Social inclusion must for achieving MDGs, says Millennium Campaign
Nepal needs to focus on social inclusion in policy plans and implementation, said UN Millennium Campaign head Salil Shetty during his recent trip to the country to draw attention to the Millennium Development Goals. He also spoke for greater investment in basic services and the need to fight corruption.
Kathmandu: A top UN official on Sunday said the government should adopt zero tolerance of corruption to achieve Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Talking to media persons during his one-day visit to Nepal, Salil Shetty, director of United Nations Millennium Campaign (UNMC), said Nepal needs to invest more on basic services including health and drinking water and fight strongly against corruption and leakage. "We need zero tolerance of corruption to ensure MDGs," he said.
In the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) prepared by Britain-based Transparency International, Nepal ranked 131 among 180 countries in the world this year.
Standing up for change
Shetty is here to take part in various events organised in Nepal to mark the Stand Up and Take Action campaign as part of exerting pressure on world leaders to deliver on their commitment to eradicate poverty and achieve MDGs by 2015. UNMC and Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP) aim to mobilise more than one percent of the world's population i.e. over 67 million people from October 17 to 19 for the cause.
Shetty said Nepal's investment in health and drinking water is very low compared to other countries of the world.
"If we don't put more investment on these areas we are not going to have any change," he said. He added that the government should also come up strongly to end various forms of discrimination, including caste and gender-based discrimination to fulfill MDGs.
In September 2000, the Millennium Assembly of the UN set eight goals to fulfill by 2015. The MDGs include eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education and promoting gender quality and empowering women. Reducing child mortality, improving maternal health, combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases are also among those set in the MDGs.
Despite the commitment, some 31 percent people are said to be still living below extreme poverty line in Nepal.
Shetty said Nepal has made quite remarkable progress, if government statistics are anything to go by, towards achieving MDGs despite conflict and political instability. He said Nepal is likely to meet all MDGs except in two areas i.e. achieving universal primary education and combating HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases.
"We can imagine how much of success we can see if there is peace," he said.
Voice for excluded groups
He asked the government to specifically target its plans and programs to excluded groups including dalits, Janajatis, women and Madhesis to achieve set targets in MDGs. He said that achieving MDGs would be impossible unless these excluded groups have a central voice in the making of the constitution and government plans and policies.
He pointed out the need for political parties to develop consensus on social inclusion, formulation of proper policies and generation of employment opportunities to help eradicate extreme poverty and hunger.
Shetty said MDGs are likely to remain unfulfilled due to lack of continuous follow up and necessary action for their progress. He suggested forming a separate legislative or parliamentary committee in the next parliament to track the progress of MDGs.
"We are very good at making plans," he said. "But we are very bad at implementing them because of some vested interests of some groups."
