MDGs: Bangladesh Progress Report-2012 launched
Finance minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith on Sunday termed corruption and deteriorating social values major challenges to future development of the country.
‘Although Bangladesh has made remarkable progress in achieving Millennium Development Goals, we have very serious problems, among other issues, in values as these are very important for governance and corruption issues,’ Muhith said while speaking at the launching of ‘MDGs: Bangladesh Progress Report-2012’ at the National Economic Council auditorium in the city.
The General Economics Division of Planning Commission prepared the report evaluating Bangladesh’s progress in attaining MDGs, adopted in 2000 by United Nations.
Besides, reducing inequality between rich and poor, ensuring employment for all, nutrition, quality education, health services are other major challenges for Bangladesh in achieving sustainable development in future, the finance minister said.
The report blamed that the global development partners did not come forward with financial assistance to Bangladesh as per their commitment in attaining MDGs and sought strong international cooperation and partnership for sustainable development under post-MDGs beyond 2015.
The report said some areas including employment for women, increase in the number of skilled maternity health professionals, increase in forestation and ICT coverage required greater attention in the next two and half years to achieve the targets by 2015, deadline of the current MDGs.
Muhith said Bangladesh would have to expand forestation in terms of tree coverage and ensure access to technology for all eligible people.
He emphasised on formulating a new strategy with targets and recommendations for achieving those targets by 2030 in the next phase of MDGs.
The finance minister said that some basic elements such as a model, targets, and recommendations must have to be provided in the next MDGs which might be adopted after 2015 for ensuring graduation process — graduation from least developed countries to developed countries, from countries without market access to diversified market access, from ecological vulnerability to sustainable environment.
‘We have to identify fragile countries — it is not LDCs, landlocked countries or small islands countries. Fragile countries in terms of impact of environment, market access, geographic disadvantage, education, food and energy security,’ he said.
He said, ‘International community should take due responsibilities and should help the fragile countries. These should not depend on aid. These need proper economic management,’ he said.
Food minister Abdur Razzaque said there was no food shortage in Bangladesh but nutrition would be a big challenge in future.
‘We will have to ensure enough and diversified food to face nutrition challenge,’ he said.
He criticised the developed countries for not providing Bangladesh with promised financial assistance to LDCs to achieve MDGs and urged the countries from G20 and G8 groups for providing more resources in post-MDGs.
Planning minister AK Khandker, state minister for primary and mass education Md Motahar Hossain, Palli Karma Sahayak Foundation chairman Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad and UN resident coordinator Neal Walker spoke, among others, at the programme while GED member Shamsul Alam made a power-point presentation.
Shamsul said, ‘Out of 60 indicators of the MDGs, 34 indicators have specific targets against which Bangladesh already met the targets of 9 indicators. 11 other indicators are on track and expected to be achieved by 2015.’
He said Bangladesh had already sent its post-2015 development agenda to the UN on June 6 with 11 goals, 58 targets and 241 measurable indicators and proposed the tenure of P2015DA from 2016-2030.
Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad considered Bangladesh as a star performer in attaining MDGs despite resource limitation, global recession and vulnerability to climate change.
‘But, we have not seen too much foreign assistance to this end,’ he said.
Neal Walker observed that Bangladesh made remarkable progress towards the MDGs and said this was not the time to be complacent rather to work with full spirit to attain the rest of the targets.
-With New Age input
