NHSMUN 2015

High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development

Update Paper

NHSMUN

National High School Model United Nations

New York City | March 04-07, 2015

IMUNA
International Model United Nations Association
 N ATIONAL H IGH S CHOOL M ODEL U NITED N ATIONS
The 41st Annual Conference • March 4 – March 7, 2015

February 2015
Dear Delegates,
Shirley Wu
Secretary-General
Princeton University I hope that your excitement is building for NHSMUN 2015! I am William Hinthorn and I will
be your Assistant Director for the High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development
Lily O’Connell (HLPF). I have had a fantastic time exploring this year’s topics of Sustainable Access to Safe
Director-General
University of Pennsylvania
Drinking Water and Sanitation in Sub-Saharan Africa and Access to Modern Energy in LDCs
and am looking forward to seeing all of you apply your hard background work in committee.
Brody Duncan The issues you are confronted with in this simulation are of particular concern to me, and they
Conference Director
McGill University
are given top priority by countless international development organizations due to their scope
and severity of impact.
Alec Guertin
Director of Security
University of California,
A little about myself. I was born and raised in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, though I now live south
Berkeley of Boston. In high school, I attended NHSMUN three times, giving me the opportunity to
explore the economics, politics, and violent consequences that plague development work. I am
Jason Toney
Chief of External Relations
now a first-year engineering student at Princeton University though only after taking a gap year
Bard College to participate in my school’s Bridge Year Program. During this gap year I had the opportunity
to work long-term in a number of schools in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India and see
Laura Beltran-Rubio
Chief of Staff
firsthand some of the socioeconomic obstacles that I had grappled with during my own high
Parsons The New School for school NHSMUN experience. On campus, I participate in Engineers Without Borders and
Design work with a number of other groups focused on sustainable engineering and development,
Jinny Jung
and in my nonacademic time am on the Bhangra team here.
Under-Secretary General of
Administrative Affairs I hope that you continue to dive into this year’s topics, and that in writing your position papers
University of Michigan
and participating in the simulation in March you will develop a deeper understanding of
Helen Robertson development work, hopefully creating a lifelong curiosity for and pursuit of the art of human
Under-Secretary General development. Feel free to contact Maria and me with any questions you might have, and we
University of Virginia would love to assist you. Good luck on writing your position papers, and I look forward to
Joe Sherlock meeting all of you in March!
Under-Secretary General
Bowdoin College Best regards,
Erin Corcoran
Under-Secretary General William Hinthorn
Harvard University Assistant Director, HLPF
Costanza Cicero @NHSMUN_HLPF
Under-Secretary General
University of Bologna

Alyssa Greenhouse
Under-Secretary General
Duke University

Paula Kates
Under-Secretary General
Tufts University

NHSMUN is a project of the International Model

United Nations Association, Incorporated
(IMUNA). IMUNA, a not-for-profit, all
volunteer organization, is dedicated to furthering
global issues education at the secondary school level.
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TOPIC A: SUSTAINABLE ACCESS TO SAFE DRINKING

WATER AND SANITATION IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
UPDATE PAPER
Throughout the year of 2014, the issue of access to water, sanitation facilities, and hygiene (WASH)
in developing countries received a significant increase in public attention as a direct result of the
Ebola epidemic in West Africa. As a disease spread through bodily fluids, Ebola has proven itself to
be particularly deadly in informal housing developments where high population density and little to
no access to public sanitation facilities force inhabitants to live next to cesspools and open sewage.1
Rapid responses by countries like Nigeria have mitigated its effect in some areas, but the
disorganization in policy and the lack of infrastructure in affected countries has been universally
highlighted by the virus.2 As these systemic inadequacies are thrown back in the spotlight, there is
increasing international support and public pressure for change.

