MDG campaign launched ahead of UN meet
MDG campaign launched ahead of UN meet
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A nationwide campaign to achieve the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) kicked off on Sunday, with the elimination of all barriers hampering equal access to the economy topping the list of priorities.
"Let us use all our might to make poverty history. Indonesia no longer has an excuse not to eradicate poverty," the UN MDGs representative for Asia and the Pacific, Erna Witoelar, told some 500 people at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle during a rally to mark the beginning of the campaign.
The launch also commemorated World Environment Day, which this year carries the theme Green Cities: Plan for the Planet! The environment day falls on June 5.
"Migration to urban areas has caused so many problems, including poverty and unemployment," said Erna, whose husband, Rachmat Witoelar, is the state minister for the environment.
About 18 percent of the country's population, or 38 million people, are officially classified as poor, while about 40 million people are unemployed.
Sugihartatmo, the assistant to the coordinating minister for people's welfare for poverty eradication, called on all of society to take part in the campaign.
"True, the MDGs are the government's commitment, but it will require the involvement of all stakeholders to achieve the goals," he said.
The campaign kickoff was also attended by the non-governmental Organization Network to Reach the MDGs, which comprises 30 NGOs, most based in Jakarta.
"We still lack the political commitment to achieve the MDGs. As an active member in this campaign, I would like to urge national leaders to realize their commitments. One of these commitments is to provide basic education for all," said Sari Wahyuningrum of Centra Mitra Muda, an NGO focusing on family and education.
Initiated at the UN Millennium Summit in 2000, the MDGs were adopted by heads of state and government who pledged to meet all the goals by 2005.
The goals include halving the number of people suffering from poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education, eliminating gender disparities, reducing the child mortality rate by two-thirds and the maternal mortality by three-fourths, halting and reversing the incidence HIV/AIDS, malaria and other major diseases, and halving the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water.
In September, heads of state and government will meet at the UN headquarters in New York to evaluate their commitment to the pledge.
The UN has criticized Indonesia for its lack of spending on social development compared to other countries in the region.
The country's health expenditures is a paltry 0.6 of its GDP, compared to the Philippines' 1.5 percent and Thailand's 2.1 percent.
Indonesia's education budget is also low at only 9.8 percent of GDP from 1999 to 2001, compared to Thailand which allocated 31 percent of GDP during the same period.
A lack of investment in basic services has been blamed for Indonesia's low human development index (HDI) compared to neighboring countries. Indonesia's HDI of 0.692 ranked 111th out of 177 countries surveyed in 2002, below Thailand, the Philippines and many other Southeast Asian countries.
According to data from last year, Indonesia's average life expectancy at birth was 66.2 years, down from 66.6 year in 2003. The literacy rate also fell from 87.9 percent of people aged 15 and above to 87.3 percent.
The combined primary, secondary and tertiary gross enrollment ratio also dropped from 65 percent to 64 percent. However, Indonesia made a modest gain in per capita GDP from US$2,940 to $3,230.