CAIRO: Arab countries are on track towards fulfilling one of the primary Millennium Development Goals — reducing extreme poverty and hunger — and have already halved the number of people who live under $1.25 per day, according to a UN report. Despite this decrease, there is still room for progress in regards to national poverty lines, where Arab countries have not significantly reduced the income poverty that is still quite prevalent within rural areas. The third Arab report on the 2010 Millennium Development Goals (MDG) and the Impact of the Global Economic Crisis was launched at the 30th session of Arab Ministers of Social Affairs, which kicked off on Sunday at the League of Arab States. “[The report] is a reference point to determine where we stand in terms of the MDGs, and it outlines the challenges and opportunities in order to achieve them,” said Egypt's Minister of Social Solidarity Aly Moselhy, the head of the session. “It also shows the world the efforts we're [making] and our ability to give our citizens a good life.” Amat Al Alim Alsoswa, the UNDP assistant secretary general, the UNDP assistant administrator, and the director of the UNDP regional bureau for Arab states, noted that achieving the MDGs is not impossible. However, their fulfillment requires the determination of Arab leaders and the implementation of proper social and political legislative policies. “Today we are renewing [our desire] to achieve the MDGs by 2015,” said Sima Bahous, the assistant secretary general for social affairs at the League of Arab States. Further efforts and resources are needed in order to aid the less developed countries within the region, she added, outlining poverty, unemployment, the quality of education, gender inequality and maternal health as the main challenges. The report reviewed the progress the Arab region has made towards achieving the MDGs since they were first declared at the World Summit in 2000. About four years remain until the MDGs target date of 2015. The report —prepared by members of the Thematic Working Group on MDGs in the Arab region, along with the UN Economic and Social Commission on Western Asia — found that labor markets in most Arab countries are characterized by high unemployment rates, particularly among populations of Arab youth. There are also serious concerns regarding the increase in hunger in less developed Arab countries as a result of rising food prices and overall food insecurity. As far as progress in universal primary education among Arab countries, results have been mixed. Collectively, the region has seen improvement in net enrollment rates, gender parity in primary schools, and the literacy rate of young adults aged 15 to 24. However, countries like Iraq, Lebanon, Oman and Palestine have seen a gradual decline in overall educational performance. Some Arab regions are on track towards achieving the gender parity in primary school enrollment MDG, although several challenges remain. The 2010 UNESCO Monitoring Report indicates that, in 2006, more than 60 percent of primary school-aged children not enrolled in school were girls, with 53 percent of those girls expected to never enroll. More broadly, the region has witnessed a recent surge in efforts by Arab governments, non-governmental organizations, and civil society organizations in tackling discrimination against women by allocating large investment into women's issues. However, the economic and political participation of women in the Arab region is still quite limited — especially in regards to female participation in national parliaments. Most Arab countries are on track to reducing child mortality rates. The mortality of children younger than five has been on a steady decline in the region; however, the report says it is unlikely that the Arab region as a whole will achieve its 2015 MDG child mortality rate target. There are great variations among Arab countries regarding the maternal mortality rate, as most Gulf countries see less than 10 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, while countries like Somalia experience around 1,600 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. The effectiveness in combating HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases are mixed within the Arab region. Although the prevalence of HIV/AIDS is still relatively low in Arab countries in comparison to most of the world, specific groups and locations within the region are considered to be at a high risk of exposure to the disease. Malaria, however, has been successfully eliminated in the majority of Arab countries. Virtually all of the Arab countries face major challenges in improving overall environmental governance, in addition to integrating the management of environmental resources with poverty reduction strategies and national development plans. The MDG of developing partnerships for international development, Arab donors have played a significant role as far as providing development assistance goes. Most Arab donors have either reached or exceeded the MDG target of providing 0.7 percent of GDP in economic aid — a feat that has not been replicated by the majority of International Development Assistance Committee countries. The report added that economic diversification is a major challenge facing the Arab region. In order to accelerate the Arab region's progress towards MDG achievement, the report identified six main regional priorities: securing food, reducing poverty, adapting to climate change, providing employment for younger populations, increasing job quality, and promoting gender equality.
