Millennium Development Goals
Roads To Recovery

By Krishna Sharma

JUST when the concept of globalization is gradually making sense in the minds of people, it has been realised by all that development activities cannot be carried out in isolation. With this very idea in mind, the world leaders at the Millennium Summit in September 2000 had agreed unopposed to set the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for achieving sustainable development in the entire world. It is a positive sign that different governments are now trying to formulate their national policies and programmes keeping in mind the MDGs put forward by the Summit - 2000.

Aims

Despite that fact that it has countless problems and is fighting the menace of terrorism at the present moment, Nepal comes first among the UN member countries when it comes to preparing a progress report in line with the MDGs. The United Nations team in Nepal and the government on Monday released the country report about development situation of the country and help streamline the development partners in their common aim of achieving the goal put forward by the UN millennium summit which aims to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education, promoting gender equality and empowering women, reducing child mortality, improving maternal health, combating HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases, ensuring environmental sustainability and developing a global partnership for development.

The UN team in Nepal has done exemplary work by bringing out a comprehensive report on Nepal’s development challenges and shortcomings about achieving the MDGs. The report is exemplary not only because it has tried to put the country in the mainstream of development activities but also because it is going to be ‘a model for other countries’ as sought by UN Resident Coordinator in Nepal Dr. Henning Karcher. The UNDP’s country report for Nepal is the first one of its kind which studies the development challenges of the Himalayan Kingdom and provides reasons as to why and how it could be relevant in the country’s present set up.

The report comes more importantly at a time when the planners are working out the 10th Five-Year Plan and the next year’s annual budget preparation is underway. It could be regarded as an eye-opener for the governments, NGOs, INGOs, planners, stakeholders and development partners for the realisation of the MDGs.

However, mere publication of reports and realization of MDGs is not going to do anything for the nation and the development partners, including government and the international development, As they have shown their eagerness in bringing the eight goals of UN Millennium Summit to the national level, they have now a crucial role to play for materialising in the target areas exerting mutually for reducing the poverty line from the existing 38 per cent to 21 by 2015 as envisaged by the MDGs and educating the future stars, among others.

The country does not lag far behind when it comes to development infrastructures. There has been noticeable improvement in many aspects all across the society during the period of 1990 ~2000. Despite internal threats by Maoists since 1996, infant mortality, life expectancy and the literacy rate have recorded improvement.

But it should not be forgotten that while mainframe political, economic and legal tenor of our constitution are of a liberal nature, and economic policies of the government are increasingly neo-liberal, the country has not achieved the expected development goals and human development indicators are still shrugging at the bottom. The reports has, in this regard, rightly pointed out the increasing inequalities between government’s policies and programmes and their implementation aspect. There is no doubt that the respective governments have always been effortful in narrowing the gap between the formulation of specific policies and their implementation, but no sooner after they are launched in the target areas than they fail to materialize due to many reasons.

One of the decisions at the Millennium Summit has it that the industrialized countries will provide financial resources required by the developing nations to implement the programmes and underpin the reforms. The Summit also believes that the developing countries will do their part by implementing pro-poor policies and programmes, practicing good governance, introducing reforms and respecting human rights.

It is high time Nepal, as a developing nation, took advantage of the Millennium Summit decision by materializing the beliefs of the Summit, thereby, implementing its pro-poor policies and introducing good governance. If the government controls rampant corruption, utilizes foreign aid and builds an atmosphere for overall development in the country, the donor agencies and countries will be further encouraged to assist more and that will ultimately help Nepal meet the MDGs in the stipulated time.

Important

The government’s overall reform agenda, poverty reduction strategy paper and medium term expenditure framework are important building blocks, and short-term reform steps announced only last week like prioritizing development projects, decentralizing education and health, civil service reform and enhanced transparency are definitely steps in the right direction. However, concerted honest efforts for the implementation of the reforms on the part of the government and other development partners are most sought after for encouraging and satisfying the donor communities that stand ready to help.

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