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Sustainable Development Strategy

Four core objectives were established for the Sustainable Development Strategy (SDS) 2007–2009 in support of CIDA's goal of reduced poverty, promotion of human rights, and increased sustainable development. Progress on implementing this SDS is reported according to the measurement framework below.


CIDA Objective 1: Support equitable economic development
Expected results Performance measurement Actual Performance
Increased productivity, innovation and employment, and income opportunities 1. Domestic credit to the private sector (percentage of gross domestic product (GDP)) 1. Domestic credit to the private sector in low- and middle-income countries was 57.3% in 2006, up from 50.4% in 2000.1
2. Labour productivity (purchasing-power parity (PPP) GDP per person employed) 2. Labour productivity in the developing world was $4,356 in 2006, up from $2,507 in 1990.2 This trend continued, and was roughly $4,762 in 2007. It ranged from a high of $11,262 for Europe and Central Asia, a midrange of $9,678 for Latin America and the Caribbean, and a low of $1,869 for sub-Saharan Africa.
3.Youth (15–24 years old) employment-to-population ratio and youth unemployment rate 3. Youth employment-to-population ratio: 48% in 2006 and 44.5% in 2007, down from 54% in 1991. Between 1995 and 2005, job prospects for youth declined in most regions of the world as youth unemployment rose globally from 72.8 million to 85.7 million, an increase of 17.7%. (In 2007 the rate was 71.4 million). Between 2005 and 2007, the highest youth unemployment rates of 34.5%, 24%, and 24% were observed in Northern Africa, followed by western Asia (23.6%, 21%, 21%) and Sub-Saharan Africa (18.3%, 12%, 12%).3 In the years to come, developing countries will face the largest challenge in terms of youth unemployment and whether available employment will be decent and productive.
4. Share of women in wage employment in the non-agricultural sector 4. Between 2000 and 2008, women's participation in paid non-agricultural employment rose slightly, going from 52.3% to 52.6%4 Employment-to-population rates also rose slightly, going from 49% to 49.3%.5 However, the economic crisis has created new hurdles to women's employment in developing countries, where even though participation rates may be high, they represent mostly vulnerable jobs.
5. Number of people living on $1.25/day 5. Reduced number of people living on $1.25/day:6
  • Between 1990 and 2005, the number fell from 1.8 billion to 1.4 billon people worldwide.
  • The global economic downturn and the food crisis has pushed an extra 55–99 million more people into extreme poverty than anticipated before the crisis.
More-effective regulations conducive to investment, business formation and responsible enterprise7 Number of administrative and regulatory barriers eliminated to create a favourable environment for doing business

Globally, 113 economies implemented 239 reforms between June 2007 and June 2008, making it easier to do business and representing the most reforms recorded in a single year since 2004. These reforms focused on easing business start-ups, lightening the tax burden, simplifying import and export regulations, and improving credit-information systems. Economies in Africa implemented more "Doing Business" reforms in 2007–2008 than in any previous year covered, with 28 economies implementing 58 reforms, more than in any year since 2004.

In 2007–2008, 49 economies simplified business start-ups and reduced the costs associated. And 115 economies-more than half the world's total-have reformed in this area through 193 reforms over the past five years (since 2004).

Increased ability of developing countries to benefit from the global trading system 1. Changes in total merchandise exports from developing countries and least-developed countries (LDCs)

Total merchandise exports: (US millions)8
1A. Non-LDC developing countries
2004: $2,989,516.8 (growth rate 26.4%)
2005: $3,643,340.4 (growth rate 22.1%)
2006: $4,370,213.2 (growth rate 20.2%)
2007: $5,064,382.0 (growth rate9 15.19%)

1B. LDCs
2004: $55,878.0 (growth rate 29.8%)
2005: $76,513.6 (growth rate 36.9%)
2006: $99,294.7 (growth rate 29.8%)
2007: $125,644.0 (growth rate 21.15%)

