Pakistan does not seem to achieve large number of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and if the government wanted to remain in middle income group of the world, it has to maintain at least growth rate of 7percent. Deputy Chairman Planning Commission, Dr Nadeem-ul-Haq said this on the occasion of releasing a report issued by United Nation Development Programme (UNDP) titled 'Human Development Report 2011 Sustainability and Equity'.
He said the country is confronting several economic problems. Every day a new problem arises while the previous are already there. He claimed that the economy is not going in right direction. Most of the expensive national importance projects failed to achieve the desired targets that suggest that the government would be unable to achieve large number of MDGs goals.
Timo Pakkala, UN Resident Co-ordinator, while Toshihiro Tanaka, Country Director UNDP presented the findings of the Report. Panellists included Adil Najam, Vice Chancellor, Lahore University of Management Sciences, Ms Bushra Gohar, Member National Assembly and Amin Aslam, Former Minister of State/Senior Climate Advisor UNDP was also among the participants.
Nadeem said that the planning commission is thinking for long term development framework, growth strategy. If the government wanted to remain in middle income group of the world, it has to maintain at least growth rate of 7 percent. "Growth means change and no growth without a change in productivity and human growth," the Chairman added. There are a number of youth in Pakistan and the government should involve them in the economic development process of the country. Bushra Gohar MNA said Pakistan has self-destruction policies since its creation and we are victims of those old policies. The country has problems at highest level and claimed that the country is unable to achieve the MDGs goals. The donors invested a lot of money in Pakistan, but the desired results were not achieved. She suggested that Pakistan should come out from transitional democracy.
According to the report released by UNDP, Pakistan Human Development Index (HDI) value for 2011 is 0.504, in the low human development category, positioning the country at 145 out of 187 countries and territories.
The report revealed that Pakistan's HDI valued increased from 0.359 to 0.504, an increase of 41 percent or average annual increased of about 1.1 per cent. It further revealed that development progress in the world's poorest countries could be halted or even reversed by mid-century unless bold steps are taken to slow climate change, prevent further environmental damage, and reduce deep inequalities within and among nations, according to projections in the 2011 Human Development Report.
The 2011 Report argues that environmental sustainability can be most fairly and effectively achieved by addressing health, education, income, and gender disparities together with global action on energy production and ecosystem protection. It further warns that South Asia must overcome acute poverty and internal inequalities to maintain current rates of progress.The Report also warns that deteriorating environmental conditions and increasingly extreme weather conditions -such as the severe floods that have hit Pakistan for two years in a row-could undermine economic progress in many countries in the region.
According to the report, South Asia has among the world's highest levels of urban air pollution, with cities in Bangladesh and Pakistan suffering from especially acute air contamination.
In addition to providing deeper understanding of how environmental sustainability is inextricably linked to inequality, the annual Report also provides the HDI, which measures national achievement in health, education and income. It was Pakistan's late economist Mahbub ul Haq, who devised the HDI in the first Human Development Report in 1990 together with the Nobel laureate, Amartya Sen.
The report says that additionally, the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) (introduced last year) identifies multiple deprivations in the same households in education, health and standard of living. In Pakistan 49.4% of the population suffer multiple deprivations while an additional 11% are vulnerable to multiple deprivations.
In the Gender Inequality Index (GII), South Asian women are shown to lag significantly behind men in education and labour force participation. In Pakistan women's parliamentarian representation has improved with 21% of parliamentary seats are held by women.
The GII reflects gender-based inequalities in three dimensions - reproductive health, empowerment, and economic activity. Pakistan has a GII value of 0.573, ranking it 115 out of 146 countries in the 2011 index. This year, Pakistan ranks 145 out of 187 countries and territories. In comparison, India is at 134 and Bangladesh at 146 in the HDI. Norway, Australia and the Netherlands rank the highest, while the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Niger and Burundi are at the bottom.