The Sunday Mail
Vivian Mugarisi
As the countdown to the deadline for the realisation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) continues, the time to look at how far we have come is now. African governments have the opportunity to access how they performed in meeting the goals.
The eight internationally-agreed targets to reduce poverty and hunger, maternal and child deaths, disease, gender inequality, environmental degradation, combat HIV/Aids, malaria and other diseases and develop a global partnership for development (MDG 1-8 respectively) were adopted in 2000 with a time-line of 15 years for completion.
The MDGs sought to increase globalisation and promise faster growth, new opportunities and higher living standards for people.
Despite regional imbalances, several progressive efforts have been made to attain the goals. However, conflicts, sustainability, unemployment and socio-cultural settings which either hinder progress or at times erode the efforts continuously haunt the continent.
Looking at the first goal of eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, the proportion of people living on less than $1,25 a day in Africa decreased marginally from 56,5 percent in 1990 to 47,5 percent in 2008 according to the Africa’s 2012 progress report on the MDGs. Analysis indicates that Africa made the least progress in reducing poverty with about 41 percent off the 2015 target.
In Zimbabwe, economic growth rate was noted in the past three years from a negative 5,7 percent between 2001-2006 to 9,3 percent in 2011. However, this has not yet translated to growth in productive employment and poverty reduction.
In education, the enrolment of primary school children has remained high in the country but completion rates are very low with few attaining the basic Ordinary-Level qualification.
The country also made strides in promoting gender equality but fewer women made it to tertiary school with participation of women in decision-making positions remaining low.
While a decline in maternal mortality rate was noted, from 960 per 100 000 live births in 2010 to 614 per 100 000 live births in 2014, maternal mortality continues to be a major challenge in Zimbabwe with most women dying due to pregnancy-related complications because of limited access to antenatal, delivery and post natal care.
The country, however, has become the second country in sub-Saharan Africa to significantly slow the spread of HIV, the virus that causes Aids. A report by the National Aids Council shows a decline of new HIV infections from 5,5 percent in 1999 to around 0,98 percent in 2013. HIV prevalence among pregnant women has dropped significantly from 12,5 percent in 2011 to 9,85 percent in 2013.
This sharp decline has been attributed to the multi-sectoral approach that Government adopted through the National Aids Council.
Government, through the Ministry of Health and Child Care, also exceeded the MDG target in fighting malaria by reducing malaria deaths and incidences to less than 0,2 percent. According to the United Nations, Zimbabwe has made good progress in some social and human development areas, despite a decade long of economic, social and political challenges.
UN communications’ specialist, Sirak Gebrehiwot, says poverty and malnutrition continues to be challenges which will contribute to the target being missed. He also pointed to climate change as having an effect on the quality and quantity of food produced.
“The effects of climate change continue to have an impact on Zimbabwe, particularly on its rainfall-dependent subsistence farmers,” he said.
“Farmers as well as livestock and wildlife have been exposed to ever-changing and erratic weather patterns, including drought and flooding.” Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister, Cde Prisca Mupfumira, said the country prioritised Goals 1,2,4 and 5 for acceleration despite the fact that progress on achievement has largely remained mixed across goals.
“The country has, however, made considerable gains over the last four years owing to a stable macro-economic and social environment. Success continues to be recorded in attaining universal primary education, halting and reversing the spread of HIV and Aids, and empowerment of women and gender parity in primary school enrolment and completion rates,” she said.
Minister Mupfumira said the country produced an acceleration action plan which seeks to improve access to safe childbirth for women through the establishment of maternity waiting homes.
Over 12 000 pregnant women have stayed at the maternity waiting homes and subsequently gave birth safely between 2012 and 2014. Health and Child Care Permanent Secretary, Dr Gerald Gwinji, says although the country failed to reach the required target in combating HIV and Aids, remarkable efforts have been made towards achieving the goal.
He also said the country also went beyond the malaria target.
“Although we have not hit our targets, we have made tremendous achievements in the area of HIV and Aids and even surpassed the malaria ones,” Dr Gwinji said.
“We have managed to reduce our prevalence from a high of about 30 percent to the current 13 percent, we have managed to reduce the rate of new infections to 0,88 percent and that is very remarkable.
He said more needs to be done and the ministry is dedicated to carry the goals forward in the oncoming sustainable development goals and continue on the pathway of reducing and combating HIV and Aids.
