Uganda to pursue MDG targets beyond 2015 - Kutesa

By Godiver Asege & Raymond Baguma            

Uganda will continue to build on attaining the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) targets even after the deadline of next year 2015, Sam Kutesa, the President-elect of the UN General Assembly has said.

There are eight international Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that were established in 2000 and Uganda made a commitment to achieve them by 2015.

The goals target to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, achieve universal primary education, promote women empowerment, reduce child mortality, improve maternal health, fight HIV/AIDS, malaria, environmental sustainability and develop a partnership for development.

Ahead of next year’s deadline, Uganda has had mixed progress in attaining the MDGs with progress on some, and failure in achieving others.

Today, the country has achieved the target of halving extreme poverty as well as achieving universal primary education enrollment.

Kutesa, who also holds the docket of foreign affairs minister, said that Uganda would look for more effective methods of implementing the MDGs targets that were yet to be achieved.

He was speaking at the launch of the post2015 development agenda report published by the Agency for Cooperation and Research in Development (ACORD), Kutesa said, “Some work has been done, but the work is not ending now.”

The report was compiled following consultations with marginalized and vulnerable communities in 13 African countries which included Burundi, Kenya, Chad, Mali, Burkina Faso, Uganda, Guinea, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Rwanda.

Presently, there is an ongoing global plan for the post2015 development agenda with consultations ongoing. Kutesa said that the post2015 agenda does not seek to replace MDGs which will remain relevant as they were in 2000, but will build on the MDG targets that were set.

Kutesa said while the formulation of MDGs about 14 years ago, had far less consultations than the ongoing post2015 development agenda, there is need to take into account of the realities existing in different countries such as level of development.

He noted that there had been unfulfilled financial commitments by donors to support the MDG agenda; yet the agenda for sustainable development goals after 2015 will require more than US$1.8 trillion to be implemented.

The report establishes that ordinary people want increased public investment in agriculture, improved extension services, affordable seeds, and veterinary services amongst others.

The report findings also point to public demands for access to and ownership of land for women as well as climate change adaptation.

While presenting the report, Salina Sanou, the ACORD head of policy and advocacy said that the formulation of the MDGs in 2000 was not as consultative and people-centred as the ongoing post2015 development agenda.

“The process of MDGs did not include the grassroots. So we felt that there is need to go to the grassroots and see what people are saying. We worked with local communities who were affected,” said Sanou.

Richard Sewakiryanga, the executive director of the National NGO Forum called on government to seek alternative financing through domestic resource mobilization and encouraging local production of goods and services. He said that foreign aid is not sustainable in the long run.

“Also, poverty and inequality needs to be dealt with. Poverty has fallen, but inequality is rising between the rich and poor,” Sewakiryanga observed.

In attendance were MPs Betty Amongi, Rosemary Nyakikongoro, Alex Byarugaba, the chairperson of the parliamentary forum on MDGs; Safia Juuko Nalule, who chairs that parliamentary forum on human rights.