The increased international recognition of the urgency of the situation and of its link with access to
safe drinking water and sanitation facilities has led to the United Nations (UN) calling for an end to
the practice of open defecation, with the UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson recognizing
that “success at ending open defecation goes beyond infrastructure. It requires the understanding of
behaviors, cultural attitudes, and social norms.”3

This statement was made in conjunction with the release of the World Health Organization’s
(WHO) UN-Water Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-Water (GLAAS) report.
This revealed that though 2.3 billion people have gained access to improved drinking water in the
past two decades, 2.5 billion still lack access to improved sanitation, defined loosely as facilities
designed to ensure separation of waste from human contact.4 Nearly one billion people still practice
open defecation, with rates as high as 1/3 and 1/2 of the total populations of Sierra Leone and
Liberia having no access to any type of toilet.5 Because of this, the provision of WASH has been
identified as one of the five key components of the global response strategy to the Ebola outbreak.6
This has provided an immediate example of the failure of governments to create an environment in
which their citizens may obtain the basic necessities to live. The focus and increased allocation of
resources to this end must then be utilized to build systems that will both better serve their target

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1 David Francis Washington, “Nigeria Got Everything Right That the US Got Wrong,” Foreign Policy, 23 Oct. 2014,
accessed 14 Dec. 2014, http://foreignpolicy.com/2014/10/20/in-fight-to-stop-ebola-nigeria-got-right-everything-
america-got-wrong/.
2 Ibid.
3 “UN Calls for End to Open Defecation amid Ebola Threat,” Daily The Pak Banker, 20 Nov. 2014, accessed 14 Dec.

2014.
4 WHO/FWC/WSH/14.01, “Investing in Water and Sanitation: Increasing Access, Reducing Inequalities,” 17 Nov.

2014, accessed 14 Dec. 2014,

http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/glaas/2013/14063_SWA_GLAAS_Highlights.pdf.
5 “UN Calls for End to Open Defecation Amid Ebola Threat.”
6 WHO/FWC/WSH/14.01, “Investing in Water and Sanitation: Increasing Access, Reducing Inequalities.”

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populations and limit the spread of contagions like Ebola that prevent people from leading secure
and fulfilling lives.

GLAAS identified 10 key findings from its evaluations of 94 developing countries.7 One area of
particular negative impact is the weak implementation and evaluation of the provision of drinking
water and sanitation to health care facilities and schools, which has significantly hindered the
capacity of surveyed countries to prevent disease outbreaks and, moreover, has been found to
correlate with poor lifelong health and reduced school attendance, especially for girls.8 Less than 1/3
of the countries studied have plans for implementing and evaluating these key areas. The lack of
appropriate WASH at public facilities not only contributes to poor health and the spread of
infectious disease as have been mentioned previously but also hinders the development of a country
in a direct and large-scale manner by restricting the education prerequisite for social mobility and
financial security. A public guarantee of WASH is a key step to the empowerment of individuals to
participate in an increasingly knowledge-based, global market and plays a large role in the long-term
health and education of the most vulnerable groups.

The report also found that while most governments supported the concept of universal access to
clean drinking water and sanitation facilities, only about 70% of the governments studied recognize
WASH as universal human rights by law, and less than 1 in 4 reported that they have national
sanitation plans that are being “implemented, funded, and regularly reviewed.”9 The absence of a
clear public health policy, including a plan to provide appropriate services has been a large factor in
the inability of governing bodies to respond to the Ebola crisis and continues to be a significant
roadblock in development by preventing organization of action.

The lack of clarity in policy as highlighted by the Ebola outbreak has also shined a light on a second
serious problem which may preclude WASH and result in systemic failures in public health: rapid
urbanization. The urban population in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is expected to triple to over 1.2
billion by 2050.10 This ongoing process has already shown through stagnation in development:
though the average access to water sources in SSA increased from 49% to 61% between 1990 and
2010, the portion of those dwelling in urban areas with access to piped water decreased by 9% over
the same period.11 These numbers indicate that the efforts being made by governments to improve
infrastructure are insufficient for the rapidly growing urban areas due to lack of adequate funding
and data to plan, implement, and manage new systems. SSA is already beginning to experience the
growing pains of a youth bulge and urbanization that, if not properly managed, could result in
systemic inequalities and the marginalization of human dignity.

