RI on track to achieve Millennium Development Goals
RI on track to achieve Millennium Development Goals
Dadan Wijaksana
Jakarta
Indonesia has made significant progress toward achieving a set of
global development targets set out by the United Nations under
the Millennium Declaration, although extra efforts are still
needed to accelerate the pace, says a minister.
During the launch of Indonesia's First Millennium Development
Goals Report on Monday, State Minister for National Development
Planning Kwik Kian Gie said a stronger and more equal global
partnership would be crucial in the country's efforts to pick up
the pace in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The MDGs set out eight targets but mainly focus on eradicating
poverty.
"Developed countries should consistently provide increased
development assistance, reduce debts (of developing nations),
provide access to their markets and transfer of technology -- all
of which have not been optimally realized to date," Kwik said.
Kwik explained that since 1970, the developed countries have
committed to allocate some 0.7 percent of their GDP as part of
their international development strategy through the Official
Development Assistance (ODA), but only a few of them have
fulfilled the pledge.
"On the other hand, those countries have allocated more than
US$300 billion per year -- almost six times their ODA pledges --
to subsidize their own agricultural products and exports," he
said, adding that such a measure was detrimental to developing
nations' economic productivity.
He also lamented the fact that many of the poverty eradication
programs here are financed by foreign loans, which he said only
passed the burden on to the next generation.
"Poverty eradication should be carried out based on productive
means so that it raises productivity, the purchasing power, and
competition among poor people, without creating a burden for the
next generation."
Indonesia is one of the signatories to the Millennium
Declaration, which commits to the Millennium Goals set out in
September 2000. The goals are to eradicate extreme poverty and
hunger, achieve universal primary education, promote gender
equality, reduce child mortality, improve maternal health, combat
HIV/AIDS, ensure environmental sustainability and develop
partnership for development.
On poverty, the proportion of the general population living
below the poverty line had declined to 11.3 percent in 1996 from
15.1 percent in 1990. After the 1998 economic crisis, the rate
increased to 23.4 percent in the following year but managed to
decline to 18.2 percent and 17.4 percent in 2002 and 2003,
respectively.
Indonesia's economy will need to expand by at least 6 percent
to significantly reduce unemployment and poverty, as against
around 3 percent to 4 percent in the past years.
The report projected that the proportion of people living
below the poverty line could decline to 7.5 percent in 2015, in
line with the Millennium's target.
The population growth rate has also decreased from 2.32
percent in the 1971-1990 period to 1.49 in 1990-2000 period.
Adult literacy has increased to 89.9 percent in 2003 with life
expectancy now at 66.2 years compared to 45 years in 1967.