GFAN speaks with Guido Schmidt-Traub on Financing for Sustainable Development
Guido Schmidt-Traub is the Executive Director of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network and co-author with Jeffrey Sachs of the draft report, ‘Financing Sustainable Development: Implementing the SDGs through Effective Investment Strategies and Partnerships’.
This draft report seeks to outline a “practical action agenda” for the Third International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD) in Addis Ababa in July 2015. It was available for public consultation until 15 January 2015 and a final version will be prepared for the conference.
The paper is meant to highlight key findings about what has effectively financed the MDGs and how to build on these methods, to expand successes to other areas and to build an effective financing framework.
Health is an example of how the MDGs have been successful – in particular the role of Global Fund and GAVI and the work of civil society with these institutions and in the areas of health to promote innovation, secure resources, set achievable targets and measure results. GAVI and GF provide many important lessons about how other sectors could move forward.
Schmidt-Traub’s presentation focused on the benefits of pooled financing mechanisms and provided an overview of the issues and challenges that will be faced in Addis.
Christoph Benn, Director of External Relations at the Global Fund, also joined the call the share his thoughts on the Global Fund’s role in the future of SDG financing.