Zambia will not realize all the Millennium Development Goals targets by 2015-Chikwanda

Zambia will not realize all the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) targets by 2015 despite some noticeable progress that the country is achieving, Finance Minister Alexander Chikwanda has said.

Mr Chikwanda said the country would not be able to fulfill the tall order of the MDGs but that Government remained committed to sustain and increase the momentum of the progress by 2015.

He said in Lusaka yesterday at the launch of the 2013 progress-report on MDGs by the United Nations (UN) that the current difficulties on the commodity prices front could stiffen realization of the goals.

“We will most likely not be able to fulfill the tall order of the MDGs by 2015 but we have made noticeable progress. Our aim is to sustain and increase the momentum of progress. With the current difficulties on the commodity prices front, the going will be quite stiff but we will fight on to better the lives of the people,” Mr Chikwanda said.

He said Zambia had struggled on many fronts in social and economic spheres to work towards attainment of MDGs but there was still a long way even with stupendous efforts of 19 months Patriotic Front (PF) administration to revise the development script in order to accelerate the development process.

Mr Chikwanda however said, the overall objective of MDGs was to accelerate development and that Government remained committed to accelerate and foster development in the country.

He said Government was committed to improving the health and educational services, water supplies in rural and urban communities, infrastructure in roads, railways and investing highly in power sector.

“If we can marshal adequate resources to invest in agriculture, we can in the medium and long term eradicate poverty,” Mr Chikwanda said.

He said the international community especially the country’s co-operating partners had spared no effort to assist Zambia and that the country would remain grateful for their generosity.

Mr Chikwanda said the growth rates being attained, no matter how embellished they were, had no meaning if unemployment and poverty especially among the young people remained intractably high.

Earlier, UN country representative Kanni Wagnaraja said Zambia was however, making progress in realizing some MDGs targets such as those related to the health sector.

She underlined the need to address growing inequalities countrywide with a call for viable reforms and investments to realize goals like MDG One on decreasing extreme poverty of 29 per cent by 2015.

On MDG One, of extreme poverty, she said poverty was decreasing at slow pace as from 58 per cent in 1991 to 42 per cent in 2010 and there was need for more investment to realize the goal target by 2015.

She said Zambia was on right path in realizing MDG Six on HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis prevalence though two young girls were infected with HIV/AIDS every two hours.

The country was further said to be progressing well on MDG Four of Child mortality, MDG Three on Gender equality and MDG Two on universal primary education.

“Zambia’s recent progress on many of the MDG targets has been encouraging, and we are heading in the right direction, although the country is still confronted by challenges that slow the overall pace of implementation.

“This is why we see the impatience often articulated by national and local leadership and civil society alike, for it is quite clear that this country can get to many more of its targets by the 2015 deadline,” Ms Wagnaraja said.

On MDG Four, she said although there was a reduction, child and maternal mortality rates were still high as about 38 mothers die each month due to complication relating to pregnancy and childbirth.

Ms Wagnaraja said the top 10 per cent of Zambians shared over half of total national income while the bottom 60 per cent shared less than 14 per cent of the total income.

The report includes provincial data and analysis using current census and Living Condition Minimum Survey (LCMS) with global data sets and institutional practices that support MDGs acceleration.

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) country director Viola Morgan said the UN remained committed to supporting Zambia’s developmental agenda in areas such as ending early child marriage.

Health Minister Joseph Kasonde and his Chief and Traditional counterpart Nkandu Luo said the progress-report would give Government another insight to scrutinize failures and success of MDGs while Gender Minister Inonge Wina said her ministry would consider more empowerment projects for women.