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Sri Lanka surpasses mid-term targets of Millennium Development Goals
July 05, Colombo: Despite the three-decade long war against terrorism and a devastating tsunami in 2004 and being affected by the global recession, Sri Lanka has successfully integrated Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in to the national development agenda and has surpassed the mid-term targets.
Speaking at the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Senior Minister of International Monetary Cooperation and Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning of Sri Lanka Dr. Sarath Amunugama said Sri Lanka had been a trend setter in integrating Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) effectively in to the national development agenda and ensuring realization of these targets in a number of development areas.
Sri Lanka, surpassing mid-term targets, has slashed the poverty level from 15.2 percent in 2006/07 to 6.5 percent in 2012 and set a zero poverty goal for 2016.
Minister Amunugama attributed Sri Lanka's success mainly to better performances in terms of child mortality, nutrition, schooling, access to safe drinking water, sanitation and housing compared to many countries.
Sri Lanka has the best indicators for child and maternal health and access to primary health care in South Asia.
Reducing the infant mortality rate to 9 per 1,000 live births and the Maternal Mortality Rate to 30 per 100,000 live births in 2010 was a significant achievement when compared with many affluent countries, he noted.
Under the MDG of Environmental Sustainability, the mid-term targets of 2010 have already been achieved with water and sanitation.
He pointed out that Sri Lanka has been committed to ensure gender equality many decades before the introduction of MDGs.
Sri Lanka's immunization system and its efforts in tackling malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS were meeting great success and education targets were being met. Sri Lanka was using emerging technologies to help it meet these targets and there was a greater focus on science and vocational training.
Minister Amunugama also pointed out that the developmental and technological needs vary from country to and therefore, a systems-oriented approach to reach the MDG targets is more suitable than a "one-size-fits-all" approach.
He said middle income countries, such as Sri Lanka, face specific economic, social and environmental challenges. One such concern is unexpected weather patterns that trigger droughts and floods causing damage to the country's food and energy production.
"We are still vulnerable to external economic shocks, but have the potential to advance in economic strength if forward looking culture supportive of technology induced growth is achieved," he said.
The Senior Minister said Sri Lanka, while committed to meeting the Millennium Development Goals, is ready to help the region sharing its experience not in only achieving MDGs, but also in terms of establishing peace and stability in the region.
Sri Lanka : Sri Lanka surpasses mid-term targets of Millennium Development Goals
July 05, Colombo: Despite the three-decade long war against terrorism and a devastating tsunami in 2004 and being affected by the global recession, Sri Lanka has successfully integrated Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in to the national development agenda and has surpassed the mid-term targets.
Speaking at the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Senior Minister of International Monetary Cooperation and Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning of Sri Lanka Dr. Sarath Amunugama said Sri Lanka had been a trend setter in integrating Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) effectively in to the national development agenda and ensuring realization of these targets in a number of development areas.
Sri Lanka, surpassing mid-term targets, has slashed the poverty level from 15.2 percent in 2006/07 to 6.5 percent in 2012 and set a zero poverty goal for 2016.
Minister Amunugama attributed Sri Lanka's success mainly to better performances in terms of child mortality, nutrition, schooling, access to safe drinking water, sanitation and housing compared to many countries.
Sri Lanka has the best indicators for child and maternal health and access to primary health care in South Asia.
Reducing the infant mortality rate to 9 per 1,000 live births and the Maternal Mortality Rate to 30 per 100,000 live births in 2010 was a significant achievement when compared with many affluent countries, he noted.
Under the MDG of Environmental Sustainability, the mid-term targets of 2010 have already been achieved with water and sanitation.
He pointed out that Sri Lanka has been committed to ensure gender equality many decades before the introduction of MDGs.
Sri Lanka's immunization system and its efforts in tackling malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS were meeting great success and education targets were being met. Sri Lanka was using emerging technologies to help it meet these targets and there was a greater focus on science and vocational training.
Minister Amunugama also pointed out that the developmental and technological needs vary from country to and therefore, a systems-oriented approach to reach the MDG targets is more suitable than a "one-size-fits-all" approach.
He said middle income countries, such as Sri Lanka, face specific economic, social and environmental challenges. One such concern is unexpected weather patterns that trigger droughts and floods causing damage to the country's food and energy production.
"We are still vulnerable to external economic shocks, but have the potential to advance in economic strength if forward looking culture supportive of technology induced growth is achieved," he said.
The Senior Minister said Sri Lanka, while committed to meeting the Millennium Development Goals, is ready to help the region sharing its experience not in only achieving MDGs, but also in terms of establishing peace and stability in the region.
Sri Lanka : Sri Lanka surpasses mid-term targets of Millennium Development Goals