2. Number of persons reached through trade-related technical assistance (TRTA) activities delivered to developing countries and LDCs 2. The estimated grand total of beneficiaries of the entire World Trade Organization (WTO) TRTA in 2007 amounted to more than 19,000. It also includes those who benefited from WTO contributions to TRTA events organized by other agencies. By comparison, the TRTAs in 2006 reached some 14,700 persons; in 2005, 12,400; in 2004, 12,000; in 2003, 14,000; and in 2002, 16,000. It should be noted that, in reality, the number of beneficiaries is smaller since many participants attended more than one TRTA event. In 2007 a total of 457 training activities were provided by the WTO. Training courses varied in length, from one day to 12 weeks, and the number of staff involved in each activity ranged from 1 to more than 20 for the longer courses. The number of participants for each course averaged around 30. The majority of activities in 2007 were held in Africa (166), representing 37% of total training output for the year. This was followed by Asia and the Pacific (77 activities, or 17%), Latin America (12%) and the rest to others.10
3. Volume of aid for trade (AFT) delivered 3. Between 2002 and 2005, AFT averaged $21.1 billion, and stood at $23.5 billion in 2006 and $25.4 billion in 2007. AFT helps developing countries exploit the potential benefits of trade liberalization by increasing their capacity to produce goods and to comply with the product standards required in export markets.
4. Satisfaction of participants with the results of the TRTA 4. A TRTA event is usually considered successful if at least 80% of the participants rated it "very successful" or "successful." The audit of WTO TRTAs identified a higher-than-standard satisfaction of participants, i.e. 98% of them rated the attended TRTA "very successful" and/or "successful." This performance is about the same as in 2005 and 2006.11
CIDA's Objective 2: Support social development, with particular emphasis on people living in poverty
Expected results Performance measurement Actual Performance
Progress on the prevention and control of poverty-linked diseases Prevalence and death rates associated with tuberculosis Tuberculosis prevalence in low-income countries:12
2000: 421 per 100,000 persons

2007: 387 per 100,000 persons

Reduce the burden of HIV/AIDS HIV prevalence among young people HIV prevalence among young people (15–24 years old) has declined since 2000–2001 in 8 of the 11 highest-prevalence countries where sufficient data is available to analyze recent trends. Young women make up more than half of all young people (15–24 years old) living with HIV/AIDS.
Prevalence of HIV among adults Prevalence of HIV among adults in low-income countries in 2007: 1,842 per 100,000 persons13
Annual number of new HIV infections Annual number of new infections declined from 3 million in 2001 to 2.7 million in 2007. (Source: UNAIDS 2008 global epidemic report.)
Deaths related to HIV Overall, 2 million people died due to AIDS in 2007 compared with an estimated 1.7 million in 2001.
Reduced infant and child mortality rates Under-five mortality Under-five mortality in low-income countries:14
2000: 142 per 1,000 persons
2007: 126 per 1,000 persons
Infant mortality Infant mortality in low-income countries:
2000: 90 per 1,000 persons
2007: 80 per 1,000 person
Improved sexual and reproductive health and reduced maternal mortality Attended births Births attended by skilled health personnel in low-income countries:
1990–1999: 39
2000–2006: 44
Maternal mortality rate Maternal mortality ratio in low-income countries:
2005: 650 per 100,000 persons (data unavailable for later years)
Improved food security and nutrition Undernourished persons Percentage of undernourished persons in total population in developing countries:
2004–2006: 16%
2008: 17%
Agricultural productivity Agricultural productivity (agricultural value added per worker in dollars) in developing countries: $558
Proportion of vulnerable people identified as requiring food assistance compared with the proportion of food assistance needs met  
Vitamin A Vitamin A supplement coverage rate (6–59 months) with at least one dose:15
2001: 59%
2007: 72% (full coverage was 62%)
Consumption of iodized salt Households consuming iodized salt in developing countries16
1997–2002: 66%
2000–2007: 70%
Strengthened health systems Access to health services (number of consultations per year per inhabitant)  
Human resources for health (number of health workers by cadre and by region)

In 2007 the proportion of physicians per 100,000 persons ranged from 2 in Africa to 32 in Europe. The numbers in other regions were as follows: Americas,19; Southeast Asia, 5; Eastern Mediterranean, 10; and Western Pacific, 14.

