National 5 (Spotlight Weekly)

An Agenda For Action

Nepal needs a long-term strategy to improve the state of health, education and other sectors

By A CORRESSPONDENT

At a time when most of the schools and health posts in the hills of the mid-western and western regions are closing down due to the Maoist assaults, the "Millennium Development Goals Progress Report 2002-An Agenda for Action, An Agenda for Partnership" paints a bleak long-term scenario.

Along with the Maoist violence and disturbances in the most of the hills and sporadic threats in the cities, the country continues to face political instability. In the last 12 years, the country has seen 11 government under six different political leaders of three major political parties. Except the first Nepali Congress government led by Girija Prasad Koirala, no government has survived more than 18 months. Although the Nepali Congress won a thumping majority in the 1998 general elections, it has not been able deliver stability. The party has produced three prime ministers in as many years.

Mired in political instability at the center and relentless violence and terrorism in the districts, Nepal headed on a downward spiral after the formation of a succession of minority governments following the Supreme
Court's reinstatement of parliament in 1995.

Nepal could make steady progress in health, education and other sectors in the early 1990s because of among other things, the huge resources it had invested in basic infrastructure projects in 1970s and 1980s. However, progress has slowed down drastically in recent years.

Published by the United Nations Team of Nepal, the report analyses various sectors including health, education, natural resource management, population and other areas and it also sets the millennium goals for the country.

According to a report, poverty still remains a major challenge in the country, access to primary education is low, children under five are underweight, literacy rates of women are very low and maternal and child mortality is still very high.

Until a few years back, HIV\AIDS was under control. But it has suddenly surged now. The HIV\AIDS epidemic in Nepal is confined to vulnerable groups, but the prevalence rate is increasing alarmingly. The report also points out that the country's natural resources continue to be threatened.

The findings of the report say that the country is not yet on track to achieve any Millennium Development Goals: targets that the world's leaders set at the Millennium Summit in September 2000 to reduce poverty in all its dimensions and manifestations. Koirala, who participated in the summit on behalf of Nepal as prime minister, seems to have forgotten the commitments he had made.

Through specific baselines and numerical targets, the report offers a chance to examine achievements, to identify shortfalls, and to indicate priority areas for development assistance. "Without monitoring and tracking the progress of quantifiable indicators, such as income-poverty, literacy rates, net enrollment in primary education and maternal mortality rates, it is impossible to know whether or not poverty reduction and human programs and policies are producing the desired results," said Henning Karcher, United Nations Development Program Resident Representative in Nepal.

Although Nepal has prepared numerous documents and reports, this is the first progress report for Nepal on the status of attainment of these Millennium Development Goals. Based on the specific baselines and numerical targets, the report offers a clear picture of Nepal's achievements and shortfalls.According to the report, nearly 10 million people live in absolute poverty line and large number of children do not have access to primary education. It points out that the average annual rate of growth in primary enrolment between 1990 and 1999 was only 1.3 percent. If the present progress rate continue, Nepal cannot achieve the targets set for 2015. Nepal needs to carry out vigorous efforts in various areas to make progress.