Laos may fall short of Millennium Development Goals
Laos is facing a difficult challenge to achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals despite remarkable economic growth, Minister of Planning and Investment Mr Somdy Duangdy said yesterday.
Speaking at the third session of the seventh legislature of the National Assembly, which opened in Vientiane on Wednesday, Mr Somdy said Laos may not achieve two UN Millennium Development Goals by 2015 as targeted.
Implementation of government programmes to achieve UN Millennium Development Goal No. 1 on eradicating extreme poverty and hunger is slow he said, as quoted in his report at the NA session.
He said Laos may not be able to reduce the proportion of children who are below normal weight to 22 percent by 2015 in accordance with the MDG requirement. Figures indicate that the number of children in this category will remain as high as 37 percent in 2015.
Mr Somdy also said the rate of maternal mortality was still high, adding that in 2008, 339 mothers per 100,000 died during childbirth. Laos is required to reduce the rate of maternal mortality to 260 per 100,000 births by 2015.
The government has made a strong commitment to achieve the nine MDGs by 2015. The goals target universal primary education, gender equality and empowerment of women, reduced child mortality, combating HIV/AIDS, environmental sustainability, development of global partnerships, and UXO clearance.
Mr Somdy said that to achieve the MDGs, Laos needs US$6.4 billion in funding, including US$993 million in Official Development Assistance and US$271 million from private investment, to create jobs, raise incomes and bolster economic growth.
Lao GDP is on track to reach 70.6 billion kip (US$8.8 billion) by the end of this fiscal year, an 8 percent increase compared to the previous year, although 0.3 percent less than earlier projected.
The agriculture and forestry sector would see only 2.7 percent growth this fiscal year, 2.2 percent less than earlier projected due to floods last year which destroyed crops and severely damaged the agriculture production base.
The industry sector would also see only 13.5 percent growth as mineral processing slowed during the flooding. The service sector would achieve 8.1 percent growth, higher than earlier projected at 6.7 percent, thanks to the expansion of banks, hotels, and telecommunications.
Despite the fact that Laos will not achieve its planned targets this fiscal year, the economic growth rate in the landlocked country remains one of the highest in the Asean bloc.
Mr Somdy said the number of poor people in Laos is expected to drop by two percent this fiscal year thanks to strong economic growth. The number of poor people is projected to remain at 22 percent of the total population by the end of the 2011/2012 fiscal year, a two percent drop compared to the previous year.
The government has spent about 215 billion kip on its poverty reduction and rural development programmes, creating conditions for people to get better jobs and earn more income so they can rise above the national poverty line.
The government is also merging villages in rural areas, helping people to access public utilities such as electricity, water supply and health care services, Mr Somdy said.