The density of nursing and midwifery personnel per 100,000 persons ranged from 11 in Africa to 79 in Europe. The numbers in other regions were as follows: Americas, 49; Southeast Asia, 12; Eastern Mediterranean, 15; and Western Pacific, 20.

The proportion of community health workers by region was unavailable.

Inequities (note that work is underway to reach a consensus around the conceptual and statistical issues involved in constructing and interpreting these inequity measures). The evidence from 90 countries17 that have the necessary data shows that in many countries, there are still significant inequities between urban and rural regions, and richer and poorer households. For example, in half the countries, child mortality rates are at least 1.4 times higher in rural areas compared with those in urban areas, and are at least 1.9 times higher among the poorest 20% of households compared with the richest 20%. In 64% of countries, the proportion of births attended by skilled personnel is at least 20% higher in urban than in rural areas. There appears to be less inequity in measles immunization: the urban–rural difference is 20%, or higher, in only 10% of countries.
Better access to education for all Percentage of children enrolled in primary education In 2006 an estimated 75 million children, 55% of them girls, did not attend school, down from 103 million in 1999.
Sub-Saharan Africa raised its average net enrolment ratio from 54% to 70% between 1999 and 2006, and child enrolment in South and West Asia rose from 75% to 86%.
Percentage of children completing primary schooling The percentage of children reaching the last grade of primary education improved between 1999 and 2004 in most countries for which there are data. Although 79% of students in the developing world enrol for in the final year, not all complete it. For example, 88% of students in the Caribbean reach the last grade, but only 63% of students in sub-Saharan Africa. This may be because they fail to pass final exams or because they drop out for other reasons.
Progress on closing the gender gap in education

Ratio of girls to boys in primary, secondary, and tertiary education in developing countries

In 2006, 59 of the 176 countries with data had achieved gender parity in primary school, 20 countries more than in 1999.

In developing countries, for every 100 boys enrolled in primary school in 2006, 95 girls were enrolled, up from 91 in 1999:

  • In South and West Asia, for every 100 boys in primary school in 2006, 95 girls were enrolled.
  • In sub-Saharan Africa, for every 100 boys in primary school in 2006, 89 girls were enrolled.

Of countries with data, 37% had reached gender parity in secondary education by 2006.

In developing countries, for every 100 boys enrolled in secondary school in 2005, 94 girls were enrolled, up from 89 in 1999:

  • In Latin America, for every 100 boys enrolled in secondary school in 2006, 107 girls were enrolled.
  • In sub-Saharan Africa , for every 100 boys enrolled in secondary school in 2006, 80 girls were enrolled.

In developing countries, for every 100 boys enrolled in tertiary education in 2006, 93 girls were enrolled, up from 78 in 1999:

