Overview of MDG Targets 2 and Achievements: Nepal

Overview of MDG Targets 2 and Achievements: Nepal

MDG 1: Reducing Poverty and Hunger

Nepal has made substantial progress on reducing poverty and hunger (MDG 1). Using the national poverty line, the country is now close to achieving the absolute poverty target as 23.8 percent of the population were living below the poverty line in 2014 against the 2015 target of 21 percent. The growth of agriculture, the inflow of remittances, and the wider coverage of social protection schemes has resulted in impressive poverty reduction. Absolute poverty has fallen not just nationally but
across all ecological belts, development regions and social groups. The pace of recent poverty reduction in Nepal has been so pronounced that one global poverty reduction benchmarking exercise put Nepal in the 96th percentile of all available
country episodes (Newman, et al, 2013).

MDG 2: Achieving Universal Primary
Education

Nepal has made significant progress towards achieving the MDG 2 targets with:¾ the net enrolment rate (NER) in primary education reaching 96.2 percent in 2015 (MoF, 2015);¾ students who start in grade one who reach
grade five improving from 38 percent in 1990 to 98.9 percent in 2015 (CBS, 2014a); and ¾ the literacy rate of 15–24 year olds rising from 49.6 percent in 1990 to 88.6 percent in 2011.

MDG 3: Ensuring Gender Equality

The Interim Constitution of Nepal (2007) (GoN, 2007) was a major step forward for gender equality and women's empowerment. Between
1990 and 2014, the ratio of girls to boys in primary and secondary education increased from 0.56 and 0.43 respectively to 1.03 for both lev-
els (Table 2.1). The ratios of women to men in tertiary education and literacy status improved from 0.32 to 1.05 and 0.48 to 0.89 respectively in
the same period. However, the achievements are probably not enough to achieve the MDG target by 2015.

MDG 4: Reducing Child Mortality

Nepal has successfully achieved all MDG 4 indicators and is considered a ‘fast track’ country for reducing child mortality. The infant mortality rate (IMR)13 (per 1,000 live births) and the underfive mortality rate (U5MR)14 (per 1,000 live births) have declined from 108 and 162 in 1990
to 33 and 38 in 2014 respectively. Similarly, the proportion of one-year-old children immunized against measles through routine immunization
more than doubled in the last two decades from 42 percent in 1990 to 92.6 percent in 2014.

MDG 5: Reducing Maternal Mortality

The first report on Nepal’s MMR showed an MMR of 850 per 100,000 live births in 1990. Based on this, the MMR target for 2015 was set at 213 representing a three-quarters reduction in 25 years. Nepal is on track to achieve the target as the estimated MMR had declined to 281 in 2006 from 539 in 1996. A study conducted in 2009 (MoHP, 2009a) indicated that the MMR had further declined to 229. However, this figure is not nationally representative as it
was conducted only in nine districts. In 2015, the worldwide estimate shows an MMR of 258 per 100,000 live births (WHO et al 2015). This indicates that the MMR had slightly declined
from 281 to 258 within a decade, which is close to the target set for 2015. Considering this, Nepal's MDG 5 target is readily achievable even if the most conservative estimate of an MMR of 281 is taken into account.

MDG 6: Combat HIV, AIDS, Malaria
and Other Diseases

The prevalence of HIV among Nepal’s youth pop-ulation (aged 15-24 years) is 0.03 percent (MoHP, 2014a). The estimated HIV prevalence among the youth population has declined from 0.15 percent in 2006 to 0.03 percent in 2014. The global target of halting and reversing the trend of HIV prevalence among 15-24 year olds has thus already been achieved (Table 2.4). Two-thirds (65.8 per-
cent) of male youth aged 15-24 years used a con-dom during their last high-risk sexual encounter (MoHP, 2011a), but only third (36.4 percent) of them (male and female) had comprehensive knowledge of HIV and AIDS in 2011 (CBS, 2014a).

MDG 7: Ensure Environmental
Sustainability

The total emissions of CO2 in the country were only four megatons in 2009, which is negligible compared with that emitted by most other countries. National annual emissions of CO2 per capita are also negligible, and declined by 50 percent between 2005 and 2009 (Table 2.7). Nepal consumes far less ozone-depleting substance (ODS) than most other countries — only 1.2 tonnes in 2009, and has adopted the Montreal Protocol for reducing the consumption of ODS. The overall
energy consumption has increased by only 64.

MDG 8: Develop a Global Partnership
for Development

Nepal’s total foreign aid utilization substantially increased from NPR 14 billion in 2000 to NPR 55 billion in 2014. This has led to an increase in the share of foreign aid in GDP to 2.6 percent in 2014 (Table 2.9). The share of foreign aid in total gov-
ernment expenditure declined from 18 percent in 2000 to nearly 13 percent in 2014 mainly due to the underutilization of committed aid. The status and trends of indicators of MDG 8 target are given in Annex.

Current Status of SDG
Targets, Policies and Institutions 

The sustainable development agenda has been 

under global discussion for more than two dec-

ades. The SDGs were first formally discussed 

at the United Nations Conference on Sustain-

able Development in Rio de Janeiro in June 2012 

(Rio+20), and in the UNGA in September 2014. 