As an increasing number of people move from the country to informal settlements, data collection
and ability to provide services to the citizenry have become exponentially more difficult. The rapid
growth of these informal communities has given rise to ad hoc local leadership, which facilitates
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7 Ibid.
8 Ibid.
9 Ibid.
10 Jay P Graham and Mike R Hopewell, “Trends in Access to Water Supply and Sanitation in 31 Major Sub-Saharan

African Cities: an Analysis of DHS data from 2000 to 2012,” BMC Public Health (2014), accessed 3 Dec. 2014,
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/14/208.
11 Ibid.

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corruption and ineffective legislation in formal governance.12 The resulting fabrication of data and
waste of philanthropic funds as black money, funds earned in the black market, hinders
development and covers up the realities of the living conditions. Disparities in WASH are already
glaring in urban areas with access differing greatly between poor and wealthy classes.13 If this is to be
improved, policies regarding fundamental rights within a municipality such as property rights, access
to public facilities, and representation within government all need to be guaranteed. As development
programs continue to mature, the HLPF must recognize the significance of the issues associated
with the current pace of urbanization and require political commitment for managing this with
respect to WASH to ensure the long-term provision of clean water and sanitation for the influx of
people. It cannot abandon those living in informal settlements but also cannot risk the longevity
and integrity of its mission by feeding a system of corruption and lack of guidance.

Though foreign and domestic funding of WASH is increasing, 80% of the countries reviewed in
GLAAS indicated insufficient financing for the necessary improvements including 70% who
reported that tariffs could not cover the cost of the operation and maintenance of existing facilities.14
These countries need recurring aid and the local education and capacity to manage infrastructure to
protect the long-term, sustained access to water and sanitation. In order to meet the Millennium
Development Goals, countries must not only be able to construct the appropriate infrastructure but
also develop the necessary domestic economic capacity and community involvement to maintain
these public works. Sustainability will stem from sufficiently organized funding mechanisms for
human resources to staff these new systems. Transparency of government and better information on
public works will also improve funding of projects due to greater efficiency and increased trust
between funders and an implementing body.

Beyond infrastructure, countries must look for educational programs. Though the cost of running
public awareness campaigns for the importance of hygienic practices such as hand washing and teeth
brushing is low compared to infrastructure improvements, they have seen great results in the past.
Only 1/5 of the countries evaluated in GLAAS had hygiene campaigns, and only 7 countries
reported expending greater than 1% of their WASH budget on hygiene promotion.15 Though
educational campaigns have been proven effective, they are regularly overlooked. A recent study
estimates that only 19% of the world’s population washes its hands with soap after contact with
excreta even though it is known to reduce the risk of diarrheal disease by 40%.16 Though the child
mortality rate from diarrheal diseases has been cut by 60% since 1990, the lives of many of the
600,000 estimated children who succumb to gastrointestinal illness each year could be saved if
educational campaigns were prioritized.17 In the Post-2015 development period, HLPF must
continue to improve the allocation of funding educational efforts to prevent the spread of disease.
More thought must be given to the human factor of development so that international support will

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12 Hernando De Soto, The Other Path: The Invisible Revolution in the Third World, (New York: Harper & Row, 1989), 160.
13 Jay P Graham and Mike R Hopewell, “Trends in Access to Water Supply and Sanitation in 31 Major Sub-Saharan
African Cities: an Analysis of DHS data from 2000 to 2012.
14 Ibid.
15 Ibid.
16 MC Freeman, et al., “Hygiene and Health: Systematic Review of Handwashing Practices Worldwide and Update of
Health Effects,” Tropical Medicine and International Health, 28 May 2014.
17 WHO/FWC/WSH/14.01, “Investing in Water and Sanitation: Increasing Access, Reducing Inequalities.”