  • In South and West Asia, for every 100 boys enrolled in tertiary education in 2006, 76 girls were enrolled.
  • In sub-Saharan Africa, for every 100 boys enrolled in tertiary education in 2006, 67 girls were enrolled.
Ratio of literate women to men 15–24 years old From 1985–1994 to 2000–2006, the number of adults lacking literacy skills fell by 100 million. There are still an estimated 776 million adults who cannot read or write, with women accounting for 64% of them. In developing countries, for every 100 literate men, there are 85 literate women. This is an increase from 1985–1994, when there were only 77 literate women for every 100 men.
Strengthened action against HIV/AIDS through education Number of HIV/AIDS education policies and programs in place The 2006 report entitled Education Sector Global HIV & AIDS Readiness Survey18 presents the outcome of the first international survey of the education sector outlining its HIV/AIDS readiness. This report documents the readiness of 71 ministries of education to manage and mitigate the impact of HIV/AIDS. The report found that:
  • overall, 32% of the ministries of education had an education sector HIV/AIDS policy, including 40% in high-prevalence countries, 27% in medium-prevalence countries, and 30% in low-prevalence countries;
  • one in five ministries of education reported to have a workplace or human resource policy related to HIV/AIDS; and
  • HIV/AIDS was addressed in the curriculum at the primary level in 79% of all countries. At the secondary level, 89% of all countries addressed HIV/AIDS within their curriculum, 90 of high-, 87% in medium-, and 89% in low-prevalence countries.
Improved stability and protection for children in emergency settings Number of girls and boys living in crisis situations who participate in formal and non-formal education programming

The constantly changing number and nature of global crises and emergencies means that tracking statistics in a manner that shows improvement is unreliable due to changing population numbers as crises ebb and flow unpredictably. Moreover, with regard to education, there is no consolidated global data available or proxies that have been developed to date. Children living in crisis situations include those affected by natural disasters and by urgent war and conflict-related violence, including refugees.

Between 37% and more than 53% of all out-of-school children (75 million in 2006) live in conflict-affected fragile states.19

Enrollment in Grades 1-6 with regard to 98 reporting United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) refugee camp schools in 2008.20

Concerning refugee students enrolled in Grades 1–6, 38 percent of the reporting camps meet the standard of having 100% children enrolled, 30.6% almost meet the standard and 32% do not meet the standard.

Attendance by gender in UNHCR camp schools in 2008.
Disaggregated by gender, the percentage of refugee students enrolled in Grades 1-6 in 2008 was 62.8% of girls and 75.8% of boys. The Gender Parity Index remains below 1. Despite an increasing number of girls enrolled in primary school in the last few years, the issues of completion and transition to secondary education remain a concern.

Enrollment in Grades 1-6 of refugee children in urban areas (2008).
Concerning urban refugee students enrolled in Grades 1–6, 32% of the reporting urban areas meet the standard of having 100% children enrolled, 60% almost meet the standard, and 8% do not meet the standard.

CIDA's Objective 3: Support environment and natural resources management
Expected results Performance measurement Actual Performance
100% compliance regarding the application of these environmental tools to CIDA's decisions on policies, plans, programs, and projects Number of CIDA environmental impact assessments and strategic environmental assessments (SEAs) applied to CIDA decisions on policies, plans, programs, and projects using the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (CEEA) or the Federal Cabinet Directive on SEA, as appropriate

CIDA is fully compliant with the CEEA. For 2008–2009, 122 projects were assessed and published in the Public Registry.

CIDA is currently in the preparatory research phase of the 2010 parliamentary review of the CEAA.

CIDA is now co-chair of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) SEA Task Team, a subcommittee of the OECD Development Assistance Committee and ENVIRONET. CIDA engaged the OECD SEA Task Team to develop SEA quality review methodology for CIDA and other OECD members.

In 2008–2009, 57 policies, plans, and programs were subjected to detailed SEAs. Each completed SEA is accompanied by a public statement from the Minister, made available on the CIDA website.

Countries have greater capacity to develop and use natural resources in a sustainable manner Degree of integration of environmental sustainability into country policies and programs

Environment specialists are present in each programming branch to provide strategic advice on integration of environment considerations into projects and programs.

CIDA provided results-based management training to its environment specialists to ensure that they are better able to integrate environmental considerations into country programs. CIDA also provides training on environmental considerations for those going on postings, helping to ensure they are aware of these issues while in the field.

CIDA has integrated items of environmental consideration into the guidelines for the new country-programming frameworks.

Environmental integration is now being captured in the new CIDA investment monitoring and reporting tool (IMRT) in order to make the Agency better able to assess how environment considerations are being integrated and how improvements can be made on environmental integration in the future. This tool has also been designed to help the Agency report more accurately on its international environmental commitments (United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, and United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change).

