a guiding framework of 10 Actions to be undertaken by States, with the support of UNHCR and other stakeholders to: resolve existing major situations of statelessness; prevent new cases of statelessness from emerging; and better identify and protect stateless populations. States are encouraged to take one or more of the following 10 Actions to achieve the related Goals by 2024. UNHCR, other UN and international agencies, regional organizations, civil society and stateless people all have roles to play in supporting governments to accomplish relevant Actions. Because the causes, profile and magnitude of statelessness vary, not all Actions are required in all countries.” (excerpts from the Executive Summary)
-- Securing Our Common Future: An Agenda for Disarmament, UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (2018). “Disarmament is a tool to help prevent armed conflict and to mitigate its impacts when it occurs. Measures for disarmament are pursued for many reasons, including to maintain international peace and security, uphold the principles of humanity, protect civilians, promote sustainable development, and prevent and end armed conflict. Just as the notion of security has evolved to place humans at the centre, the objectives and language of disarmament need to evolve in order to contribute to human, national and collective security in the 21st Century. This non-paper outlines a set of practical measures across the entire range of disarmament issues, including weapons of mass destruction, conventional arms and future weapon x technologies. It seeks to generate fresh perspectives and to explore areas where serious dialogue is required to bring disarmament back to the heart of our common efforts for peace and security." (excerpts from the Executive Summary)
Environment Sector
-- Climate Change Action Plan 2016-2020, World Bank Group. “Climate change presents enormous challenges and opportunities for development, making it essential that climate and development be tackled in an integrated way. The world needs to feed nine billion people by 2050, provide affordable energy access to all, and extend housing and services to two billion new urban dwellers—and to do so while minimizing emissions and boosting resilience….The Action Plan is underpinned by five strategic shifts for the WBG’s climate work: (i) Implementation: the WBG focus will accelerate support for countries 2 World Bank Group Climate Change Action Plan and companies to implement the plans they have developed. (ii) Convergence: the WBG climate and development agendas will be fully integrated into strategies and operations, and global- and country-level action will be aligned. (iii) Maximizing impact: the WBG will increase its focus on impact at scale, including shaping national investment policies and programs and mobilizing private finance. (iv) Resilience: the WBG climate portfolio will be rebalanced— putting a greater focus on adaptation and resilience. (v) Transformation: achieving global climate commitments will require a shift from business as usual. The Action Plan will focus on facilitating transformational impacts.” (excerpts from the Executive Summary )See more on this topic from the World BankHERE.
-- UN Framework Convention on Climate Change ( 1994).This Convention (UNFCCC) seeks to prevent "“dangerous” human interference with the climate system is the ultimate aim of the UNFCCC. The Convention: Recognized that there was a problem…The UNFCCC borrowed a very important line from one of the most successful multilateral environmental treaties in history (the Montreal Protocol, in 1987): it bound member states to act in the interests of human safety even in the face of scientific uncertainty. Sets a lofty but specific goal...The ultimate objective of the Convention is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations "at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic (human induced) interference with the climate system." It states that "such a level should be achieved within a time-frame sufficient to allow ecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change, to ensure that food production is not threatened, and to enable economic development to proceed in a sustainable manner."How do we know what is "dangerous anthropogenic interference"? See IPCC's Reports” etc. (quotes from the website)
a. See also the UN Conventions on Wetlands, Biodiversity, and Desertification
b. Conference to the Parties 21 (COP 21), Paris Climate Change Agreement 2015,UN. "The Paris Agreement builds upon the [UNFCC] and – for the first time – brings all nations into a common cause to undertake ambitious efforts to combat climate change and adapt to its effects, with enhanced support to assist developing countries to do so. As such, it charts a new course in the global climate effort. The Paris Agreement’s central aim is to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Additionally, the agreement aims to increase the ability of countries to deal with the impacts of climate change, and at making finance flows consistent with a low GHG emissions and climate-resilient pathway. To reach these ambitious goals, appropriate mobilization and provision of financial resources, a new technology framework and enhanced capacity-building is to be put in place, thus supporting action by developing countries and the most vulnerable countries, in line with their own national objectives. The Agreement also provides for an enhanced transparency framework for action and support. The Paris Agreement requires all Parties to put forward their best efforts through “nationally determined contributions” (NDCs) and to strengthen these efforts in the years ahead. This includes requirements that all Parties report regularly on their emissions and on their implementation efforts. There will also be a global stocktake every 5 years to assess the collective progress towards achieving the purpose of the agreement and to inform further individual actions by Parties.” (quote from website)
c. Climate Action Summit, UN, September 2019. “Climate change is the defining issue of our time and now is the defining moment to do something about it. There is still time to tackle climate change, but it will require an unprecedented effort from all sectors of society. To boost ambition and accelerate actions to implement the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, UN Secretary-General António Guterres will host the 2019 Climate Action Summit on 23 September to meet the climate challenge. The Summit will showcase a leap in collective national political ambition and it will demonstrate massive movements in the real economy in support of the agenda. Together, these developments will send strong market and political signals and inject momentum in the “race to the top” among countries, companies, cities and civil society that is needed to achieve the objectives of the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals.” (quote from website)
Member Care Associates Inc. (MCA) is a non-profit, Christian organization working internationally from Geneva and the USA. MCA's involvement in Global Integration focuses on the wellbeing and effectiveness of personnel and their organizations in the mission, humanitarian, and development sectors as well as global mental health, all with a view towards supporting sustainable development for all people and the planet. Our services include consultation, training, research, developing resources, and publications.
Global Integration is a framework for actively and responsibly engaging in our world--locally to globally. It emphasizes connecting relationally and contributing relevantly on behalf of human wellbeing and the issues facing humanity, in light of our integrity, commitments, and core values (e.g., ethical, humanitarian, human rights, faith-based).
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