The Dominican Republic will not be able to meet the Millennium Objectives in the fight against poverty, according to UN observers and local officials. The massive immigration of Haitian nationals into the Dominican Republic is negatively affecting progress the DR has been making. The Development Objectives for the Millennium includes a reduction of the worst poverty by 50% before 2015. John Gagain, the executive director of the Presidential Commission for the Millennium Objectives and Development (COPDES) and Fernando Ferran, the advisor to the UN’s local resident coordinator, explained that according to the projections, the Dominican Republic will not reach the percentage levels of the population with hunger issues. Moreover, they understand that there will be difficulties with education, maternal health and 100% access to potable water. According to the experts, “the Haitians that enter the country with their AIDS, with malaria, with dengue and tuberculosis” are a factor that has to be taken into account when measuring the levels of application of the Objectives. Among the objectives of the program that the 192 countries that belong to the UN are supposed to fulfill are the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, the achievement of universal primary education and the promotion of the equality of the sexes and female autonomy. Other objectives include a reduction in infant mortality, better health care for mothers, greater efforts against HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases. A sustainable environment and world development are major issues as well. Ferran pointed out that the Dominican Republic is one of 28 countries that will not be able to meet the objective of reducing hunger by 50%.
Next week, Harvard economist Jeffrey Sachs will be in the country to present the report of the United Nations Millennium Project “Investing in Development”. Gagain said that the government and the United Nations will work on a budget to determine how much money the DR will have to invest in its efforts to reach the Millennium Objectives. He explained that the 2006 Dominican budget will take into account the needs in the areas as outlined by the Millennium Project. The Dominican Republic is one of eight nations worldwide that was selected by the UN as part of the pilot program to reach these goals.