The Philippines continues to lag behind the United Nation’s
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for 2015, a non-governmental
organization revealed Wednesday.
In a report,
Social Watch Philippines said the country continues to “illustrate the
stubborn persistence of a development dilemma of economic growth and
rising inequality.”
Professor Leonor Briones,
Social Watch lead convenor, said the Philippines is particularly
“laggard” in meeting the MDGs pertaining to primary education, maternal
health, and combating human immunodeficiency virus/acquired
immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS).
“We need
to aspirate. We need to cash out. We are very concerned about primary
education and maternal health. We continue to experience very serious
threats of diseases like HIV/AIDS,” Briones said during the presentation
of the report before the House of Representatives.
Still, the Aquino administration has made gains in meeting the goals to
end hunger, ensure gender equality, and reduce deaths of infants and
children, she added.
Set by the UN in 2000 as a challenge for its 193 member-states to achieve by 2015, the eight goals are:
- eradicating extreme poverty and hunger
- achieving universal primary education
- promoting gender equality and empowering women
- reducing child mortality rates
- improving maternal health
- combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
- ensuring environmental sustainability
- developing a global partnership for development.
‘Break with business as usual’
President Aquino should “break with business as usual” to be able to meet the MDGs in the two years to 2015, said Briones.
“He has yet to make a real dent on existing power structures that
brought us to this poverty and inequality situation in the first place.
The so-called inclusive growth is not inclusive development,” the
professor noted.
Briones urged the
administration to focus on creating “green” jobs in the rural areas and
providing alternative learning options to those who have been “left
behind” in terms of education, and to complete the government’s land
distribution targets.
National Economic and Development Authority director general Arsenio Balisacan
acknowledged that “there is still a lot to be done” by the government to attain the MDGs and to end inequality in the country.
“The greater challenge is rising inequality... We can’t continue with
business as usual. We need to get investments to drive growth,” he said
in a separate speech.
Deputy Speaker Lorenzo
Tañada III assured Social Watch and other lawmakers present that the
goals are “well on the mind” of the House leadership.
The passing of landmark bills last year, such as the controversial
Reproductive Health bill and the Sin Tax bill, demonstrates the House’s
“deep commitment” to attain the goals UN-set goals, he added.
“We have exerted efforts. We are aware that the MDGs are not only our
concerns. We also have rising inequality that undermines progress in
terms of the MDGs. We have to move forward,” Tañada noted. — VS, GMA News
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