THE United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has “high hopes” that the Philippines will be able to achieve many of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) under the new administration.
UNDP Philippines Country Director Titon Mitra recently told reporters that the government’s efforts to increase investments in infrastructure and social services are “encouraging” measures to meet the SDGs.
Meeting the SDGs is crucial, since the Philippines failed to meet all the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), including those on maternal health and poverty and hunger.
“If you can see on its zero plus 10 agenda, a lot of it is really geared to make sure that in the next six years, a lot of investments are targeted in making a difference on poverty. I think that concerted effort will certainly establish the results. The political will is there, and some measures will be put in place,” Mitra said.
He added that efforts to improve targeting mechanisms for government interventions are also among the “most important” measures to ensure that the Philippines will not leave anyone behind.
Mitra said financial measures, such as increased investments for infrastructure and the rationalization of fiscal incentives, indicate that the country will have fiscal space in financing efforts to meet the SDGs.
The UNDP official said that globally, countries need to invest a total of $5 trillion to $7 trillion to meet the 17 goals. Developing countries, including the Philippines, meanwhile, require some $3.3 trillion to $4.5 trillion to achieve the socioeconomic goals.
This becomes a challenge, especially since official development assistance can only extend around $135.2 billion worth of financing. This, Mitra said, necessitates the participation of the private sector.
“We can see some measures, we can see targeting in core municipalities so we should obviously saw some tangible results of those investments,” Mitra said.
In terms of spending, meanwhile, Mitra said apart from the level of spending, it is imperative that the quality of the spending be monitored.
He said one of these examples is spending for education. The government must monitor teaching methodologies and the quality of the teaching staff to ensure that children are getting quality education.
“There has to be a balance between increased finances and [probably] some capacity building is required,” Mitra said.
The SDGs or Global Goals is a set of 17 socioeconomic goals that 193 United Nation member-countries, like the Philippines, committed to meet by 2030.
The goals are composed of around 169 targets and over 300 global indicators. The SDGs were adopted in September 2015.
The Global Goals aim to end poverty and hunger; promote universal health, education for all and lifelong learning; achieve gender equality; sustainable water management; ensure sustainable energy for all; decent work for all, resilient infrastructure; and reduce income inequality between and among countries.
The goals also include creating sustainable cities; ensuring sustainable consumption and production; taking action against climate change; conserving and sustainably using oceans and marine resources; reduce biodiversity loss; achieving peaceful and inclusive societies; and revitalizing global partnership for development.