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take the form of long-term change in customs and habits that will sustainably improve people’s
health. Countries need relevant assistance and do not benefit from shortsightedness.

At a regional level this past year, the African countries decided to prioritize development around the
Common African Position (CAP). CAP is a unified position held by African countries designed to
promote international support for collective action and define specific goals held by the region as a
whole. Its six main pillars include “structural economic transformation and inclusive growth;
promoting science, technology, and innovation; a people-centered development; environmental
sustainability, natural resources management and disaster risk management; peace and security; and
financing and partnerships.”18 To assist SSA in the acquisition of WASH, the HLPF may garner
international and regional support to help create an integrated development plan. It can apply
lessons learned in other countries that have implemented similar programs to ensure universal and
equitable access to healthcare, access reproductive rights and appropriate care, improving the
financing of medical infrastructure, the developing of local manufacturing capacity for health
equipment, and setting up proper monitoring and evaluation programs.19 This may be financially
feasible by improving “domestic resource mobilization” and “curtailing illicit financial flows and
fighting corruption in a way that ensures the efficient and effective use of resources and domestic
long-term financing.” 20

As developing societies continue to progress, the issues of WASH have grown increasingly critical.
The spread of disease and strain caused by growing and aging populations has brought these issues
to the forefront, making them a primary issue on the agenda of the HLPF in the post-2015 process.

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18 “On the Post-2015 Development Agenda,” African Union, Mar. 2014, Accessed 14 Dec. 2014,

http://www.nepad.org/sites/default/files/Common%20African%20Position-%20ENG%20final.pdf.
19 Ibid.
20 Ibid.

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TOPIC B: ACCESS TO MODERN ENERGY IN LEAST-

DEVELOPED COUNTRIES (LDCS)
UPDATE PAPER
The access to Modern Energy (ME) is a crucial part of contemporary life. However, its distribution
and appropriate use remains a challenge. The expansion of middle classes in large countries like
India and China has greatly increased global fuel consumption and brought the right to and
definition of ME to the forefront of international dialogue. In his remarks to the HLPF this past
summer, Mr. Wu Hongbo, Secretary-General for the International Conference on Small Islands
Developing States (SIDS), outlined access to ME as a key challenge of this century that could be
achieved by 2030.21

ME access, especially in the context of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), is an extremely
nuanced issue with interplay amongst economic, cultural, and social paradigms that carry significant
implications for the introduction of new policy. It impacts key Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs) and issues of international concern such as the level of gender equality in a society as well
as the cultural norms that enable women to participate in a community, global climate change,
continuity of power in government, and educational programs in place to promote long-term
improvement. All of these limit the ability of societies to develop resilience and better provide for
the needs of the people in them thereby hindering development and preventing the pursuit of long-
term, sustainable goals.

In a recent study on interactions between access to ME resources and economic and social issues in
Nigeria, it was found that households with a female headship were less likely to be in poverty and
more likely have access to ME than comparable families under a male headship.22 This was found
even though women traditionally are more vulnerable to poverty than men, receiving less
compensation for longer hours of more labor-intensive tasks.23 Worldwide, women tend to
constitute a greater portion of the world’s poor due to conditions such as a “limited access to
education, discriminatory socio-economic and political practices, civil strife/natural disasters, and
job discrimination.”24 In deciding on areas of focus and in order to better ensure the long-term
maintenance of investments in modern energy, the vulnerabilities of a target group as well as the
motivations and cultural implications of specific programs must be considered. ME is inextricably
linked to the legal rights of individuals and social realities of communities within each country. The
understanding of these differences by international organizations such as the HLPF is important if
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21 Wu Hongbo, “Charting pathways to the future we want,” High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, last

modified 9 July 2014, http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/usg/statements/mr-wu/2014/07/hlpf-charting-

pathways-to-the-future-we-want.html.
22 Fidelis O. Ogwumike and Uche M. Ozughalu “Interactions among Poverty, Energy Access, and Gender in Nigeria,”

The Journal of Developing Areas 48 (2014), accessed 3 Dec.

