Various activities set for Stat Month celebration
The regional offices of various national government agencies in Western Visayas are all set for the opening of the National Statistics Month on Monday, October 8, 2007.
NEDA VI Director and Regional Statistical Coordination Committee Chairman Arturo G. Valero said that the activity will kick-off with morning exercise dubbed "Hataw" at the Central Philippine University Grounds, motorcade along selected streets of Iloilo City and back to the CPU Promenade Park for the opening program.
The guest speaker of the event is the newly appointed Presidential Assistant for Panay and Guimaras, Assistant Secretary Raul Banias.
Director Valero said that various activities were programmed for the month-long celebration.
The National Statistics Month is observed every Month of October per Presidential Proclamation 647. The theme for this year's celebration is Statistics and Actions: A Road to a Better Life Through the Millenium Development Goals.
The Millenium Development Goals (MDG) are time-bound and measurable targets which UN member-countries committed to address poverty, ensure development and build prosperity for their respective countries.
It has six priority areas of concern, namely: eradication of poverty and hunger, achievement of universal primary education, promotion of gender equality, reduction of child mortality, improvement of women's reproductive health, and combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases.
Meanwhile, the Philippines is gaining headway in its bid to meet by 2015 the United Nations MDG of ensuring environmental sustainability nationwide.
During the 10thNational Convention on Statistics at EDSA Shangri-La Hotel in Mandaluyong City, NEDA Director Erlinda Capones said that the country will likely meet such goal.
Capones presented the September 2007 data during the event showing that proportion of the country's urban population with access to improved sanitation already exceeded the MDG goal of 83.8 percent as this soared from 67.6 % (1990) to 86.2 % in 2004.
Proportion of Philippine population with sustainable access also improved, water source jumped from 73% (1990) to 80.2 % (2004) which is about 6.3% below the 86.5% MDG target by 2015. While that of forest-covered land nationwide rose to 23.9 % (2003) from 20.5% (1990) while area protected to maintain bio-diversity increased to 12.7% (2006) from 8.5% (1990) of the Philippines' total surface area.
The data presented by Capones also indicated that consumption of ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons dipped to 681 ton (2006) from 2,981 ton (1990) and proportion households using solid fuels for cooking decreased to 42.1 % (2003) from 66.2 % in 1990.
She said that strengthening LGUs' capacity to deliver basic services and bolstering government's link with other nations and the private sector are needed to accelerate the Philippines' bid to meet MDG goals. PIA/T.Villavert