The year 2015 is nigh, the target year set in the United Nations Millennium Declaration of 2000 for reducing extreme poverty and achieving other important objectives known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The Philippines is among the countries that have accepted the MDGs.
There is no doubt that the MDGs are meaningful. The eight general goals are: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; achieve universal primary education; promote gender equality and empower women; reduce child mortality; improve maternal health; combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases; ensure environmental sustainability; and develop a global partnership for development.
The Philippines has not performed well on the MDGs, according to the scoreboard in the Asian Development Bank’s report, “Key Indicators for Asia and the Pacific 2014,” released last August. Based on 21 indicators for the MDGs, the ADB describes countries as: (a) early achievers, those that have already reached the target; (b) on track, those expected to meet the target by 2015; (c) off track-slow, those expected to meet the target after 2015; and (d) off track-no progress, those that didn’t improve since 1990 or actually slipped backward.
The ADB’s 21 MDG indicators and assessments of Southeast Asian countries are:
- Poverty: Halve the 1990 percentage of population below $1.25 (ppp) a day. Early achievers: Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam. On track: Lao PDR. Off track-slow: Philippines (no expected date). No data: Brunei, Myanmar (Burma), Singapore.
- Underweight children: Halve the 1990 percentage among those under five years of age. Early achievers: Thailand, Vietnam. On track: Malaysia. Off track-slow: Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Philippines (expected in 2021-2030). No data: Brunei, Singapore.
- Primary enrollment: Target full enrollment of both sexes. Early achievers: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam. Off track-no progress: Philippines. No data: Myanmar, Singapore.
- Reaching last grade: Target full completion of primary grades of all that started Grade 1. Early achievers: Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam. On track: Thailand. Off track-slow: Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Philippines (expected after 2030). No data: Singapore.
- Gender primary: Target equal ratio of girls to boys. Early achievers: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam. On Track: Lao PDR. Off track-no progress: Malaysia. No data: Singapore.
- Gender secondary: Target equal ratio of girls to boys. Early achievers: Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand. On track: Cambodia. Off track-slow: Lao PDR. No data: Singapore, Vietnam.
- Gender tertiary: Target equal ratio of girls to boys. Early achievers: Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam. Off track-slow: Cambodia, Lao PDR. No data: Singapore.
- Under-5 mortality: Target one-third the 1990 percentage. Early achievers: none. On track: Cambodia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand. Off track-slow: Brunei, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines (expected in 2021-2030), Vietnam.
- Infant mortality: Target one-third the 1990 percentage. Early achievers: none. On track: Singapore, Thailand. Off track-slow: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines (expected after 2030), Vietnam.
- Maternal mortality: Reduce by three-fourths. Early achievers: Cambodia, Lao PDR. Off track-slow: Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam. Off track-no progress: Brunei, Philippines.
- Skilled birth attendance: Reduce by three-fourths the births without. Early achievers: Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia. On track: Vietnam. Off track-slow: Cambodia, Lao PDI, Myanmar, Philippines (expected after 2030). Off track-no progress: Thailand. No data: Singapore.
- Antenatal care: Target at least one visit. Early achievers: Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand. On track: Vietnam. Off track-slow: Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Philippines (expected in 2021-2030). No data: Singapore.
- HIV prevalence: Reverse the trend. Early achiever: Thailand. On track: Philippines. Off track-slow: Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Vietnam. No data: Brunei, Singapore.
- TB incidence (new cases), and
- TB prevalence (existing cases): Reverse the trends. Early achievers: all except Brunei, which has no data.
- Forest cover: Reverse the trend. Early achievers: Philippines, Vietnam. On track: Singapore. Off track-no progress: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand.
- Protected area: Reverse the trend. Early achievers: Brunei, Singapore. Off track-slow: Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines (no expected date), Thailand, Vietnam.
- Carbon dioxide emissions per capita, and
- Ozone-depleting substance consumption: Reverse the trends. Early achievers: all.
- Safe drinking water: Halve the 1990 percentage without. Early achievers: Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam. No data: Brunei.
- Basic sanitation: Halve the 1990 percentage without. Early achievers: Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam. On track: Cambodia. Off track-slow: Philippines (expected in 2016-2020), Indonesia. No data: Brunei.
In summary, the Philippines is rated as an early achiever in nine instances, on track in one instance, slow in nine instances—including poverty and hunger, which to me are the most important—and not progressing in two instances. Here is more proof that growth in the gross domestic product is a very misleading indicator.
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Contact mahar.mangahas@sws.org.ph.