PHM-Exch> Pakistan Millennium Development Goals Report (MDGR) 2010

[Dr Irfan A. Khan]

An informative article on Pakistan Millennium Development Goals Report (MDGR) 2010 
Dr Irfan Ahmed from HANDS, Pakistan
 
'Civil society points out loopholes in MDGs report '






Terming it contradictory to the situation on ground, the civil society organizations have pointed out embarrassing loopholes in Pakistan Millennium Development Goals Report (MDGR) 2010 drafted by the government to defend its position before high level UN-led Millennium Development Goals (MDG) review meeting in September. The Pakistan Millennium Development Goals Report 2010 (PMDGR 2010) is the fourth in the series of progress reports, covering the time period from 2005 to 2009. The report aims to highlight the development challenges facing Pakistan among the masses and building consensus, ownership and cooperation amongst various stakeholders including development partners at the global, national and provincial levels in achieving the MDGs. 


In an analysis drafted to highlight loopholes in MDGR 2010, civil society organizations, who have been actively engaged in initiatives to achieve one or more of the MDGs, say that the report tries very hard to down play the dismal state of affairs - in the process often sounding technically flawed and providing an overall sense of contradiction. The analysis shared by World Population Foundation (WPF), Pakistan, points out that the report’s sheer emphasis on MDG 8 (develop a global partnership for development), claiming it to be the single most important factor in achieving the remaining 7 goals, unfortunately serves only the purpose of fuelling disappointment. 


“With specific reference to MDGs 3 (promote gender equality and empower women) and 5 (improve maternal health), the picture painted in the report is misleading to say the best,” it says. Chapter 4 of the report discusses the progress made with regard to MDG 3. The report states that as of 2010, Pakistan is on track with regard to all the indicators except “share of women in wage employment in the non-agricultural sector” for which progress has been defined as “slow”. 


The assessment states that a closer study of the report contradicts the claim of being “on track”, especially with regard to the indicator for female literacy rate. While it is stated on the one hand, “Despite the fact that Pakistan has missed the MDG target of gender parity in primary and secondary education in 2005, with the current pace, the MDG target of gender parity in primary and secondary education is likely to be achieved by 2015.” However, little has been mentioned of what precisely will be done to achieve parity in primary and secondary education when the female literacy rate at 45 per cent is considerably lagging behind as compared to male literacy rate of 69 per cent. 


The most glaring paradox arrives when the same report states, “However, despite some improvement, it is highly unlikely that the MDG target of female literacy will be reached in 2015.” About MDG 5, the analysis mentions that Pakistan suffers from an alarmingly high Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) - 276 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. The ratio is considerably high when the individual average of provinces is taken into account with Balochistan taking the lead with 856 maternal deaths per 100, 000 live births. However, despite this grim situation, the report claims that Pakistan is on track vis-‡-vis reducing maternal mortality ratio. 


Once again the report contradicts itself when it states that Pakistan is lagging in all other corresponding indicators (i.e. proportion of births attended by skilled birth attendants, contraceptive prevalence rate, total fertility rate and proportion of women 15-49 years who had given birth during last 3 years and made at least one antenatal care consultation) and yet it will be able to achieve the target for reduced MMR by 2015. The fact that Pakistan is lagging behind in 3 out of the 4 indicators for MDG 5, it does not register how then the MDG target of bringing MMR to 140 can be achievable? Moreover, chapter 6, which defines Pakistan’s progress with regard to MDG 5 lacks on a number of other aspects. Firstly, it sports no reference to abortion, when the incidence of unsafe abortions serves as an important cause of maternal deaths in Pakistan. Secondly, not very unexpectedly maternal mortality has been dealt with as a public health agenda and emphasis has been placed on improving infrastructure and access to Lady Health Visitors/Workers (LHVs/LHWs) to reduce maternal deaths. 


Thirdly, the weight of the whole strategy to reduce maternal deaths has been founded on the assumption that increased access to LHVs will solve the problem and that strategies need to be put in place to counter the decline in the numbers of skilled birth attendants. However, no evaluation of the actual impact that LHVs have with regard to MMR has been referred to. Moreover, there are a number of other underlying causes such as nutrition, early marriages and abortion that have not been addressed. 


Likewise, the role of two important actors - civil society and media - with regard to Safe Motherhood initiatives in the country has received no mention in the report. Finally, perhaps the most important of all factors that has not received due attention in the report deals with resource allocation. The total funds allocated for the health sector amount to about 2 per cent of the annual GDP and within the health sector resources allocated for maternal health stand at a meagre 0.6 per cent. Likewise, the fact that almost 80% of healthcare is in the hands of unregulated private sector has not been taken into account in the report. 


In the end, the analysis mentions that the PMDGR 2010 fails to capture all the dimensions that influence the country’s progress towards MDG 3 and 5. It says that ensuring achievement of MDG 5, and target in particular, is critical to achieving all the MDGs. But within MDG 5, universal access to reproductive health is equally important to achieve the overall goal of improving maternal health. To highlight the report’s shortcomings and ensure that the government portrays the correct depiction of the situation in Pakistan, the civil society organizations have formed a group, ‘MDG5b 2010’, which will focus on ensuring that MDG 5b is not left neglected. 
  
Author:Myra Imran
Posted On:Sun,Aug 08,2010
Source:www.thenews.com.pk 





 		 	   		  
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