Plans for eradicating diarrhoeal diseases in the Limpopo basin through health-related catchment development programmes, rather than redressing the socio-economic effects of hydroelectric dams on the communities, will be tabled before the 100 or so heads of state expected to sign the World Summit’s plan of implementation and the political declaration.
In the same vein, oil companies will be encouraged to work with Angolan and Nigerian communities on the sustainable development of their industrial activities. The brain drain of health workers from developing to developed countries will have to be managed rather than stemmed.
These are some of the 30 new action plans and partnerships aimed at delivering sustainable development. The partnership plans — hammered out over three days before the summit — emanate from the Implementation Conference of the World Summit that drew more than 400 stakeholders from about 50 countries. The conference consists of 25 working groups that include trade unions, business, women and youth organisations.
Minister of Education Kader Asmal commended the work of the conference as representing “globalisation from below” — initiatives driven by local communities in pursuing sustainable development and eradicating poverty.
In the words of Derek Osborn, the partnerships are about “action rather than lobbying governments”.
The conference deliberations were focused on four broad areas: food security, energy, health and fresh water. Neither the working group on food security nor the one on fresh water would comment on recent land grabs in Zimbabwe or the controversy surrounding the possible privatisation of water in South Africa or other parts of the world.
But tangible moves have been made towards sustainable development. Gordon Baker, coordinator of the health partnership action group, says many countries can learn from Thailand about providing lucrative remuneration packages for doctors working in rural areas.
“The first step is to manage the migration of health workers from developing to developed countries. The Commonwealth secretariat has come up with a code of conduct to manage bilateral agreements on the issues … and the World Health Organisation will coordinate the matter.”
Baker says 26 African health ministers are working on removing tariffs on malaria-control products, including bed nets and drugs.
He says progress is being made in combating HIV/Aids in the workplace. “The International Labour Organisation will finalise a code of conduct at its October 2003 conference … The approach is really to encourage, rather than punish, companies to comply, and different provisions would be made for big companies and multinational corporations on the one hand, and small entrepreneurs on the other.”
Minu Hemmati, conference coordinator, says the purpose of the 30 partnership action groups is to “identify areas where there is common ground. Working together is the most effective way of reaching agreements so that participants actually own the action plan agreed upon.”
The conference is convened by the Stakeholder Forum for Our Common Future, formerly the United Nations Environmental Development Forum, to follow up resolutions taken in Rio de Janeiro in 1992.