Guyana reports having made ‘tremendous progress’ meeting MDGs –but Maternal Health posing a bit of a challenge
At Thursday’s MDG workshop, seated from left are: Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Ms Jennifer Webster; Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh; UNDP Programme Representative, Ms Khadijah Musa; and Presidential Adviser on Governance, Ms Gail Teixeira
At Thursday’s MDG workshop, seated from left are: Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Ms Jennifer Webster; Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh; UNDP Programme Representative, Ms Khadijah Musa; and Presidential Adviser on Governance, Ms Gail Teixeira

AS THE Millennium Development Goals’ (MDGs) 2015 deadline approaches, the Government of Guyana on Thursday held a workshop which involved Government officials and the relevant stakeholders to examine the successes and challenges which persist in relation to the achievement of some of the goals.Guyana has made tremendous progress towards accomplishing almost all of the MDGs, including MDG Three, Gender Equality, and some of MDG Seven, Environmental Sustainability. However, there are some challenges with MDG Five, Maternal Health.

Stakeholders participating in the MDG workshop at the Guyana International Conference Centre
Stakeholders participating in the MDG workshop at the Guyana International Conference Centre

According to Minister of Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, who addressed participants of the event, held at the Guyana International Conference Centre (GICC), MDG Five was the subject of attention as a result of which the Government engaged the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and received support in developing an MDG acceleration framework, which highlights prioritised actions that will see Guyana achieving the goal.
“Gone are the days when we can say we are at the halfway point. I have no doubt that we undervalued the luxury of time; time is no more, because 2015 is upon us, and we are rightly and justifiably judged regarding whether we have achieved or not achieved,” Dr Singh noted.
He said that in a modestly resourced country, “you can fly in an airplane for five hours and in a boat for three hours, and walk for another five hours and still wouldn’t reach the most remote village. And when you get to that village, there are families with primary school-age children; children-bearing mothers, and people who require medical treatment.”
“In today’s world,” he said, “we don’t have the luxury of saying that remoteness of those communities exempts them from receiving the much-needed services. They are not exempt from the MDG framework, and I don’t enjoy the luxury of saying that because they live far away…remoteness is not an excuse for exception for development or specifically the MDG framework.”
Guyana is not without very peculiar challenges, and must be commended for achieving as many of the goals it has achieved. The minister said that these goals were closely associated with Government’s priorities, and incorporated in the national policy-making framework, which would have helped significantly.
“So, where you have a sector plan or strategy that incorporates explicitly that target that relates to that sector, and that plan becomes national policy and informs policy and resources mobilisation and national budget allocation…becomes a part of the bread-and-butter of the sector, then you have the first prerequisite of success,” Dr. Singh said.
The minister also acknowledged its development partners, especially the UNDP which has played a major role in ensuring these goals are met.
Minister Singh concluded by highlighting that the MDG 8, ‘Develop a global partnership for development’, is still the most unaccomplished in the entire MDG framework. “It is to the collective shame of the global community that 45 years later, only five or six developed nations of the world are remotely close to meeting that obligation; and most of the developed world are woefully short in falling when it comes to meeting this obligation,” Dr Singh said.

Meanwhile, UNDP Representative, Khadijah Musa spoke of the UNDP’s role in supporting countries on their developmental path, and how it has supported Guyana Government in developing its MDG progress in 2003, 2007 and 2011. The organisation is committed to supporting the Government in publishing its progress report by the end of this year.
She urged the participants to tell their story and to not hesitate to be both critical and positive and contribute to the Government’s effort.
The MDGs provide a structured framework of development goals, within which the major development challenges as it relates to quality of life are contained. (GINA)

 

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