2014,http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/journal_of_developing_areas/v048/48.4.ogwumike.pdf.
23 Ibid.
24 Ibid.

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they are to properly guide and support development programs. A misguided action is not sustainable
and can cause more harm than good.

Recognizing these differences and understanding similarities is the first step in promoting
cooperation between countries and boosting sustainable development. Because of this, the HLPF
may foster dialogue between LDCs and other countries with the aim of improving energy policy and
maintenance infrastructure. This way, the HLPF may catalyze policy changes, and effect structural
and educational changes on the ground. 25 By learning from efforts in other countries, LDCs may
tailor integrated domestic reform to mitigate sociocultural and environmental repercussions while
also ensuring the proper use and longevity of energy programs.

An example of this is the research done into the gendered aspect of energy. It was found that in
Nigerian communities where the head of the family was female, there were increased odds in favor
of having access to ME.26 Since women typically are faced with the onerous task of gathering
traditional energy sources in LDCs, there is a difference in perception of the benefits of access to
ME sources as compared to men, and matriarchal communities would place a higher value on the
acquisition of ME.27 Matriarchal communities may sympathize more with women’s vulnerabilities
thereby allowing for greater levels of education for girls and accounting for the lower levels of
poverty and greater access to ME.28 The correlation between the realities of gender equality and the
access and appropriate use of modern energy cannot be ignored, and the HLPF should recognize
the gendered aspect of ME access including its relationship to education, household size, and
“sector of residence” (the sociocultural character of discrete communities).

Energy access also has severe implications in the economic stratification of societies, which often
results in stagnation of holistic development for those who need it most. The disparities in
economic status bring up the subject of poverty and what it really takes to live a fulfilling, happy life.
When defining poverty, governing bodies such as the HLPF often risk conceptual oversimplification
by indexing poverty to a single universal scalar such as a “dollar a day” income and sacrifice its
multidimensionality.

Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen was integral in the movement to expand the definition of poverty
beyond finances, leading a shift in the focus of data collected for the UNDP’s Human Development
Report in recent years. It is now held that income and living standards “don’t matter in their own
right, for they are simply instrumental to what really matters, namely the kind of life that a person is
able to lead and the choices and opportunities open to her in leading that life.”29 Thus being limited
in access to ME not only precludes financial security and wellbeing but also severely limits the ability
of an individual to obtain an acceptable quality of life by restricting opportunities, preventing the
effective guarantee of human rights and dignity, thereby hindering the sustainable development of
society as a whole. The vulnerabilities of the individual members of a community prevent collective
action and shatter all hope of long-term improvement. It is with these challenges in mind that the
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25 Ibid.
26 Ibid.
27 Ibid.
28 Ibid.
29 Defining Poverty, (Polity Books: 2005), accessed 19 Dec. 2005, https://www.polity.co.uk/keyconcepts/samples/lister-

chapter.pdf.

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HLPF was formed, and it is with this concept of holistic and people-centered development that the
forum struggles.

Entities such as the HLPF now have begun to focus on capabilities and performance, defined
respectively as the range of choices available to an individual and what that individual manages to be
or do. This places the focus not on financial poverty but on quality of life and human agency,
thereby re-characterizing income not as a goal but rather a means to an end.30 Choosing appropriate
indices by which to define poverty has drastic implications in policy; the HLPF must operate under a
holistic definition of the human condition and balance the difficult realities of data collection with
the risk of oversimplifying and misguiding development programs.