Ahead of the MDG deadline in 2015, the UN Open 

Working Group (OWG) for SDGs agreed a pro-

posed set of 17 SDGs with 169 targets on a broad 

range of sustainable development issues for post-

2015 till 2030. The SDGs are to replace the MDGs 

once they expire. As the MDGs have provided a 

shared framework for global action and coopera-

tion on development from 2000 to the end of 2015, 

the SDGs are built on the MDGs covering a wider 

range of sustainable development issues beyond 

those encompassed in the MDGs. Although the 

goals and targets of the SDGs have been agreed 

in the UN General Assembly in September 2015, 

their indicators and implementation strategy are 

yet to be worked out. This chapter delves into the 

current status of the proposed SDGs and their tar-

gets, the enabling policy environment and existing 

institutions for their operationalization in Nepal.

Current Status by Goals and
Targets

SDG 1 – End poverty in all its forms
everywhere

(i) Eradicate, by 2030, extreme poverty for all 

people everywhere.

(ii) Reduce at least by half the proportion of men,

communities, and conflict-affected people. More 

than a tenth (11.3 percent) of the total national 

budget is spent on social protection activities 

(Annex IVa). However, such programmes are 

scattered and often implemented without proper 

targeting and monitoring.

The current share of the bottom income quintile 

in national consumption is only five percent. Both 

the economic growth and distribution strategies 

are oriented to improve the consumption status 

of bottom quintile households. The government 

is providing economic rights to its people, is try-

ing to minimize all sorts of economic discrimina-

tion, and is formulating and implementing pro-

grammes for the protection, development and 

empowerment of the classes and communities 

that lag behind economically. The government 

has taken tax and other policy measures to in-

crease the ownership of property by women with 

women now owning nearly a quarter of landed 

property in urban areas.

The SDG 1 targets for 2030 are ambitiously set:

(i) Reduce extreme poverty to less than five 

percent.

(ii) Reduce the poverty gap to 2.8 percent.

(iii) Raise per capita income to US$ 2,500 from 

US$ 772 in 2015.

(iv) Reduce nationally defined poverty to less 

than 5 percent.

(v) Increase the consumption share of bottom 

20 percent household to 12 percent.

(vi) Increase social protection expenditure is to 

15 percent of the national budget.

(vii) Reduce the economic vulnerability index 

from 24.6 to less than 18.9 (Annex IVa).

SDG 2 - End hunger, achieve food
security and improved nutrition and
promote sustainable agriculture

SDG 2 has the following major targets:

(i) End hunger by 2030 and ensure access by all 

people safe, nutritious and sufficient food all 

year round.
(ii) End all forms of malnutrition.
(iii) Double agricultural productivity and the in-
comes of small-scale food producers.
(iv) Ensure sustainable food production systems
and implement resilient agricultural practices.
(v) Maintain by 2020 the genetic diversity of
seeds, cultivated plants and farmed and
domesticated animals and their related wild
species, including through soundly managed
and diversified seed and plant banks at the
national, regional and international levels.




SDG 3 - Ensure healthy lives and 
promote well-being for all at all ages: 
SDG 3 includes the following targets:


(i) Reduce, by 2030, the global maternal mor-
tality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live
births.
(ii) End preventable deaths of newborns and
children under 5 years of age.
(iii) End the epidemics of AIDS, TB, malaria and
neglected tropical diseases and combat hep-
atitis, water-borne diseases and other com-
municable diseases.
(iv) Reduce by one-third premature mortality
from NCDs through prevention and treat-
ment and promote mental health and well-
being.
(v) Strengthen the prevention and treatment of
substance abuse, including narcotic drug
abuse and harmful use of alcohol.
(vi) Halve by 2020 the number of deaths and in-
juries from road traffic accidents.
(vii) Ensure, by 2030, universal access to sexual
and reproductive health-care services, in-

cluding for family planning, information


SDG 4 - Ensure inclusive and equitable 
quality education and promote lifelong 
learning opportunities for all
The targets under SDG 4 include ensuring the fol-
lowing by 2030:


(i) All girls and boys complete free, equitable
and quality primary and secondary educa-
tion leading to relevant and effective learn-
ing outcomes.
(ii) All girls and boys have access to quality
early childhood development, care and pre-
primary education so they are ready for pri-
mary education.
(iii) Equal access for all women and men to af-
fordable and quality technical, vocational
and tertiary education, including university.
(iv) A larger percent of youth and adults having
relevant skills, including technical and vo-
cational skills, for employment, decent jobs
and entrepreneurship.
(v) The elimination of gender disparities in edu-
cation and equal access to all levels of edu-
cation and vocational training for vulnerable
people.



SDG 5 - Achieve gender equality and 
empower all women and girls
The SDG 5 targets include the following:


(i) End all forms of discrimination against all
women and girls everywhere.
(ii) Eliminate all forms of violence against all
women and girls in the public and private
spheres, including trafficking and sexual
and other types of exploitation.
(iii) Eliminate all harmful practices, such as
child, early and forced marriage.
(iv) Recognize and value unpaid care and do-
mestic work.
(v) Ensure women’s full and effective participa-
tion and equal opportunities for leadership
at all levels of decision-making in political,
economic and public life.
(vi) Ensure universal access to sexual and re-
productive health and reproductive rights.



SDG 6 - Ensure availability and 
sustainable management of water and 
sanitation for all
The SDG 6 targets for 2030 include the following:


(i) Achieve universal and equitable access to
safe and affordable drinking water for all.
(ii) Achieve access to adequate and equitable
sanitation and hygiene for all and end open
defecation.
(iii) Improve water quality by reducing pollution,
eliminating dumping and minimizing release
of hazardous chemicals and materials.
(iv) Substantially increase water-use efficiency
across all sectors.
(v) Implement integrated water resources man-
agement at all levels.
(vi) Protect and restore water-related ecosys-
tems, including mountains, forests, wet-
lands, rivers, aquifers and glacial lakes.