Question

Country: Philippines

2 SDGs that the country is now partaking in.

#1. Quality Education

#2. Gender Equality

a. Relate the SDG #1 to one or both the MDGs above. How is this an extension of the MDGs, especially in this country?

b. The SDG #2 can be completely different, but fairly similar to the SDG #1 and MDG #1 and #2. Why is this equally important to the development of this country?

5. Describe if and how the country was working with other countries to achieve the MDGs and is currently working with to achieve SDGs.

6. By 2030, give a projection of where you as a group stand (some can differ) on how realistic these goals are, what this country may look like if these goals are met by 2030, and what are the major challenges you see this country faces and why.

Please cite sources.

Answer 1

Sustainable Development Goals

The Sustainable Development Goals are the blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. They address the global challenges we face, including those related to poverty, inequality, climate, environmental degradation, prosperity, and peace and justice. The Goals interconnect and in order to leave no one behind, it ís important that we achieve each Goal and target by 2030. Click on any specific Goal below to learn more about each issue.

What are the Sustainable Development Goals?

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), otherwise known as the Global Goals, are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity.

These 17 Goals build on the successes of the Millennium Development Goals, while including new areas such as climate change, economic inequality, innovation, sustainable consumption, peace and justice, among other priorities. The goals are interconnected – often the key to success on one will involve tackling issues more commonly associated with another.

NO POVERTY M補

ZERO HUNGER 2 6

GOOD HEALTH AND WELL-BEING
  

GENDER EQUALITY
  
CLEAN WATER AND SANITATION
  
AFFORDABLE AND CLEAN ENERGY
  
DECENT WORK AND ECONOMIC GROWTH

INDUSTRY, INNOVATION ANDINFRASTRUCTURE
  
10% REDUCED INEQUALITIES
  
SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND COMMUNITIES
  
RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION CO

CLIMATE ACTION
  
LIFE BELOW WATER
  
LIFE ON LAND
  
PEACE, JUSTICE ANDSTRONG INSTITUTIONS

PARTNERSHIPS FOR THE GOALS

PHILIPPINES – With an overarching aim “in pursuit of inclusive growth”, the Philippine
Development Plan 2011–2016 recognizes the current inadequacies in the level of
human development with a failure of inclusive growth. The plan acknowledges that,
in order for inclusive growth to be achieved, there must be a reduction in poverty and
increased employment. The Philippine Development Plan 2011–2016 proposes three
broad strategies to remedy this, namely high and sustained economic growth, equal
access to development opportunities, and effective and responsive social safety nets.
Equal access to development opportunities proposes better education, primary health
care and nutrition, and other basic social services. The Philippine Development Plan
2011–2016 emphasizes the importance of “good governance and the Rule of Law…
social development… peace and security”. “Through this plan [they] aim to pursue
rapid and sustainable economic growth and development, improve the quality of life
of the Filipino, empower the poor and marginalized and enhance [their] social cohesion
as a nation... to give the Filipino people a better chance of finally finding their
way out of poverty, inequality, and the poor state of human development”.

Quality Education

We have made huge strides in reducing child mortality, improving maternal health and fighting HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases. Since 1990, there has been an over 50 percent decline in preventable child deaths globally. Maternal mortality also fell by 45 percent worldwide. New HIV/AIDS infections fell by 30 percent between 2000 and 2013, and over 6.2 million lives were saved from malaria.

Despite this incredible progress, more than 6 million children still die before their fifth birthday every year. 16,000 children die each day from preventable diseases such as measles and tuberculosis. Every day hundreds of women die during pregnancy or from child-birth related complications. In many rural areas, only 56 percent of births are attended by skilled professionals. AIDS is now the leading cause of death among teenagers in sub-Saharan Africa, a region still severely devastated by the HIV epidemic.

These deaths can be avoided through prevention and treatment, education, immunization campaigns, and sexual and reproductive healthcare. The Sustainable Development Goals make a bold commitment to end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and other communicable diseases by 2030. The aim is to achieve universal health coverage, and provide access to safe and affordable medicines and vaccines for all. Supporting research and development for vaccines is an essential part of this process as well.

Quality of Education – This is the first major issue that the Philippine government should resolve but somehow it is recently improving. The quality of Philippine education has declined few years ago due to poor results from standard entrance tests conducted among elementary and secondary students, as well as the tertiary levels. The results were way below the target mean score. High dropout rates, high number of repeaters, low passing grades, lack of particular language skills, failure to adequately respond and address the needs of people with special needs, overcrowded classrooms, and poor teacher performances, have greatly affected the quality of education in the Philippines.

GENDER EQUALITY

Ending all forms of discrimination against women and girls is not only a basic human right, but it also crucial to accelerating sustainable development. It has been proven time and again, that empowering women and girls has a multiplier effect, and helps drive up economic growth and development across the board.

Since 2000, UNDP, together with our UN partners and the rest of the global community, has made gender equality central to our work. We have seen remarkable progress since then. More girls are now in school compared to 15 years ago, and most regions have reached gender parity in primary education. Women now make up to 41 percent of paid workers outside of agriculture, compared to 35 percent in 1990.

The SDGs aim to build on these achievements to ensure that there is an end to discrimination against women and girls everywhere. There are still huge inequalities in the labour market in some regions, with women systematically denied equal access to jobs. Sexual violence and exploitation, the unequal division of unpaid care and domestic work, and discrimination in public office, all remain huge barriers.

Affording women equal rights to economic resources such as land and property are vital targets to realizing this goal. So is ensuring universal access to sexual and reproductive health. Today there are more women in public office than ever before, but encouraging women leaders will help strengthen policies and legislation for greater gender equality.   

Box 2. Recent significant laws for the protection of the welfare of women and girls R.A. 10361 Domestic Workers' Act (2012) Also known as Batas Kasambahay, the law seeks to protect the rights of domestic works against abuse, to provide them decent working conditions and income, and to reduce the incidence of child labor and trafficking in persons for the purpose of domestic work Specifically stating gender equality goals in its declaration of policy the RH Law provides a national policy for family planning, maternal and child health, and age-appropriate reproductive health education. R.A. 10354 Responsibly Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act (2012) R.A. 9710 Magna Carta of Women (2009) R.A. Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act (2004) R.A. 9208 Anti- Trafficking in Persons Act (2003) Operationalizes the Philippines' commitment to CEDAW, the Magna Carta is an expansive comprehensive Act which aims to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women Through the criminalization of physical, sexual, psychological, and economic abuse of women and children by their intimate partners, the Anti-VAWC Law seeks to protect victims and prevent all forms of abuse against women and children Institutes policies to eliminate trafficking in persons, most of whom are women and girls R.A. 8972 Solo Parent's Welfare Act (2000) Provides for benefits and privileges to solo parents and their children