CONFLICT JEOPARDIZES NEPAL'S DEVELOPMENT TARGETS

August 4, 2004 - (Oneworld South Asia) Experts are concerned that Nepal, a nation plagued with insurgency, will not meet the targets set out in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by the 2015 deadline.

The four key areas where the goals may not be met are: eliminating gender disparity in schools; reducing the maternal mortality ratio by 75 per cent; halting and reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS; and developing an integrated global partnership for development.

According to the National Planning Commission (NPC) - Nepal's apex planning body - the four areas in which Nepal may be able to attain its goals are: halving poverty and hunger; achieving universal primary education; reducing child mortality by two-thirds; and reducing by half the number of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water. NPC vice-chairman Shankar Sharma, said these goals will not be met if the conflict escalates.

The goals that are unlikely to be achieved are critical to Nepal. For instance, the prevailing gender disparity in education is halting the country's progress on every front. At present, the percentage of girls to boys in primary education is 78; in secondary education (grade 6-10) it is 71; and in higher secondary (grade 11-12) it is 65.

Bandana Rana, the president of leading women's group, Sancharika Samuha warned that ameliorating gender disparity is essential to Nepal’s development: "Attempting to achieve the millennium goals without promoting gender equality will both raise the costs and decrease the likelihood of achieving the other goals.”

The maternal mortality ratio (MMR) in Nepal is one of the highest in the world at 539 per 100,000 live births. The goal of bringing this down to 213 by 2015 is going to be an uphill task, concede officials. Most of these deaths can be prevented if people are provided timely healthcare facilities. But the average population per physician in Nepal is 23,038.

The HIV/AIDS situation is just as bleak, the government's Progress Report states that the HIV prevalence rate among adults (15-49 years old) in Nepal would increase from 0.29 per cent of the population in 2000 to 2 per cent in 2015.

The government of Nepal has formulated its Tenth Plan, Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) and other related development priorities by closely integrating them with the MDGs.

Sharma told One World News: "We are preparing our second progress report on the goals, which will come out in 2005. That will give us a clearer indication of where we stand and how likely we are to achieve the goals.”

From: http://ippfnet.ippf.org/pub/IPPF_News/News_Details.asp?ID=3663