This shift in focus is illustrated by a new focus on programs such as that done by the Gambia in
conjunction with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) to set up
educational operations on the benefits of sustainable energy, production and management of ME,
and new technologies which may help in the development of greater energy access.31 Short-term
fixes often obfuscate primary developmental goals; responsibility in deployment and monitoring of
appropriate technologies is and must continue to become a prerequisite for international assistance
by the HLPF.32 In LDCs, it is not enough to expand services to industries and families already on
the grid; the HLPF cannot be myopic but must push efforts to incorporate off-grid power through
new technologies with organized education on the management of new facilities to guarantee the
longevity of its missions.

In the Post-2015 development era, the HLPF will focus on redefining the financing of development
projects such as ME implementation. Building off precedents for the financing of development
programs established by the Monterrey Consensus and the Doha Declaration, the political forum
has determined that, beginning in 2016, it will lead annual reviews on the sustainability and
effectiveness of its development projects which, while voluntary, will involve ministerial level
participants and provide a “platform for partnerships, including through the participation of major
groups and other relevant stakeholders,” thereby strengthening accountability of all vested
interests.33

The dynamic platform granted by the HLPF is illustrated by the online platform called The World We
Want 2015 which enables third-party organizations to provide consultation to representatives on
salient issues, or topics of the organization’s expertise.34 In this forum, NGOs drew upon research to
inform debate in the HLPF, providing invaluable guidance in program delivery and further
promoting transparency in the Forum. This popular check guides the HLPF as it continues to define
its role in development work. By being more responsive to experienced grassroots organizations and
the beneficiaries of aid, the HLPF can better integrate the experiences of the past and realities on the

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30 Ibid.
31 Ibid.
32 Ibid.
33 E/HLPF/2014/L.3, “Ministerial Declaration of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development.”
34 “Means of Implementation: What can trigger new partnerships and voluntary commitments, and what can make them

successful in advancing economic, social, and environmental progress?” World We Want 2015, last modified 28 May
2014, accessed 2 Dec. 2014, http://www.worldwewant2015.org/node/441461.

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ground into making more informed decisions, resulting in better management of investments and an
increased sustainability of projects.

One example of these checks in action is the Righting Finance Initiative’s recommendations based
on lessons learned since the creation of the MDGs.35 By advocating for oversight in public private
partnerships in infrastructure (PPPI), the committee has helped the HLPF develop criteria for
choosing private companies to reconcile public and private sectors’ different motivations.36
Incorporating private companies and other organizations into the dialogue of the forum grants the
HLPF much flexibility in implementing new solutions but must not be treated lightly. Communities
in LDCs are fragile and must not be abused by private interests in schemes to provide access to ME.
The HLPF now recognizes the “vital role that science, technology, and innovation, including the
transfer and diffusion of environmentally sound technologies on mutually agreed terms, can play in
achieving poverty eradication and sustainable development and in supporting efforts to address
global challenges.”37 Technological advancements such as those pertaining to renewable energy,
supply lines, and data analysis, can be shared, and the HLPF will be a platform on which innovative
applications are shared. This will define the Post-2015 development agenda including its
relationships to access to ME as a tool for improving quality of life. Responsibly implemented, ME
can improve the capabilities and performance of an expanding global middle class while reducing
environmental degradation through the abandonment of traditional dirty fuel sources. The greater
security and capacity afforded the individual by these improvements in access to ME will allow a
greater allocation of human resources towards community building, contributing to more sustainable
and better quality of life to ourselves and future generations.

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35 “Co-Creating New Partnerships for Financing Sustainable Development,” Righting Finance Initiative, 4 April 2014,

accessed 3 Dec. 2014, http://www.rightingfinance.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Read-full-statement.pdf.

36 Ibid.
37 E/HLPF/2014/L.3, “Ministerial Declaration of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development.”

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
TOPIC A
Allison, Simon, Eloise Bertrand, Ini Ikott, Brian Klaas, Nicolas Long, Kristen McTighe, Richard
Poplak, Annelie Rozeboom, Peta Thornycroft. “On the Fence.” Africa in Fact (Oct. 2014).
Accessed 20 Dec. 2014.
A publication by Good Governance Africa on the state of property rights in Sub Saharan Africa and its impact on
future development.

