TUNISIAONLINENEWS- According to UN officials, Tunisia is among the few African countries to have achieved the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) before 2015 thanks to its multi-dimensional development approach and its cutting-edge programs implemented for a sustainable and fair development.
The poverty rate has declined sharply to 3.8%, the rate of children aged 6 registered in the first year of basic education rose to 99.2% and the schooling rate of children aged from 6 to 12 reached 97.7%
Regarding mother and child health, Tunisia has set up preventive strategies and programs involving particularly premarital medical examination, medical monitoring of pregnancy and childbirth under medical supervision, in addition to developing a guide of care and support for newborn to prevent infant mortality.
Tunisia has made significant progress in this area reflected in the reduction of the infant mortality rate to 18.4 per thousand and the decline in maternal mortality to 36 per thousand live births.
Efforts are focused currently on combating AIDS by means of awareness and prevention against the Human Immunodeficiency Virus) HIV through sex education since the first years of adolescence.
The epidemiological situation has remained stable for fifteen years, with about 65 cases reported per year, thanks to efforts exerted to combat AIDS.
Tunisia has 19 free and anonymous AIDS testing centres covering 14 regions. In addition, a strategy to control AIDS is being developed for the period 2011-2015 and socio-psychological care for patients is stepped up along with awareness campaigns of the risks of contamination and ways to be protected from it.
To fulfil its commitments to the MDGs, Tunisia has made significant efforts to ensure gender equality and fair access to development.
Thus, Tunisia has ratified all international conventions related directly or indirectly to women's rights and has established a departmental structure and a national advisory board to monitor women's affairs. It has also set up several mechanisms to boost the economic role of women and make them efficient partners to development. A complementary strategy has also been developed to combat all forms of violence against women.
Moreover, Tunisia shows special interest for the sector of environment and sustainable development for its impact on economic and social development and the protection of natural resources. A rate of 1.2% of the GDP is devoted to the sector to improve the quality of life and guarantee the right of future generations to a healthy environment.
The country has also adopted a set of measures to protect environment in all areas, including protection of natural resources, control of management of all kinds of waste, fight against pollution, use of non-conventional water resources and renewable energy, extension of the sanitation networks and increasing of the plant cover rate.
Thanks to these achievements, Tunisia was able to limit the cost of environmental degradation to 2% of the GDP, a rate that is close to that of developed countries.
These efforts earned Tunisia to be ranked as first Arab country in matters of quality of life by "International Living," an observer of the quality of life in the world.
The achievement of most of the Millennium Goals also allowed Tunisia to be among countries that have recorded the highest Human Development Index (HDI)).
The MDGs are eight goals to achieve by 2015, namely eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, primary education for all, gender equality and women's empowerment, reducing infant mortality, improving maternal health, combating HIV, malaria and other diseases, ensuring a sustainable development and establishing a world partnership for development.
The international community pledged in 2000 to achieve these goals nationally and globally to improve the quality of life of hundreds of millions of people around the world.
A high-level meeting is scheduled from September 20 to 22, 2010 in New York to evaluate progress towards achieving the MDGs, highlight experiences carried out, mobilize necessary aid and boost associative action to reach the goals set in 2015.
Tunisia will be represented to this event by the Foreign Affairs Minister who will lead the Tunisian delegation to the works of the 65th session of the UN General Assembly.
© Tunisia Online News 2010
