Ending Global Poverty

Ending poverty is a noble goal, relevant today as much as it was two decades ago when four women rose to prominent positions in their government and decided to make it their central objective. As the world strives to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, we may find inspiration in the work of Eveline Herfkens from the Netherlands, Hilde F. Johnson from Norway, Clare Short from the United Kingdom, and Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul from Germany who became ministers in charge of their governments’ international development policies in 1997–8. They believed that the best way to end global poverty was to join forces in changing the policies of the international institutions where decisions affecting the poor all over the world are made and to reform donor countries development programmes. They came to be known as the Utstein Four, after the Norwegian Utstein Abbey where they formalized their collaboration in 1999. They called their collaboration ‘a conspiracy of implementation’ to contrast their action-oriented approach with the lofty pronouncements leaders agree to in big global conferences only to forget them when they return home. This volume discusses Utstein’s many contributions ranging from helping relieve the poorest countries of their debt, using debt relief to actually lift individuals out of poverty, achieving primary education for all, especially girls, and putting developing country partners in charge of setting priorities and implementing programmes of assistance. It is a story of women’s empowerment which lasted for only about half a dozen years as the original Utstein Four moved on to other positions. But their influence continues to be felt because their approach to improve aid effectiveness was codified in international agreements and practices of global institutions. The last part of the book discusses the legacy of the Utstein group and the lessons that their experience offers to the continuing challenges of eradicating poverty and achieving sustainable development.