Freeman MC, Stocks M, Cumming O, Jeandron A, Higgins JPT, Wolf J, Prüss-Ustün A, Bonjour S,
Hunter PR, Fewtrell L, Curtis V. “Hygiene and Health: Systematic Review of Handwashing
Practices Worldwide and Update of Health Effects.” Tropical Medicine and International Health.
28 May 2014. Accessed 3 Dec. 2014. doi: 10.1111/tmi.12339.
This study investigates the impacts of campaigns to improve hand washing on populations’ quality of life.

Garn, Joshua V., Bethany A. Caruso, Carolyn D. Drews-Botsch, Michael R. Kramer, Babette A
Brumback, Richard D. Rheingans, and Matthew C. Freeman. “Factors Associated with Pupil
Toilet Use in Kenyan Primary Schools.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public
Health. 17 Sep. 2014. Accessed 14 Dec. 2014. http://www.mdpi.com/1660-
4601/11/9/9694/htm .
An academic study of 60 Kenyan primary schools to measure correlations between different factors which influence the
likelihood for students to use them.

Graham, Jay P and Mike R Hopewell. “Trends in Access to Water Supply and Sanitation in 31 Major
Sub-Saharan African Cities: an Analysis of DHS data from 2000 to 2012.” BMC Public Health
(2014). Accessed 2 Dec. 2014. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-14-20.
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/14/208.
This study explores policy and environmental differences that correlate with the wide variety of performances amongst
cities in SSA regarding public works projects.

“On the Post-2015 Development Agenda.” African Union. Mar. 2014. Accessed 14 Dec. 2014.
http://www.nepad.org/sites/default/files/Common%20African%20Position-
%20ENG%20final.pdf .
This is an outcome document of the meeting of the African Union explaining its unified position in determining the
post-2015 development agenda.

Sing, Kisore Kumar and Shukla, Shikha. “Profiling ‘Informal City’ of Delhi.” Water Aid India (2005).
Accessed 14 Dec. 2014.
This is a report on the character of informal communities that have been created as a result of rapid urbanization in
New Delhi, India.

Soto, Hernando De. The Other Path: The Invisible Revolution in the Third World. New York: Harper &
Row, 1989. 160.
A 1989 study of property rights and their role in development in Latin America.

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“UN Calls for End to Open Defecation Amid Ebola Threat.” Daily The Pak Banker. 20 Nov. 2014.
Accessed 14 Dec. 2014.
A news article relating the UN’s response on World Toilet Day to the spread of the Ebola virus.

Washington, David Francis. “Nigeria Got Everything Right that the US Got Wrong.” Foreign Policy.
23 Oct. 2014. Accessed 14 Dec. 2014. http://foreignpolicy.com/2014/10/20/in-fight-to-
stop-ebola-nigeria-got-right-everything-america-got-wrong/.
An article on Nigeria’s response to the Ebola crisis.

“The Regional Dimension in the Post-2015.” HLPF. June 2014. Accessed 14 Dec. 2014.
This article explores how the post-2015 development goals will factor differently based on geography.

WHO/FWC/WSH/14.01. “Investing in Water and Sanitation: Increasing Access, Reducing

Inequalities.” 17 Nov. 2014. Accessed 14 Dec. 2014.
A UN-Water report on the access to water and sanitation facilities.

TOPIC B
“Co-Creating New Partnerships for Financing Sustainable Development,” Righting Finance Initiative. 4
April 2014. Accessed 3 Dec. 2014. http://www.rightingfinance.org/wp-
content/uploads/2014/04/Read-full-statement.pdf.
Recommendations made by an intergovernmental committee of experts on financing development work. The group was
commissioned by the outcome document of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development and met in Helsinki,
Finland.

