Nepal facing hard time to achieve MDGs: Report

March 3, 2006
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A report published by a group of NGOs has warned that Nepal cannot achieve the target set by the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDG) by 2015 unless there is a democratic government and improvement in the law and order situation in the country.

A shadow report entitled “Whose Goals? Civil Society Perspectives on MDGs” prepared by the Global Call to Action Against Poverty—Nepal, a coalition of NGOs — said that most of the goals could not be achieved in the stipulated timeframe as the progress for achieving the target is not satisfactory till date.

During the millennium summit of the UN, all member countries of the UN had pledged to meet the eight MDGs by 2015. The eight MDGs are: eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, achieve universal primary education, promote gender equality and empower women, reduce child mortality, improve maternal health, combat HIV & AIDS, malaria and other diseases, ensure environmental sustainability and develop a global partnership for development.

“Disparity between rural and urban areas and widening gap between the rich and the ultra poor makes it even harder for the MDGs’ attainment,” the report—that was launched in the capital on Thursday– said.

The report expressed serious concerns over the decrease in development expenses adding attainment of MDGs also looks rather dismal when the trend of the total expenditure of the government is taken into consideration. “The share of development expenditure, which comprised 51.58% of the total expenditure in 1997/98, has dropped down to 35.62% in 2003/04,” the report adds.

The report further said, “Though the National Planning Commission (NPC) (2004) has reported a decline of poverty by about 11% in between the periods 1995/96 to 2003/04 in the national context, there persists a disturbing disparity between the rural and urban areas. In comparison to the poverty incidences of 10% in urban areas, the rural areas lag far behind with poverty incidence at 35 % for the year 2003/04.”

“Unemployment, low level of income and exclusion of poor people from development interventions in rural areas appear to be the nest prime reasons for the prevalence of high level of poverty in Nepal,” according to the report.

Likewise, the report said that other MDGs could not be achieved in the stipulated timeframe due to socio-economic disparities and adverse geographical situation.

The second progress report of the government on MDGs released on September 5, 2005 did not portray the real scenario of the development and the official report ignores the current political crisis, the shadow report said.

The increment in security expenses has adversely affected social and economic services, which have been progressively going down in recent years.

“ The deteriorating security situation on account of escalating conflict, the present state of political crisis, non existence of people’s representatives at all level of the governance and absence of the state’s administrative, legislative and judicial structures in majority of the rural areas make it extremely difficult to implement development interventions,” the report concludes.

The report recommended that ending conflict, restoring democracy and democratic government, enhancement of public services and economic order, consensus among all stakeholders for a common development agenda, addressing income poverty by ensuring equitable distribution of resources could be instrumental to achieve the MDGs’.

The Report also stressed the need of guaranteeing inclusion of all in development initiatives, increasing the number of women at the decision making level, arrangement of adequate and financial and human resources and strengthening implementation, operational management and monitoring system to achieve these goals.

Speaking at the report release programme, General Secretary of the NGO Federation of Nepal, Shant Raj Mulmi said rule of law, initiation of the democratic process, people’s participation and elected government were essential to meet the goals of poverty reduction.

Birendra Pokhrel of the National Federation of Disabled Nepal urged all to give priorities to the problems of the disabled as the flaring conflict in the country was giving rise to the number of disabled. “Disabled are more affected from poverty, so proper attention should be given to uplift them from the poverty in order to achieve the MDGs,” he added.