The Philippines may have a difficult time in alleviating poverty and in providing for free basic education and health care for millions of Filipinos and may be running out of time to meet these goals and other targets it had committed to the United Nations Millenium Development Goals (MDG) program.{{more}}
The MDG deadline is in 2015.
But amid these troubling speculations, Rep. Josy Limkaichong said the Philippine government is doing its best to make sure that the country meets the eight MDGs before 2015.
Limkaichong said that through poverty-alleviation programs like the Pantawid Pamilya, the Essential Health Care Package and the Free Noon Meal programs, the government will achieve the MDG targets.
Pantawid Pamilya is a government program that distributes monthly cash grants to selected poor families while the Essential Health Care Package implemnted by the Department of Education is aimed at addressing high-impact childhood diseases among Filipino children.
The Free Noon Meal program is aimed at reducing malnutrition among school children wherein free lunch food consisting of rice, fish and vegetables are served to schoolchildren particularly in hinterland villages.
Limkaichong, however, admitted that there is a need to fast track the implementation of these projects if the country hopes to meet the goals which the Philippines pledged to achieve in 2000 during the United Nation’s Millennium Summit.
She warned that the consequences are dire if the country fails to live up to what it committed to achieve. “If we don’t meet these goals, it will give a bad signal to the international funding agencies and affect our country’s image, that we are not serious about mitigating hunger and addressing health issues in our country,” said the congresswoman.
A progress report released by the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) showed the country lagging behind in the following categories: elementary participation, survival and completion rates, maternal mortality ratio, access to reproductive health services and combatting HIV and AIDS.
The report described the probability of achieving the targets in these categories as “low.”
The same report, on the other hand, pointed to a high probability that the Philippines will achieve the targets in the following: food production, poverty alleviation; gender equality in education; child mortality; malaria; tuberculosis case detection, treatment success and cure rates; and access to sanitary toilet facilities. (RMN/PIA-7 Negros Oriental)