Progress for Children and the Sustainable Development GoalsUna McCauleyUNICEF Representative to Sri Lanka

July 9, 2015

Nearly 15 years ago, the global community rallied behind eight goals in the hopes of building a better and more prosperous world. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) set measurable targets and a 2015 deadline for achieving them.

As that deadline draws near, UNICEF has examined global data to determine whether children now have a greater chance to survive and thrive than they did when the goals were set in 2000. The results, showcased in UNICEF’s 2015 Progress for Children

report, clearly show that despite significant achievements, millions of the world’s most vulnerable children have not benefitted from development efforts in the past 15 years.

The data show global advancements: Since 1990, half as many children under five are dying, nearly 100 million fewer children under five are stunted, the number of people living in extreme poverty has nearly halved, and between 1999 and 2012, the number of primary school-age children out of school decreased by 45%.

However, the data also show national advancement and here, Sri Lanka has a lot to be proud of.

Sri Lanka is far ahead of other countries in the South Asia region with respect to child and maternal mortality, access to water and sanitation and primary net enrolment. However, improvements in nutrition have been relatively slow since 2000. The latest data available through the National Nutrition and Micro-nutrient Survey 2012 indicates that about 23.5 per cent of children below 5 years of age are still underweight, with significant regional variations reflected through district estimates. Badulla has the highest proportion of underweight children (32.8 per cent), while Gampaha has the lowest (11.6 per cent).

In addition, while overall poverty incidence in Sri Lanka declined from 26.1 per cent in 1990 to 6.7 per cent in 2012/13 (2012/13 Household Income and Expenditure Survey, Department of Census and Statistics), child poverty incidence (8.7 per cent in 2012/13) remained higher, due to the higher number of children in poor households.

The census also noted large geographical disparities in the incidence of child poverty, with more than a fifth of children living in poverty, residing in the districts of Mullaitivu, Monaragala, Mannar and Batticaloa.

These regional variations in data point to the fact that circumstances beyond a child’s control – such as gender, place of birth and the social and economic situation of his or her family – continue to deny many of the most vulnerable children a fair chance to realize their full potential.

Globally inequities begin at birth and develop into vicious cycles of deprivation that affect children’s lives today, and echo through generations – threatening long term stability and prosperity.

The pursuit of the MDGs show us that equitable progress is possible. The challenge now is to reach the unreached, improve quality and ensure the sustainability of services. We can do this through the Sustainable Development Goals that will be agreed upon by the UN General Assembly in September this year, and to do this, I urge Sri Lanka to champion the cause of the SDGs for children and to ensure:

Sufficient investment focused on the most disadvantaged children and communities;

Robust data that allows us to identify the most vulnerable children and understand the challenges they face in accessing services;

Innovations, including mobile technology and the rise of social media, that make it more possible than ever to break geographical barriers and reach excluded children; and

Stronger systems for health, education, child protection and social protection that target those at greatest risk.

The SDGs present an opportunity to apply the lessons we have learned and reach the children in greatest need. This is imperative not only for the progress of children, but the progress of nations.