NEDA’s Balisacan cites PHL progress in UN’s MDG

The pace of Philippine improvements under the human development or HDI of the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the past 30 decades may be slower than Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam, but Manila was able to achieve three of the eight MDG ahead of the 2015 target.

In fact, the Philippines placed 114 among 187 countries in the “2013 Human Development Report” of the United Nations Development Program, National Economic and Development Authority chief Arsenio Balisacan noted in a statement Monday.

“Within the Asean region, the Philippines’ HDI is higher than Indonesia [0.629], Vietnam [0.617], Cambodia [0.543], Lao PDR [0.543], and Myanmar [0.498], though lower than Thailand [0.690] and Malaysia [0.769], ” said Balisacan, who is also the Socioeconomic Planning secretary.

According to the 2011-2012 “Asian-Pacific Regional MDG Report: Accelerating Equitable Achievement of the MDGs,” the Philippines failed in eradicating poverty, providing universal primary education, reducing child mortality rate and improving maternal health.

However, Balisacan noted extreme poverty in the Philippines dropped to 10.8 percent in 1991 from 16.5 percent, or less than 3 percentage points against the 2015 target of 8.25 percent, according to the National Statistical Coordination Board’s 2009 Family Income and Expenditure Survey.

Results of the NSCB survey for 2012 will be revealed later this year.

“The 2013 Human Development Report and the 2012 MDGs Regional Report supports the claim that our country is not Asia’s worst performer in those areas,” said Baliscan.

“While the report cited the Philippines as lagging on other MDGs, official statistics show that we are likely to meet the targets on food poverty, child mortality, and access to safe drinking water and sanitary toilet facilities by 2015,” he added. — VS, GMA News