Funds for debt could be better used: UN officials

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

With a third of the Asia Pacific countries at risk of still seeing children die before their fifth birthday due to a lack of funds, ministers of 40 nations agreed here on Wednesday that unconditional debt relief, aid and trade were key issues.

"Debt relief and aid could generate resources that can be used for other development concerns," said Jomo Kwame Sundaram, a speaker at the first day of a ministerial meeting of Asia Pacific nations. The talks aim to provide input to the United Nations' five-year review of the Millennium Development Goals in New York in September.

A report issued Wednesday on the progress of the eight anti- poverty goals in the Asia Pacific's poorest 14 nations, shows that countries having to set aside 80 percent of their national income to pay debts -- like Bhutan and Myanmar -- were lagging behind in reducing infant mortality rates or raising the number of children receiving primary education.

Sundaram, the assistant secretary general for economic development at the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, emphasized that such relief or aid should be without accompanying conditions.

"Countries must be guaranteed the space to address their development concerns according to their priorities," he added.

While almost half of the Asia Pacific's poorest countries are either "moderately" or even "severely" indebted, none of them have had their debt reduced, the above report said.

Regarding trade, most speakers stressed the lack of progress since the rounds of negotiations in Doha, Qatar.

"These LDCs (least developed countries) need trade reforms promised in Doha, that includes quotas and tariff-free rules for their exports, lower barriers to entering the WTO and other preferential treatment," said UNDP regional manager Minh H. Pham.

Aside from persuading the global community to fulfill commitments on aid and trade, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) suggested two other initiatives in finding the resources to finance the progress of the millennium goals.

"Countries must encourage participation of a healthy competitive private sector and continuously improve their investment climate," said ADB vice president GHPB van der Linden.

Engaging the private sector, for example in infrastructure, would help avoid putting economic growth at risk, he said.

Secondly, governments must also ensure that they are setting aside sufficient public spending and prioritizing the budget for social services, van der Linden added.