Participants at the MDGs workshop in Suva
By Lauren Robinson-Frey
Like most, I was somewhat aware of the new buzz word floating around -“MDGs” - and like most I knew it was important for our sustainable future. But that was about it. New to SPC and still struggling to work out all the acronyms that come along with the job, I felt quite unprepared at the prospect of attending a workshop titled Reporting on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as National Issues. But it was (that old cliché best describes it) a real eye opener and I am really grateful for the opportunity. For the first time the MDGs became really relevant to me, identifiable in a local context and not just a set of ideals put to paper by the powers that be in 2000.
The two day workshop, held in Suva, came about through the combined effort of the Pacific Islands News Association (PINA), UNDP – Fiji and the UN Millennium Campaign. It brought together representatives from various civil societies, non-governmental organisations, the Fiji government, the education sector and the media. Into the final stretch of the 2015 deadline, the purpose of the gathering was to examine issues relating to MDGs in the Pacific, whether the UN target will be achieved in the given time frame, the challenges and the collaborative work that needs to be prioritised. At the workshop it became quite clear that yes, the MDGs are achievable but we in the Pacific still have a fair bit of work to do before we get there.
According to statistics provided by Fiji’s Ministry of Health at the workshop, only 3.7% of the population lives long enough to receive their FNPF benefits (aged 55-59). 47% of the population is below 30 years old. I embarrassingly admit that for a quick second my thoughts pondered the notion that I will soon be older than half the population in Fiji, but even harder to swallow was the sobering reality that people in Fiji are dying younger. Why? Simple everyday lifestyle choices – what people are choosing to consume and whether they partake in regular physical activity. Non-Communicable Diseases have become a huge problem in the region, making achieving MDG: 6 (combating HIV/Aids, Malaria and other diseases) that much harder to achieve. If you really think about it, every effort made to address MDG: 6 would also contribute to progress on all the other MDGs and vice versa. It could ultimately mean that 5 women in the Pacific don’t have to die in pregnancy or childbirth related illnesses each day, as is currently the case (MDG: 5), that 60% of those employed fulltime in Fiji no longer have to live below the poverty line - $34 per week (MDG: 1), or that in fact more than 48.7% of primary educated children will make it into secondary school enrolments. Unfortunately, these statistics are a reflection of where we stand at the moment.
‘Stand Up and Take Action, End Poverty Now’. That’s what was written on the big banner on the wall of the Suva Business Centre Conference room and really it reflected what everybody was saying at the workshop. It takes political will and commitment but it also requires the added muscle that all sectors in society, working together, can provide. As the former Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, once put it – “It is not in the United Nations that the Millennium Development Goals will be achieved. They have to be achieved in each of its Member States, by the joint efforts of their governments and people”
SOURCE: SPC/PACNEWS
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