OVERVIEW OF MDG IN LEBANON

1. OVERVIEW OF MDG IN LEBANON National Workshop for the integration of Population matters including Reproductive Health and Gender into national Development Planning May 3-11, 2006 Asma Kurdahi, Assistant Representative UNFPA Lebanon

2. Millennium Development Goals • In 2000, the Millennium Declaration set 8 mutually reinforcing time-bound development goals and related targets for progressively eradicating poverty • MDGs and targets now at forefront of development agenda: agreed by developing countries and development partners – capture multidimensionality of poverty • Baseline for MDGs 1990: target for realization 2015 • Progress towards the 8 goals and 11 targets monitored through 43 agreed indicators

3. Millennium Development Goals • GOAL 1: Eradicate Extreme Poverty • GOAL 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education • GOAL 3: Promote Gender Equity and Empower Women • GOAL 4: Reduce Child Mortality • GOAL 5: Improve Maternal Health • GOAL 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases • GOAL 6: Ensure Environmental sustainability • GOAL 8: Develop Global Partnership

4. MDG Lebanon Report • Status/progress

5. MDG Lebanon Report: Status • GOAL 1: Eradicate Extreme Poverty • 7% of the Lebanese live in extreme poor conditions.

6. MDG Lebanon Report: Status • GOAL 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education • Significant progress made to date • 40% dropouts before completion of basic education • Quality of education • Missing of enrollment opportunities due to misdistribution of schools • Mismanagement of human resources • Weak vocational education • Regional disparities • Weak integration of people with special needs

7. MDG Lebanon Report: Status • GOAL 3: Promote Gender Equity and Empower Women • Closing gap of girls to boys ratio in primary education • Illiteracy rates higher among females than males (with improvement in younger age groups) • Gender disparities in economic activity (21% of women in labor force) and wages • Low female representation in decision making and participation in public life (though improvement in women’s representation in municipality elections) • Little progress related to CEDAW

8. MDG Lebanon Report: Status • GOAL 4: Reduce Child Mortality • Improvement in child mortality (i.e. IMR 26/1000 in 2000 vs 19/1000 in 2004) • Significant progress in prevention of diarrhea and home management • Polio and measles outbreak though 90% coverage in 2000 (latest case of polio in 1994) • Regional disparities i.e. a child born in Aakar or Balbek 3 times more likely to die than in Beirut

9. MDG Lebanon Report: Status • GOAL 5: Improve Maternal Health • Improvement in maternal mortality (i.e. 104 in 1996 to 80/100,000 in 2004) • Stability in birth attended by skilled personnel (i.e. 96%) • Drop in contraceptive prevalence rate (i.e. 62% in 2000 vs 58% in 2004) • Regional disparities for prenatal care (98% in Beirut vs 89% in Bekaa) • Low utilization of Public Sector outlets compared to private sector)

10. MDG Lebanon Report: Status • GOAL 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases • National Strategic plan 2004-2009 • M&E system in place • 903 reported cases (end 2005) compared to 700 cases (early 2003) • Change in disease pattern (i.e. more cases among youth + less due to travel) • Youth more vulnerable to HIV/AIDS (62% started first Sexual intercourse at age 20 and 36% of 15-24 age groups use condoms in 2004 compared to 24% in 1996) • HIV/AIDS considered a taboo • Weak referral system and absence of full range of services to at risk population

11. MDGs in Lebanon • Lessons learned and challenges

12. MDG Lebanon Report: Lessons learned • Absence of comprehensive, updated, and accurate statistical system • Unrealistic, low prevalence and not very meaningful targets (i.e. girls to boys ratio to primary education, proportion of birth by skilled personnel) • Absence of priority areas (i.e. young people, migration, ageing) and analysis (i.e. maternal morbidity)

13. MDG Lebanon Report: Lessons learned (Cont’d) • Weak linkage of gender, education, and health goals with poverty goals • Model for MDG costing exercise may not have been the needed one • Absence of a comprehensive and regular monitoring system of MDG goals and targets • Weak coordination among various players

14. MDGs in Lebanon • Recommendations

15. MDG Lebanon Report: Recommendations • Develop and agree on regular, periodic, updated, and needed statistical plan • Address demographic transitions and projections in analysis • Address needs and situation of all population (including youth, aged, people with special needs, population at risk) in analysis

16. MDG Lebanon Report: Recommendations (Cont’d) • Mainstream gender and human rights dimensions in analysis • Emphasis emerging issues (i.e. maternal morbidity, EOC, etc) in analysis • Ensure through analysis of changes in various patterns • Elaborate MDG5 into a wider Reproductive and Sexual Health dimension

17. MDG Lebanon Report: Recommendations(Cont’d) • Elaborate all MDGs within a poverty reduction context • Increase common ground with the aim to eradicate poverty by establishing new and wider partnership opportunities for jointly addressing development challenges and for measuring results • Review targets of Lebanon MDGR in terms of significance and meaninfulness

18. MDG Lebanon Report: Recommendations(Cont’d) • Develop cross sectoral strategies and interventions towards poverty reduction and narrowing regional gap • Develop and use common indicators framework with needed and meaningful indicatorscommon indicators framework with needed and meaningful indicators • Develop comprehensive monitoring system for MDG Goals and targets

19. MDG Lebanon Report: Recommendations(Cont’d) • Costing of MDGs required to identify required resources • Reflect socio-cultural aspects and social determinants of health in analysis • Develop an MDG Advocacy strategy and campaign across all sectors and levels • Involve poor people and marginalized groups in MDG process and strategies development

20. MDGs in Lebanon • ICPD and MDG

21. MDGs in Lebanon • MDGs do not override other goals and targets reached at global conferences of 1990s, e.g. ICPD RH goal: Universal access to quality RH services by 2015 • ICPD RH goal not included in MDGs but essential for meeting MDGs, especially child, maternal, HIV/AIDS and gender goals – directly related to health, social and economic outcomes • ICPD RH goal should be included and reported in on country-level reports

22. MDGs in Lebanon • MDG versus MD?

23. Millennium Declaration • Values and principles • Peace, security and disarmament • Development and poverty • Protecting our common environment • Human rights and democracy • Protecting the vulnerable • Meeting the special needs for Africa • Strengthening the United Nations

24. Millennium Declaration: Recommendations • MDGs must be presented and discussed in the context of the full Millennium Declaration • Promotion and adoption of a Human Rights-Based Approach to Programming in all development programmes and projects

25. Millennium Declaration: Recommendations • Indicators for human rights principles must be developed and a nationals monitoring and reporting systems must be established for both the outcome and process in the implementation of the Millennium declaration. • Realization of MDG leads to the achievement of the Millennium Declaration