Additional tools have been developed by CIDA, including the environment section of the mandatory new development officers training program, integration of the environment into the chapter on responsive programming in the CIDA Roadmap, an online corporate e-learning program on environmental integration at CIDA, and a CEAA Job Aid CD-ROM.

Operations at headquarters are green 1. Initiatives to implement the Government of Canada Green Procurement Policy 1. a) Material Management Green Procurement Report is in development and will be operational by 2010 in order to report on green procurement performance.
b) The Green Procurement Policy and CIDA's requirements were presented and discussed with accommodations suppliers.
c) An Asset Management Plan, including green criteria, has been developed.
d) Some 90% of office furniture was purchased through PWGSC Green Standing Offers.
e) Some 80% of solid and hazardous wastes were recycled. In addition, a new program for recycling classified CDs and diskettes has been implemented.
2. Number of employees trained in the procurement area 2. All material management, corporate procurement, and planning officers have completed the online Green Procurement Training.
3. Number of initiatives for reducing energy and water consumption launched 3. a) An awareness campaign was launched to reduce CIDA's energy consumption by encouraging employees to turn off lights and electrical appliances.
b) Computer monitors are automatically shut off after 20 minutes of disuse.
c) A green meeting protocol was implemented across the Agency, reducing the negative environmental impact of meetings.
e) A green team builds awareness and engagement within the branches.
4. Number of vehicles replaced with hybrid models 4. The vehicle fleet meets the Green Procurement Policy requirements in this area, reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
5. Percentage of gasoline purchased for CIDA vehicles that is blended with ethanol 5. Some 80% of gasoline purchased for CIDA's vehicles is blended with ethanol.
6. Level of usage of videoconferencing between CIDA headquarters and foreign offices 6. Videoconferencing is used approximately 50 hours per week with Canadian and foreign partners and offices, reducing the number of trips made for meetings.
7. Amount of paper purchased for printers and photocopiers. 7. Since 2006, a 15% reduction of paper purchased was achieved by implementing the double-sided printing feature by default.
CIDA's Objective 4: Support progress in democratic governance and human rights
Expected results Performance measurement Actual Performance
Greater democratization, improved public sector performance and accountability, and improved rule of law Level of democratic governance

In recent decades, there has been significant democratization across the globe: 80 countries-representing almost half of the world's population-are considered to be democracies. However, the spread of democracy has stagnated over the past two years.21

Over the past decade, 1998–2008, both Eastern Europe and Latin America have shown improvements across all governance dimensions, but South Asia has shown a decline. Progress in other regions has been mixed.22 Evidence shows, however, that where there is commitment to reform, improvements in governance can, and do, occur. Individual countries in all regions have shown substantial improvements in governance, even if at times they are starting from a very low level.23

Democratic governance
The extent to which citizens are able to participate in selecting their government and enjoy freedom of expression, freedom of association, and a free media has increased slightly in recent years in sub-Saharan Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. However, there have been decreases in South Asia, East Asia, and the Middle East and North Africa.24 Progress has been made toward the achievement of political stability in all regions, except the Middle East and North Africa, and South Asia.25

Public sector performance and accountability
Although there has been mixed progress in terms of government effectiveness in East Asia and Eastern Europe in recent years, there have been consistent improvements in the level of public sector performance in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East and North Africa since 2004.26

Proportion of seats held by women in local government bodies

Although women still hold a minority of seats in local government bodies, the proportion of seats held by women has increased over time. The average percentage of women in national parliaments worldwide increased from 12.8% in May 1999 to 18.4% in May 2009.27 From May 2008 to May 2009, the number of women in parliaments has remained the same in all regions, except for sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, where the number of women in national parliaments slightly increased.

