Statement


By

H.E. Dr Kaire M. Mbuende

Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Republic of Namibia to the United Nations


On

“Recognizing Achievements, Addressing Challenges and Getting back on Track to achieve the MDGs by 2015”

(Poverty and Hunger, Education and Health)


General Assembly

02 April 2008


Mr President

My delegation thanks you profoundly for organizing this important and timely debate on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The debate affords us an opportunity to take stock of the successes we have achieved so far; the challenges we have met along the way; and to visualize the way forward as we forge ahead in our determination to achieve the MDGs by the target we have set for ourselves.

We associate ourselves with the statement by Antigua and Barbuda and ….on behalf of the G77 and China and the African Group respectively.

Mr. President

Namibia made some significant progress towards the achievement of some of the MDGs by 2015. We have met a significant number of the targets ahead of time. By the same token, meeting other targets remains a daunting task. Our efforts to meet the MDGs form an integral part of a national process of strengthening policies and mobilizing domestic and external resources towards our country’s long-term development plan – Vision 2030. National targets and indicators have been developed to ensure that the MDGs are firmly rooted in the successive five years development plans and the milestones of the long-term development vision.


Mr President

Poverty in Namibia is defined in monetary terms based on household expenditure. It is measured by using the proportion of total household expenditure on food. That is, if a high proportion of the household expenditure is devoted to food, then very little is left to satisfy other needs. Based on that, households are classified as relatively poor if 60 per cent or more of their total expenditure goes to food; and extremely poor if the proportion is 80 per cent or more.

Eradicating extreme poverty and hunger in Namibia has been a cardinal policy objective for my country over the years and remains one of the greatest challenges the country is facing today. It is gratifying to note however that significant progress has been made on this goal and targets are likely to be met by 2015 if some of the gains are not be reversed by extreme weather conditions, such as the current floods that have caused untold devastation.

Our National Household Income and Expenditure Surveys (NHIES) of 1993/94 and 2003/04 show that relative poverty was reduced from about 38 percent in 1993/94 to about 28 percent in 2003/04, while extreme poverty has declined from around 9 percent to around 4 percent during the same period. There are however, significant differences in the incidence of poverty between rural and urban areas, between regions and among population groups. Thus, poverty in rural areas is higher than in urban areas although urban poverty also poses a challenge to our Government.

We have also made steady progress in service provisions. About 97% of our population has access to clean water; about 70% in urban centers have access to electricity while the Government’s rural electrification programme has so far covered about 15% of rural areas. I should however, hasten to add that progress has been painfully slow with regard to access to sanitation, which stands at 61% in urban centers and at 32% in rural areas.

Mr. President

We are cognizant of the fact that an educated population is a pre-requisite to development. To this end the Government has consistently been allocating the highest percentage of the national budget to the education sector. This has enabled us to make significant progress in terms of access to basic education.

Primary net enrolment was recorded at 92% in 2005. Enrolment rates among girls in both primary and secondary schools are higher at 94% and 56% compared to boys at 91 and 46% respectively. Unfortunately the majority of the students do not make it to tertiary education due to a variety of factors. We have however, a long way to go when it comes to adult literacy where the rate remains at 85% since 1994.

Mr President

Overall progress on reducing infant mortality rates per 1000 live births has been slow and currently stands at 49 in terms of males and at 55 for females. Child immunization campaigns have yielded positive results with regard to diseases such as polio and measles that have almost been eliminated from our country. There are however, areas where a lot still needs to be made. The percentage of children under 5 who are wasted is currently being estimated at 7.5%, those who are stunned at 29% and those who are underweight is 24%. With regard to improving maternal health, progress has been made on the proportion of births attended by trained personnel. However, maternal mortality rate is still high at 449/100,000 live births, thereby impeding progress towards achieving this goal by 2015.

Progress on combating HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases has also been slow if the situation is not worsening in some respects. HIV/AIDS prevalence rate is high compared to 1992 but has stabilised since 2004. This is attributed to the incubation period of this disease. The prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS among the Namibian population as measured through sentinel surveys stands at 19% and the disease is still the number one cause of deaths in the country. However, through the launching of the Third Medium Term Plan on HIV/AIDS covering a five-year period (2004 – 2009), our Government and its development partners have created a broad national response to the pandemic. Indeed, current surveys have shown that there is a significant decline in the number of new infections

Progress on combating Malaria and TB is modest. Malaria, which is the third main cause of deaths among adults in Namibia is mainly being fought through free distribution of treated mosquito nets to families with young children by Government and the spraying of houses in malaria prone areas with DDT. Its morbidity has been reduced from 238/100,000 population in 2000 to 140/100,000 population in 2006. The TB treatment success rate also improved from 58% in 1996 to 69% in 2006.

Mr President

My country faces a number of challenges that inhibit the early attainment of the MDGs. These include the following:

• Harsh weather conditions as a result of climate change continue to constrain our progress to achieving the MDGs. Frequent droughts and floods have many a time led to crop failures and food insecurity. Resources earmarked for development is continuously diverted to relief activities and the reconstruction of damaged or destroyed infrastructures.

• Increasing world oil prices and the accompanying inflation tend to result in rising prices for food and other basic commodities making it unaffordable for the average household.

• Volatility in international financial markets combined with our inability to access finance on international capital markets on concessional terms because of our status as a middle-income country. Furthermore, the risks generally associated with small markets economies have also posed serious challenges to our development efforts.

• The continuous decline in the level of official development and technical assistance has negatively affected progress in capacity building for service delivery.

• The brain drain phenomenon has led to the overburdening of the few personnel who remain in the critical sectors, such as health and education, to name but a few.

Mr. President

To get back on track to achieve the MDGs by 2015 requires deliberate action to make the international environment conducive to development. The Doha trade negotiations need to produce positive results with development as the center pillar. Our efforts to adapt to the effect of climate change need to be supported through finance and transfer of technology.

It is indeed high time for the General Assembly to adopt a resolution mandating the UN system to address the development needs of middle-income developing countries in a comprehensive manner by, among others, targeting those sectors that are critical to the attainment of the MDGs.

Mr. President

The need for coherence between the activities of international economic and financial institutions on the one hand and the United Nations system on the other in support of development cannot be over emphasized. It thus follows that the implementation of MDG-8 is crucial for the attainment of the other goals. Development is a collective responsibility and all of us should fulfill our commitments and meet our obligations.

I thank you.