Mensah, Serwaa Gifty, Francis Kemausuor, and Abeeku Brew-Hammond. “Energy Access
Indicators and Trends in Ghana.” Renewable and Sustanable Enegy Reviews (2014): 317-323.
Accessed 19 Dec. 2014.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032113007314.
A study on the current state of modern energy in Ghana vis a vis the rest of SSA.

Narayan, Deepa, Raj Patel, Kai Schafft, Anne Rademacher, and Srah Koch-Schulte. “Voices of the
Poor: Can Anyone Hear Us?” World Bank, Oxford University Press. New York, N.Y. (2000).
Accessed 19 Dec. 2014.
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTPOVERTY/Resources/335642-
1124115102975/1555199-1124115187705/vol1.pdf .
This paper explores the definitions of poverty and how changes in perspective carry large implications in new policy.

Ogwumike, Fidelis O. and Uche M. Ozughalu. “Interactions among Poverty, Access to Modern
Energy Sources, and Gender in Nigeria.” The Journal of Developing Areas, 48 (2014). Accessed 3
Dec. 2014.
http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/journal_of_developing_areas/v048/48.4.ogwumike.pdf .
An academic thesis using data from the 2010 Nigeria Living Standard Survey data set to explore relationships
between gender and access to modern energy with the purpose of informing Nigerian policy makers in government.

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National High School Model United Nations 2015
HLPF

Sen, Amartya. “The Economics of Life and Death.” Scientific American (1993). Accessed 19 Dec.
2014.
This is a paper by Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen on new ways to understand economic statistics and evaluate quality
of life in developing populations. This document and a number of his other papers guided the international community’s
perspective on development throughout the early 21st century and has shaped it into what it is today.

“Means of Implementation: What can Trigger New Partnerships and Voluntary Commitments, and
What Can Make Them Successful in Advancing Economic, Social, and Environmental
Progress?” World We Want 2015. Last modified 28 May 2015. Accessed 2 Dec. 2014.
http://www.worldwewant2015.org/node/441461.
Forum sponsored by the HLPF designed to allow nongovernmental stakeholders to shape the conversations of this
year’s meeting of the HLPF.

Faal, Aji Fatou. “Access to Energy is Fundamental to Basic Social Needs.” The Daily Observer (Banjul),
12 Dec. 2014. Accessed 19 Dec. 2014. http://observer.gm/africa/gambia/article/access-to-
energy-is-fundamental-to-basic.
This article explains educational measures The Gambia has taken in conjunction with UNIDO to educate women on
modern energy and new renewable technologies.

A/CONF.223/3. “Outcome Document of the third International Conference on Small Island

Developing States.” 11 July 2014. Accessed 19 Dec. 2014.
Outcome document from the 2014 meeting of SIDS covering unified steps that small developing island states must
take to support sustainable development.

E/HLPF/2014/L.3. “Ministerial Declaration of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable

Development.” 9 July 2014.
This is the outcome document of the most recent meeting of the HLPF.

“Island Voices, Global Choices: Promoting Genuine and Durable Partnerships.” HLPF 2014.
Accessed 19 Dec. 2014.
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/index.php?page=view&type=400&nr=1434&menu
=35.
A publication made by HLPF on its discussions and recommendations for this year’s meeting of the SIDS conference.

Ravallion, Martin. “World Bank’s $1.25/Day Poverty Measure – Countering the Latest Criticisms”
Research at the World Bank (January 2010). Accessed 19 Dec. 2014.
http://econ.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTDEC/EXTRESEARCH/0,,cont
entMDK:22510787~pagePK:64165401~piPK:64165026~theSitePK:469382,00.html.
This document is a rebuttal to much of the criticisms faced by the World Bank when it increased the global poverty line
and made it relative to groups of countries.

Wu Hongbo. “Charting Pathways to the Future We Want.” High Level Political Forum on
Sustainable Development. Last modified 9 July 2014.
http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/usg/statements/mr-wu/2014/07/hlpf-charting-
pathways-to-the-future-we-want.html.
This is a recorded statement made during the 2014 session of the HLPF.

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