Relevance of the Objectives of the Millenium Development Goals on Caribbean Countries

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Thirdly, on the matter of the second MDG goal of achieving universal primary education, this has little developmental meaning for the Caribbean because we had already met that goal. The major focus for Caribbean Governments should address the type and quality of primary education to be given to our children. With the exception of Haiti, Caribbean countries have high net enrollment ratios, high rates of internal efficiencies and high rates of literacy. Increased emphasis should therefore be given to secondary and tertiary education where islands such as Jamaica and Cuba has undergone extensive reform. Because the Caribbean still lags behind other regions in terms of enrolment at the tertiary level, the targets for MDGs in education should have been based on enrolment levels for primary, secondary and tertiary education.

Finally, the issue of gender bias against women is an urgent problem which needs to be confronted in the Caribbean. Women often face higher illiteracy levels, lower school enrolment rates, lower wages and have less access to the power centres of business and politics. According to Peggy Antrobus (1988) two examples of issues for gender in Caribbean development are industry; where there is unfair compensation, exploitation of women’s sexuality and the existence of the ‘glass ceiling’; and the other of agriculture and rural development where there are the issues of the ‘invisibility’ of women’s work in households and subsistence agriculture, sexual division of labour, women’s multiple roles and the implications for these for the design and implementation of agricultural extension programmes. The MDG speak to women’s social status where women are well-educated, can earn wages comparable to her male counterpart, is independent with the ability to provide for their children, have health insurance and are safe, fertility declines, replacement fertility is achieved and risks associated with pregnancy which are too many, too often too late (in life) are reduced. The region has made progressive inroads towards eliminating many forms of discrimination against women. Laws and other legislation such as the Domestic Violence Act have been enacted to protect women’s rights. However, there is still need to ensure .Provided these conditions are met Caribbean countries will be able to achieve the targets stipulated under this goal.

The Millennium Development Goals can be achieved in the Caribbean but not without a serious assessment of the relevance of the objectives to Caribbean in the spheres of social development and poverty reduction; then substantial support from the more developed countries, be they advocacy, expertise and resources.

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