Press Release:
New measurement unveiled to accelerate progress of the Cambodia Millennium Development Goals
PHNOM PENH, 6 December 2010: The Cambodian government unveiled a new measurement that will be used to speed up achievement of the Cambodia Millennium Development Goals (CMDGs). The CMDG Scorecards are designed to assist policy makers and development planners in identifying areas where CMDGs are lagging in progress, thereby requiring more efforts to improve towards MDG 2015 target date.
The scorecards were launched today at a workshop presided over by H.E. Chhay Than, Senior Minister and Minister of Planning. Other government officials and representatives of development partners, international organizations and non-governmental organizations also attended the event.
The Ministry of Planning developed CMDG scorecards by drawing on data from the existing Commune Database. This commune-level, nationwide database contains comprehensive information on demography, natural resources, poverty, education, occupation, housing, transportation, gender and domestic violence, health, sanitation, access to clean water, governance, security, and information indigenous people.
“The data is a primary need and input for developing any investment plan, policy work, programmes and projects,” H.E Chhay Than said in his remarks at the workshop.
UNDP has provided support for the development and producing of the scorecards. Through them development planners will be able to know where they have done well in achieving CMDGs and where they deem as priorities to which greater attention and resources will be required.
“With only five years remaining, the importance of accelerating our progress is the highest priority,” Ms. Elena Tischenko, Country Director of UNDP Cambodia, said in her remarks at the workshop. She underlined the significance of Commune Database upon which the scorecards were developed. She said the database was useful not only in helping to measure progress in MGDs but also in providing “information broken down to the commune level, which allows us to identify and respond to region-specific needs.”
The Asia Pacific Regional Report 2009/2010 titled Achieving the Millennium Development Goals in an Era of Global Uncertainty calls for countries to look deeper than the national averages as a means to achieve MDG targets. It cites as an example neighboring Viet Nam, where infant mortality rates for the 10- year period preceding the 2002 Demographic Health Survey varied from 16 per 1,000 live births in the Central Coast region to 52 in the Northern Uplands.
“Such stark regional disparities also exist in Cambodia,” Ms. Tischenko said. “Therefore, achieving MDGs requires improving services delivery in critical sectors at the sub-national levels, proper support from the national level for the delivery of these services, the setting of clear target at the sub-national levels, and effective monitoring of progress on achieving MDG targets,” she said.
The CMDG scorecards have been tested and disseminated to all 24 provincial and city planning departments. The launch aimed at raising awareness about this new tool at the national level, thereby helping to secure more support for local administration in advancing CMDG progress.
For more information, please contact:
Ministry of Planning:
The Decentralisation and Deconcentration and Seth Koma Working Group: 012 610 326, 012 952 031, 012 807 765
UNDP: Aimee Brown: 012 760 513,
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or Ker Munthit: 011 905 261,
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