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Zimbabwe should draw lessons from the implementation of Millennium Development Goals to inform the country’s post-2015 development agenda, a Cabinet minister has said.
Speaking at an event to mark the Model United Nations-2014 outreach programme, Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi said as the 2015 deadline for the MDGs drew closer, it was important for the country to evaluate its experiences as it shapes its development agenda.
“The linkage between the MDGs and the post-2015 development agenda is critical,” he said.
“As we move forward in evaluating policies to curb maternal mortality beyond 2015, it is important to take stock of the lessons learnt from the experience of the MDGs.”
The Millennium Declaration, Minister Mumbengegwi said, provided a clear and valid expression of the core values that should continue to underpin development in coming decades.
“The MDGs are deemed successful because they focused on results in terms of human development outcomes contained in a framework with clear, concise and measurable objectives,” he said.
“The post-2015 framework should include concrete goals, targets and indicators, preferably with longer time horizons with intermediate milestones.”
The Model UN-2014 event is an outreach programme that aims to impart the values and workings of the UN system to ordinary Zimbabweans.
This year’s event was held under the theme: “Maternal Health Millennium Development Goals in the Post-2015 Development Agenda”.
Speaking at the same event, acting UN Resident Co-ordinator Mr Reza Hossaini commended all the stakeholders for working tirelessly in helping to halve Zimbabwe’s maternal mortality from a high of 1 000 to the current 525 deaths per 100 000 births.
“We can take pride in the important work that the Government, with support of donors and the UN, have done to make this reduction possible,” he said.
“It has been a long, hard road to get maternal mortality to where it is today.
“None of this would have happened without the tenacity and commitment of the Government, donors, development partners, the United Nations and other players. Their hard work is slowly beginning to pay off.”
The MDGs, announced in 2001, have raised public awareness and helped mobilise action in support of poverty eradication efforts across the world.
Development experts say they have also provided a framework for monitoring progress and highlighting areas of achievement.
Despite this, most developing countries, Zimbabwe included, will not attain most of their MDGs by 2015 due to a number of factors that include financial constraints, shortage of manpower and unfavourable economic policy environments.
Online Reporter