Greater policy reform needed to achieve MDGs

Ethiopia needs greater policy reform, particularly in the private sector, to help achieve the 2015 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a senior UN official said on Tuesday. Modibo Toure, the UN Development Programme country representative, said financial resources, without help from other avenues, would not be sufficient if the internationally agreed targets are to be met. "The MDGs are not only about resources," Toure told journalists. "The resources have to come and find the right kind of environment where they can be utilized efficiently. "Of course they need to continue to improve some of the policies and reforms that are in place," he added. "One area that the government can continue to improve upon is empowering the private sector." The government has made initial assessments, saying they need US $122 billion over the next decade if it is to wipe out poverty and hunger and meet the MDGs. Officials estimate that $33 billion is needed for rural development, $19 billion to combat HIV/AIDS and $13 billion to overhaul the education sector. Another $27 billion is required for new roads, while the health sector needs an additional $13 billion. The government is expected to provide around 40 percent of the overall amount in trying to meet the MDGs, while the international community would pick up the balance. Ethiopia is one of the world's poorest nations where average incomes are less than $100 a year. Around half of the country lives below the international poverty line of $1 a day. Toure urged wealthy nations to meet their commitments to provide financial backing. "If the international community doesn't come in with the resources to back the policies and the reforms that are being implemented, we will reach 2015 and nothing will change," he said. "I believe that the government is on track here in terms of putting in place the policies [and] continuing the reform it has started in 1992." He said Ethiopia receives around $14 per person in aid, compared to averages on the continent of up to $30 in per capita aid. "Ethiopia needs [more] resources - it needs them now - it needs them in a predictable, flexible manner," he added. Ethiopia is one of eight pilot countries undergoing assessments by the UN's Millennium Task Force on achieving the eight goals. Next week the government will release its own MDG report spelling out it requirements if it is to achieve the targets. The findings will be issued a day after UN Secretary General Kofi Annan issues a global report on achieving the MDGs.