BY REGINA BENGCO
THE National Economic and Development
Authority has reported that the Philippines still lags behind
the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) on maternal mortality,
access to reproductive health care, and access to primary
education.
NEDA, during last week’s two-hour Cabinet
meeting, said the country has met 80 percent of the MDG targets,
which are incorporated into the economic reform program under
the updated Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan.
Under the Philippine MDG goals, maternal
mortality ratio must be lowered to 52 deaths per 100,000 live
births by 2015. In 2006, the rate was 162, as compared to 209 in
1993.
The UN Development Program (UNDP), in its
report on the MDG progress last October, said it was "unlikely"
that the Philippines would meet its target on maternal
mortality.
The UNDP report also said it is "difficult"
for the Philippines to achieve its target of 80 percent access
to reproductive health care by 2015 for married women aged 15 to
49 after the country’s pace showed only a "modest rate" of
improvement from 49 percent in 2001 to 50.6 percent in 2006.
The same report said access to primary
education worsened in 2005-2006 following a decline in the net
enrolment rate from 96.8 percent in 2000 to 84.4 percent in
school year 2005-2006.
During the Cabinet meeting, President Arroyo
ordered the Cabinet to keep the funding for the realization of
the MDGs intact.
Arroyo ordered the inclusion of obstetrics
and gynecology services in all hospitals especially for the
indigent and the inclusion of childbirth in the coverage of
health insurance.
She said government would use its increased
revenue collection to upgrade local government hospitals to
acquire childbirth and caesarian delivery facilities to
encourage mothers to give birth there and eventually reduce
maternal death risks due to childbirth.
Arroyo also lauded the education department for the
successful implementation of the Food-for-School Program which
entices children to finish grade school. One of the problems
cited in meeting the MDG goal on primary education was the high
dropout rate of elementary school children.
