Nepal on track to achieve MDGs: PM Bhattarai

Prime Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai attributed the absence of technical know-how and productive capacity, lack of modern equipment, dependency on subsistence agriculture and energy poverty for negatively affecting the attainment of overall development goals including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in his address to UN General Assembly.
But Dr Bhattarai addressing a session themed 'Sustainable Energy for All: Water, Food and Energy Security' at the Roundtable 5 of the UN Private Sector Forum 2011 in New York yesterday, assured that Nepal is on track to achieve a number of its MDG targets despite the structural constraints.
"The government has taken several policy initiatives and made interventions, while working together with the local communities to bring about a change in their situation, aware of the constraints and challenges," he said, adding that the adverse effects of climate change that have caused significant decline in crop yields and aggravated the food situation in Nepal further compounding our vulnerabilities.
The Prime Minister expressed the absence of amenities like water, access to sufficient, safe and nutrient food along with access to modern energy services, poverty and hunger remain as major challenges in Nepal.
He called the attention to Nepal's water, food and energy insecurity attributing low investment, both domestic and international in an integrated manner as the reason. "We need both financial and technical assistance in the area of water resource management, agricultural development and energy generation to for the effective utilisation of existing resources," he added, calling for a higher level of support and collaboration of the international community including investment from the private sector, in improving and promoting clean and easy access to water and sanitation, hydropower generation, agricultural production, promotion of alternative energy, exchange of scientific and technological research.
The Premier also committed to improve the productivity of agricultural sector, accelerate efforts to attain water, food and energy security and fight against hunger and poverty.
Meanwhile, the heads of the US and UK government aid programmes have recognised that efforts to reduce maternal mortality in Nepal offer potentially 'game changing' lessons in the fight against international poverty.
At a high-profile event yesterday during the UN General Assembly in New York, Administrator of USAID Dr Rajiv Shah and UK secretary of State for International Development Andrew Mitchell, highlighted the innovative policies and programmes to improve reproductive and maternal health in Nepal as bringing about a significant step toward achieving the UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The event – MDG Countdown: Successes and Innovations – examined the successes and the potential for expansion in other countries.
Nepal’s achievements to date stem from the constitutional recognition of health as citizens’ rights, scale-up of effective reproductive and maternal health services, and innovative policies to remove financial barriers to utilize them. Secretary of Ministry of Health and Population Dr Sudha Sharma presented Nepal’s case at the MDG Countdown event.
Mitchell, said that the efforts are making a real difference toward reducing poverty. "We want to hold it up to the world, so others can learn from these successes, 'he said, adding that it demonstrates that development buys results – it shows that through innovations we can deliver inspirational change to people’s lives.
The MDGs consist of internationally agreed targets to reduce global poverty by 2015.