The United Nations Development Program (UNDP)-commissioned global
Human Development Report
2003 (HDR) was released in China today, highlighting this
year's theme,
Millennium Development Goals: A compact among
nations to end human poverty, as part of a worldwide launch
kicked off in Dublin, Ireland and Maputo, Mozambique.
According to the Report, the pledge by world leaders to lift
hundreds of millions of people out of extreme poverty by 2015 can
be achieved -- but only if poor countries pursue wide-ranging
reforms and wealthy nations respond with improved trade terms and
increased aid. China was singled out as demonstrating dramatic
success in fighting poverty.
The Human Development Report introduces a new plan of action
-- the Millennium Development Compact -- to achieve the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs).
The Goals, endorsed by all members of the United Nations, set out a
series of time-bound and quantifiable targets ranging from halving
extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS by 2015. Among
the Report's findings is that the first of these global targets --
reducing by half the proportion of people living on less than US$1
a day -- is likely to be reached, due in large part to sustained
economic growth in China and India; in the last ten years, China's
dynamic economy lifted 150 million people out of dire poverty.
According to the report, due to China's key economic and policy
reforms, the percentage of people living on less than US$1 a day
dropped from 33 percent in 1990 to 16 percent in 2000. As a result,
East Asia was the only region in which the absolute numbers of poor
people declined significantly over the past decade.
Leaps forward in relatively short periods of time have clearly been
proven possible. For example, in nine years from 1953 to 1962,
China added 13 years to life expectancy. Nonetheless, global trends
of the 1990s show a looming development crisis. In China, there are
inequalities in the impact of development, thus revealing the
critical areas of need for increased efforts by all sectors of
Chinese society and the international community.
Ms. Kerstin Leitner, UNDP Resident Representative, commented in her
opening remarks, "The Millennium Development Goals are not a
product of the United Nations or some other organization. They
belong to the people and as such are a people's agenda.' Open
debate and accountability -- nationally and internationally -- is
critical to achieving the MDGs. I very much hope that the report
will contribute to the ongoing discussion about development
challenges and open up the dialogue among all players."
Mr. Bob Boase, UNDP Advisor, delivered a presentation summarizing
the key findings of the HDR, and stressed, "The MDGs are feasible
-- but the world is not on track. The key question is: What and how
much will it take to meet the goals?' Without a radical change of
course in policy, matching resources and interventions to the
magnitude of the problems, the world is facing a development
crisis."
The HDR is critically relevant to China, since the Chinese
Government and its people are moving firmly to build a
xiaokang society, which was the goal set by the 16th
Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) last year and
measured by a broad set of variables. Dr. Li Peilin, deputy
director of Institute of Sociology under the Chinese Academy of
Social Sciences (CASS) and the main author of the newly published
book entitled Building a Well-off Society in China, gave a
presentation as guest commentator on the HDR. Linking the MDGs to
the Chinese national context, he remarked, "The HDR offers us the
opportunity to look at the xiaokang system and MDGs
side-by-side. Combining these two sets of national and
international indicators gives a more comprehensive picture of how
people's lives are faring and where China needs to focus its
attention. China is in a unique position to attain sustainable
human development through achieving both xiaokang and MDG
goals."
UNDP is working around the world with national governments, civil
society and international financial institutions to produce reports
that monitor individual country progress towards the MDGs. This
information, together with the data contained in the HDR, give
people the information to demand improvements from their
governments. This campaign, in turn, can help ensure that public
funds are allocated in a pro-poor manner. In a call for partnership
between rich and poor countries, this year's HDR addresses the
world's development crisis and outlines a new approach to aid and
development, advocating the key message, "We know what needs to be
done -- Let's do it."
The report's Beijing launch was attended by senior representatives
from UNDP, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), the National
Bureau of Statistics, China Academy of Social Sciences (CASS),
China International Center for Economic and Technical Exchanges
(CICETE), and other VIP guests.
(China.org.cn July 10, 2003)