Donor support needs to be doubled to attain MDGs

The level of external assistance needed to meet the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) will be about double of what is currently available, says an MDGs Needs Assessment Report launched today on the occasion of International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.

"Donor support will need to be doubled over the next decade to properly finance development efforts especially if the nation is to reduce hunger and improve education," said Matthew Kahane, UNDP Resident Representative.

Kahane, however, added that the international community is willing to invest in "well-planned, well-managed and well-monitored national efforts."

Presenting the report, Dr. Bal Gopal Baidya – leader of the team that compiled the report – estimated there would be about US$ 8 billion of financing gap in the next one decade to attain the MDGs.

The report showed that the government must make a public investment of US$ 12.6 billion over the next decade if the goals are to be reached. More than half of that money must be channeled to reducing hunger, improving education and, critically, developing rural infrastructure.

The report has identified areas of interventions to meet the MDGs; estimate resource requirements; and estimate the financing gap.

Launching the report, Finance Minister Dr. Ram Sharan Mahat said that the government is committed to implement plans and programs to attain MDGs. He said that since sustainable peace is in sight, there are rooms for improvement in government performance.

Dr. Jagadish Chandra Pokharel, vice chairperson at the National Planning Commission (NPC), said the report would help the government to internalize MDGs in national plans.

MDGs are the world's time-bound and quantified targets for addressing extreme poverty in its many dimensions – income poverty, hunger, disease, lack of adequate shelter and exclusion – while promoting gender equality, education and environmental sustainability. nepalnews.com sd Oct 17 06