Polytechnic University of the Philippines
Sta. Mesa, Manila
SYNTHESIS
IN AGENDA 31 AND MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS
Prepared by:
Mr.
Raymark D. Llagas
Master in Educational Management
major
in Instructional Leadership
Submitted to:
Dr.
Josefina U. Parentela
Professor
Education Models, Paradigms and
Procedures
(MEM 651)
April 2014
In September 2000, member states of the
United Nations (UN) gathered at the Millennium Summit to affirm commitments
towards reducing poverty and the worst forms of human deprivation. The Summit
adopted the UN Millennium Declaration which embodies specific targets and
milestones in eliminating extreme poverty worldwide.
To help track progress in the attainment
of the 8 goals and 18 targets of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) over
the period 1990 to 2015, experts from the United Nations Secretariat and
International Monetary Fund (IMF), Organization of Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD) and the World Bank identified and selected a set of
time-bound and measurable indicators. Data series on the 48 MDG indicators are
compiled to provide the basis for the preparation of progress reports by member
states of the United Nations (UN) on the implementation of the UN Millennium
Declaration.
The
MDGs are eight objectives which all countries and some of the leading
development institutions in the world aim to accomplish by 2015.
The
MDGs include the following: Eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, achieving
universal primary education, promoting gender equality and women empowerment,
reducing child mortality, improving maternal health, combating human
immunodeficiency virus infection/acquired immunodeficiency
syndrome (HIV/AIDS), malaria and other diseases, ensuring environmental
sustainability, and developing a global partnership for development.
Philippine’s Poor Performance
The
Millennium Declaration (MD) has not done very much to improve the development
trajectories or the pace of progress in the Philippines with regard to the
MDGs.
The
MD contains the statement of values, principles and objectives for the
international agenda for the 21st century, which was adopted at the conclusion
of the United Nations (UN) Millennium Summit on September 8, 2000.
In despite the apparent
improvements in the Philippine’s progress in achieving the MDGs, some of the
goal indicators were already done before the MD was signed.
For instance, the target for
the ratio of enrolled girls to boys in the elementary level, with a baseline
data of 1.0, has already been achieved in 1996. The same figure is the target
for 2015.
Based from the 2008 Economic
and Social Commission of Asia Pacific-Asian Development Bank-United Nations
Development Programme (Escap-ADB-UNDP) report, the country is doing poorly in
achieving the MDGs because of “policy gaps, growth gaps, strategy gaps,
resource gaps and implementations gaps.”
The Philippines’ poor
performance is due to “governance failures, poverty traps, persistent pockets
of poverty and areas of specific policy neglect.”
One
of the problems with the MDGs is that that too many targets and success
indicators were set that it became hard to decide which goal to prioritize.
With
2015 only a year away, the UN should not implement additional targets until the
original objectives for the MGGs have been met by every country.
According
to one of the Professor in University of the Philippines, “The MDGs did not
fail us. We failed the MDGs,”
The Health Aspect of
Millennium Development Goals
As stated in the Goal 4 to Goal 8 it is all about health-related
goals. The government wants to achieve the regression of child mortality,
improve mental health, and combat some communicable diseases.
But the Philippines is currently struggling in achieving the
goals of the health-based MDGs. This is because, there is health inequity
prevalence in the Philippines. This is seen as a gap between the health status
of the rich minority and the poor majority. We still have lots of room for
improvement regarding the health system.
According to Dr. Juan Antonio De Jesus Ricarte, PhD from the
Universal Healthcare Study Group, the healthcare quality in the rich provinces
in the country could be likened to the quality of healthcare in first world
countries, while healthcare quality in the poor provinces in the Philippines
could be compared to the health services received by residents in the
Sub-Saharan African countries.
In order to solve the health inequity problem in the Philippines,
Ricarte advocated for universal healthcare. It is the provision to every
Filipino of the highest possible quality of healthcare that is accessible,
efficient, equitably distributed, adequately funded, fairly financed and
appropriately used by an informed and empowered public.
The Environmental Sustainability based on Millennium Development
Goals
The country’s natural resource base
continues to be under threat. Soil degradation and erosion are worsened with
the increased cultivation of upland areas and massive conversion of forestlands
and grasslands into urban use. These have largely contributed to siltation of
rivers and irrigation dams. Down the line, siltation also affects the coastal
and marine ecosystems.
The country’s forests need attention due to
systemic degradation attributed mainly to fire, logging, kaingin, pests,
diseases, mining activities and population encroachment in critical areas.
While economic
growth is still within the carrying capacity of the environment, its
sustainability is under threat. According to the MTPDP, the country posted
gains in arresting resource depletion but at the cost of slowing down economic
activities.
In accordance with
Millennium Development Goals, we must ensure the environmental sustainability
of our country. To respond in this goal, the government create the
Climate Change Commission (CCC) in 2009.
The CCC had a policy-making body tasked to coordinate, monitor and
evaluate programs and plans on climate change. The CCC also formulated the
National Framework Strategy on Climate Change and the National Climate Change
Actions Plan (NCCAP).
Therefore, in this section, the Millennium Development Goal involves
changes in mindset, culture and lifestyle for organizations and individuals.
Conclusions
The Millennium Development Goals and also the Agenda 31, envisions of reducing inequality, respecting limits to growth, enlarging
rights and freedoms. It means engaging in social entrepreneurship, adapting to
changing climate, building resilient communities, building a resilient planet. As we noticed, it have to be the responsibility to everyone, not just in our
institution. Thus, people must have to know, understand and respond.
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