In order to achieve the MDGs, an effective provision of basic services is essential. These include primary education and health, water and sanitation and the prevention, care and treatment of major diseases. Because the MDGs and their targets are mostly expressed in percentages, there is a tendency to try to achieve the Goals by concentrating on people that are more easily reachable. As progress is made toward development targets, it will become increasingly difficult to reach those remaining un- or under-served. They include people living in remote rural areas, ethnic minorities, people with disabilities and women and girls.

Several calls have been made on the governments of the world and of the region to increase their budgets to achieve the MDGs. While it is important that governments make more resources available, financial resources alone are not sufficient to make an impact. Governments need to adopt good governance principles, such as inclusiveness and equity, the rule of law, participatory decision-making, transparency and accountability.

Many population groups face immense barriers when trying to access basic services. These barriers are physical, legal, financial and socio-cultural in nature. Moreover, the poor are not a homogenous group; different groups face different barriers and many groups face multiple barriers. The inability of the poor to pay is a major financial barrier to access, and there are almost always costs involved even if the service is free. Barriers include the remote location of many poor groups, the low capacity of service providers and low quality of the service.

Some poor face legal barriers to accessing basic services if they lack birth certificates or other forms of registration. Gender discrimination in the wider society, but also inside the household, acts as a barrier against equal access to basic services by girls and women. Persons with disabilities are often denied access to basic services because of physical and social barriers, while people living with HIV/AIDS face discrimination. Governments need to be inclusive in their policies and to find ways for people to overcome these barriers.

Overcoming barriers to improving the provision of services requires a variety of strategies because different groups often confront different barriers and local conditions vary. First, it is important to match services to the unique conditions and needs of the users and this can only be achieved by involving the users of a service in the decision-making. This requires decentralization of decision-making to lower levels as well as transparency and accountability by the service provider. Second, governments need to broaden the range of basic services providers to include community organizations, non-governmental organizations and the private sector. In some cases, the most appropriate role of the government is to provide an enabling environment, i.e., one that promotes the involvement of a range of providers, but sets standards and monitors service provision.

Public-private partnership is an option for service provision, as it combines the public interest and social responsibility of the government with the efficiency of the private sector. However, one can also think about partnerships between local government and civil society organizations. Such organizations often provide services in the absence of State provision and partnership with local government could increase their effectiveness. Many civil society organizations promote alternative models of service provision and bring innovation to service delivery to the poor. Traditional institutions that have authority in the local community, such as temples, mosques and churches, should not be overlooked. They can provide services, if recognized as partners.

Broadening the range of providers does not release governments from their fundamental responsibility to ensure that all people have access to basic services. Adherence to good governance is essential to make strategies for basic service provision and poverty reduction effective and sustainable. Good governance implies that the poor and other disadvantaged groups are included in decision-making about providing services that affect their lives and about the objectives of the resulting policies and programmes. This will empower them to become agents of their own development and to participate in other relevant areas. Good governance also means that society recognizes the contributions of the poor in development and that the poor share in the benefits of development.

Summarized by Yap Kioe Sheng, Officer-in-Charge, UNESCAP-CAPSA, Bogor, Indonesia.
This short article summarizes the ESCAP publication "Access to Basic Services: The Importance of Good Governance", http://www.unescap.org/publications/detail.asp?id=1212