UN Appoints Rwanda to Champion Post MDGs Projects, Reports KT Press

NEW YORK, Sept. 30, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The UN has appointed Rwanda to champion post-Millennium Development Goals pilot projects, 15 months before the MDGs hit their deadline.

The UN says Rwanda displayed remarkable performance over the last 15 years under the UN development agenda.

UN said Rwanda's experience will guide the country to serve as a model in strengthening capacities and building effective institutions after 2015. Rwanda will implement the pilot projects alongside Tunisia.

Rwanda's President Paul Kagame, who co-chairs the MDG's Advocacy group, said experiences are seen as opportunities to strengthen institutions and improve service delivery.  "The MDGs are a floor, not a ceiling."

He also said being on-track did not mean problems were solved. Kagame was speaking on Friday in New York at the launch of the MDGs report.

The report indicated extreme poverty had dropped by 22%, children's enrollment in schools improved from 83% to 90% globally while women's access to employment in non-agricultural sectors increased from 35% to 40%.

The global rate of under-five mortality dropped from 90 to 48 deaths, between 1990 and 2013.

President Kagame said more than one million people had escaped extreme poverty over the past five years, child mortality declined, at the fastest rate, ever recorded in history from 62 in 2008 to 30 now.

Malaria deaths have been reduced by nearly 70%, medical insurance subscription increased to 90%, 95% women receive antenatal care during pregnancy and 97% give birth in the presence of a medical professional. Gender equality scores high with a world record of women representation in parliament dramatically rising from 54 to 62%.

"Rwanda has chosen to invest in people, and built accountable delivery systems to do so," said Kagame.

The Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg and President Paul Kagame, who both co-chair the MDG's Advocacy group, emphasized the MDGs deadline is not the finish line.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon was delighted that global poverty has been halved five years ahead of the 2015 time frame, with 90% of children in developing regions now having access to primary education, and disparities between boys and girls in enrollment narrowing.

As development goals near deadline, Ki-moon and MDGs leaders call for maintaining the momentum. According to President Kagame, "Everyone can be an advocate for MDGs. Every voice counts."

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SOURCE KT Press