Measurable indicators of progress

Sep 20, 2011 Letters

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DEAR EDITOR,
Eleven years ago Guyana and over one hundred and eighty countries across the globe adopted the United Nations Millennium Declaration which sought to come up with some measurable and quantifiable indicators to measure progress in the collective effort to reduce poverty in the world.
These were encapsulated in eight overarching goals known as the Millennium Development Goals, which covered a number of key areas including eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education, the promotion of gender equality, reducing child mortality and improving maternal health.
Combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, ensuring environmental sustainability and developing a global partnership for development were also included among the set goals. These were admittedly fairly ambitious goals which were expected to be met by the year 2015.
The Government of Guyana recently held a meeting at the National Convention Centre in which Guyana’s Report on the current status of the country in terms of the realization of these goals was presented to the Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme. I had the opportunity to be present at the presentation ceremony which included key stakeholders including key government officials, representatives from Civil Society including the private sector, trade unions and the religious community.
It was quite an interesting session as the Finance Minister outlined the several successes made in the attainment of the goals. I was particularly struck by the young people, which included children drawn from eight primary and secondary schools, who reflected on each of the goals and what they would like to see in a future Guyana.
I have to state that after listening to these children I really felt good not only because of their excellent articulation skills, but also by the profundity of their thinking on issues that matter to their lives. These were children who excelled at the National Grade Six Assessment and the Caribbean Examinations Council and can therefore be regarded as the future leaders of our society.
What came out clearly from the presentations from both Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh and Prime Minister Samuel Hinds was the political will and determination by the current administration to achieve a better life for the Guyanese people. While so many other countries are significantly behind in terms of the targets, Guyana has already achieved and in some instances surpassed some of the indicators, including that of universal primary education and child mortality.
Similar achievements were recorded in poverty reduction, with the proportion of the population living in extreme poverty declining from 28% in to 18.6% in 2006. In the area of employment creation, the overall unemployment rate declined from 11.7% in 1992 to 10.7% in 2006. The female unemployment rate declined from 18.1% in 1992 to 13.9% in 2006. These are significant improvements especially when seen against the background of decades of economic stagnation and retrogression which characterized the pre-1992 period.
There can be no doubt that the country has made great strides in the area of gender equality and the empowerment of our women. This is reflected among other ways in an increasing number of women who are now in Parliament, moving from twelve members in 1992 to twenty today. Women are also well represented in the public service with quite a number holding key management and supervisory positions.
Regarding health indicators, there have also been marked improvements. Both infant and child mortality have shown positive trends over the years.
The under-five mortality rate has declined from 120 per one thousand live births in 1991 to 17 in 2008. This decrease is due to successful implementation of nutrition and maternal and child care initiatives, including programmes for comprehensive child immunization coverage among others.
Because of the several initiatives in the health sector, our children and Guyanese on the whole are living longer and healthier lives. Steady progress has been made to curb the prevalence of HIV/AIDS, which along with malaria and tuberculosis have resulted in a significant number of deaths, especially among young people and those in the prime of their productive and reproductive lives.
As mentioned above, there has been mixed results globally in terms of the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. Guyana has done reasonably well in the attainment of these goals which speaks to high levels of commitment and strong political will by the PPP/C administration. There is still much ground to cover, but the positive trends over the years point unmistakably in the direction of measurable successes in the creation of a better quality of life for the Guyanese people.
Hydar Ally

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