Sri Lanka, a role model

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has called for the strongest possible global platform to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Addressing the MDG Summit in New York the President said that Sri Lanka is already on track to attain MDGs despite formidable odds including the almost three decades of war. He said Sri Lanka has incorporated Millennium Development Goals' key performance indicators in the national budget policies.

The call for a strong global platform by the Lankan leader is quite appropriate given the lip service paid by some countries to the MDGs. This is chiefly seen in respect environment protection where industrialised countries adopt a duplicitous policy. Various protocols and conventions are signed only to be breached. There is also trade restrictions and protectionism adopted by certain countries that defeat the aim of the Millennium Goals. Small countries are also strangulated by the hegemony maintained by international producers and manufacturers who maintain a monopoly on vital merchandise, such as multi-national drug companies.

Hence the point made by the President in this regard bears relevance. He said "while our focus has been on countering tropical epidemics such as malaria and other vector borne diseases, we now need to pay adequate attention to forms of non communicable diseases that pose a serious challenge to our health sectors. We would therefore urge access to medicine at reasonable cost and more predictable financial and technical assistance to develop local capacities to improve conditions of patients".

The reality is costly drugs are forced down on poor countries by these multi-national companies while their Governments idly stand by. Therefore a combined effort is needed as advocated by the President to ensure the Millennium Development Goals are implemented across the board and in a pro-active way.

Sri Lanka boasts of some of the best social development indices in the South Asian region and its welfare schemes were never discontinued or diminished in any way even during the most trying phases of the country's economy. Therefore Sri Lanka always possessed a solid base for achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Besides many of these Millennium Development Goals have been ingrained features in the country's socio-economic system. Subjects such as food, security that figure among the Millennium Development Goals had already been dealt by the President who even suggested a SAARC Food Bank to overcome famine. As the President said in Sri Lanka social development goals, such as free healthcare, access to education were embedded from independence in the country's overall policy framework. As such we were already well prepared vis a vis the MDGs.

The country fortunately is today free of the one factor that sapped the nation's of its economic resources paving the way to look forward with a positive outlook. It can now move ahead with the outside world without being bogged down in internal conflict. It has already shown glimpses of its potential as reflected by its massive post-war development effort. In short, Sri Lanka is now gradually integrating itself with the world at large meeting its international obligations as seen also in the steps taken to reduce our national debt. The President said "Our National policy has been developed within the framework of global priorities which we consider appropriate at this time". Sri Lanka is slowly but surely emerging as a key global player and a nation to be taken seriously by the world at large.

It in now increasingly taking up issue of global import as its repeated advocacy of various issues that has an international bearing such as global warming etc. shows. On this occasion too the President warmed to his theme of sustainable development when he said, "We are convinced that economic development to be sustainable, must include emphasis on the protection of the environment."

Another reason we are on track to attain the Millennium

Development Goals is the steadfast commitment by the President to proceed with attaining the country's own development goals even in the midst of a debilitating war. These included meeting poverty alleviation targets and the goals set for the development of health, education and measures to bring about social equity. This while the global economic recession drove many powerful countries to their knees throwing people out of employment and forcing drastic cut down on welfare measures.

Sri Lanka certainly is on the way to prove itself as a model to the world in the realization of the Millennium Development Goals.