Despite increased attention given to issues of corruption, improvements in controlling the level of corruption worldwide are waning.28 An increasing number of countries, primarily in Africa, but also in Asia and South America, are signing on to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, which supports improved governance through the verification and full publication of company payments and government revenues from oil, gas, and mining.

Rule of law
There have been general improvements in the rule of law across sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and North Africa, and the Caribbean, but decreases in the regions of East Asia and South Asia, and mixed progress in Latin America.29

Strengthened human rights institutions, effective civil society initiatives (e.g. human rights education) and inclusive public policies Level of improvements in human rights

In the areas of civil and political rights, people were tortured or ill-treated in at least 78 countries (compared to 81 in 2007), faced unfair trials in at least 50 countries (compared to 54 in 2007) and were not allowed to speak freely in at least 81 countries (compared to 77 in 2007).30 At least 2,390 people were executed worldwide, with 78% of executions taking place in G20 countries. People seeking asylum were forcibly returned by at least 27 countries to states where they faced detention, torture-even death. Prisoners of conscience were held in at least 50 countries.31

Progress in economic, social, and cultural rights was also uneven. For example, while overall child mortality rates fell, only 33 countries (compared to 32 in 2007) are on track to achieve the MDG on child mortality.32 Increased poverty and deprivation due to the global financial situation have led to denial of economic and social rights, including food shortages and the use of food as a political weapon, forced evictions in at least 24 countries, and abuse of rights of indigenous peoples.33

Progress has been made in addressing such human rights violations through advances in the development of legal human rights instruments, mechanisms, and standards, both at the United Nations and in other international forums, and in enhanced awareness and commitment of the international community. In 2008, Canada was chair of the International Coordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institutions, which contributed to advancing their role at every level. Canada was also an active member of the Human Rights Council, an intergovernmental body that makes recommendations to the UN General Assembly about situations in which human rights are violated.


Footnotes

1 World Development Indicators 2008

2 Ibid

3 World Development Indicators 2008 and MDG Report 2006

4 MDG Report 2007

5 Global Employment Trends for Women, International Labour Organisation, Geneva, 2009

6 The Millennium Development Goals Report, 2009

7 Since 2004, Doing Business has been tracking reforms aimed at simplifying business regulations, strengthening property rights, opening up access to credit and enforcing contracts by measuring their impact on 10 indicator sets.

8 UNCTAD (2006). The Least Developed Countries Report 2006

9 All new (2007, 2008) trade figures come from the UNCTAD Handbook of Statistics 2008

10 World Trade Organization Annual Report 2008

11 WTO Training activities – Committee on Trade and Development (2008): Technical Cooperation Audit Report for 2007

12 World Health Statistics 2009, WHO

13 Ibid.

14 Ibid.

15 www.unicef.org/sowc09/docs/SOWC09_Table_2.pdf

16 www.unicef.org/sowc09/docs/SOWC09_Table_2.pdf

17 World Health Statistics 2009, WHO

18 http://hivaidsclearinghouse.unesco.org/ev.php?ID=5293_201&ID2=DO_TOPIC

19 UNESCO (2007) Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2008 Summary, Paris: UNESCO, pg. 5. And Save the Children Alliance (2009) Last in Line, Last in School 2009: How Donors are failing children in conflict-affected fragile states, London: Save the Children Alliance, pg. 1 & 18.

20 UNHCR Standards and Indicators Handbook 2007 & 2008.

21 Economist Intelligence Unit's Democracy Index 2008

22 Governance Matters VIII: Aggregate and Individual Governance Indicators, 1996–2008, World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 4978

23 Ibid.

24 Ibid.

25 Ibid.

26 Ibid.

27 Women in National Parliaments, Inter-Parliamentary Union

28 Governance Matters VIII: Aggregate and Individual Governance Indicators, 1996–2008, World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 4978

29 Ibid.

30 Amnesty International Report 2009

31 Ibid.

32 Global Monitoring Report 2009 – A Development Emergency

33 Amnesty International Report 2009