The government of Sindh and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) launched the first Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) report for Sindh on Wednesday. The report tracks progress toward the achievement of MDGs at the provincial level and compare progress across districts.
The MDGs are a set of eight goals adopted by 189 countries, including Pakistan in 2000, and set to be achieved by 2015. The MDGs provide concrete, numerical benchmarks for tackling extreme poverty in its many dimensions.
According to the MDG report, Sindh province lags behind on a number of indicators which measure progress towards MDGs. Targets to halve poverty and hunger by 2015 are unlikely to be met. The proportion of children under the age of 5, who are under-weight, was estimated at 40 percent in 2004/2005, 2 percent above the national average and 27 percent above the MDG target of 13 percent.
On MDG 2, Achieving Universal Primary Education, the Net Primary Enrollment Ratio (NER) for 2010/11 was 53 percent against the target of 100 percent. The literacy rate is at 59 percent against the target of 88 percent.
Targets related to gender parity in primary and secondary education are likely to be achieved in certain districts and at provincial level if the current level of performance is maintained.
The MDG 4, reducing child mortality, is unlikely to be achieved in its entirety. The under-5 mortality rate is as high as 100 deaths per 1,000 live births against a target of 52. The proportion of underweight children under 5 years was 43 percent in 2005-06. It is encouraging to note that for the indicator of proportion of children under 5 who suffered from diarrhea in the last 30 days, Sindh recorded a rate of only 12 percent in 2010/11, close to the MDG target of 10 percent.
