TONGA needs to step up its efforts in combating basic-needs poverty, and to provide employment, in particular for youth, the Deputy Prime Minister Hon. Samiu Vaipulu said this week in launching a report on Tonga's progress towards the Milliennium Development Goals.

The Launching of Tonga's Second Status Report on the Millennium Development Goals was celebrated January 19 at the Fa'onelua Convention Centre in Nuku'alofa.

Tonga produced its first MDG status report in 2005. The second status report reviews the progress so far and offers an analytical perspective of Tonga's progress to date of what is working and what is not.

But the report stated that Tonga lacks data to assess true progress in many areas of human development.

The MDG is an UN Millennium Declaration that was signed by 189 countries, including Tonga in 2000, committing themselves to work toward achieving progress in basic areas of human development.

Eight Millennium Development Goals (MDG) were set, and they are time-bond, quantitative targets that aim for results by 2015.

The eight Millennium Development Goals are:

1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger.
2. Achieve universal primary education.
3. Promote gender equality and empower women.
4. Reduce Child mortality.
5. Improve maternal health.
6. Cambat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases.
7. Ensure environmental sustainability.
8. Develop a global partnership for development.

However, the report stated that: "measuring progress required quality and up-to-date data . . . To date, Tonga has never undertaken a Demographic and Health Survey, which would provide in-depth data to assess true progress in many areas of human development and provide population-based data. UNFPA is providing assistance to start work on the first DHS in the near future."

The report also pointed out that disaggregated data were not always available and it highlighted the need for Tonga to "better integrate the MDGs in its national statistics."

The Deputy Prime Minister Hon. Samiu Vaipulu in a speech to launch the report said that government had endorsed the report and it was "another milestone for Tonga on its progress towards the achievement of the MDGs by 2015."

He said that the report offered the opportunity for the government, the people and Tonga's development partners to renew our collective commitment to improvement the human development status of the people of Tonga.

"Tonga is broadly on-track to achieve six of the eight goals and with some additional effort and acceleration of progress should be able to achieve a further two goals.

"To briefly summarize, there is no extreme poverty or hunger in Tonga, but we need to step up our efforts in combating basic-needs poverty, and provide employment, in particular for youth.

"We call on the international community, Tonga's development partners, to significantly step up and fulfill their commitments on both aid and trade made under the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, the Cairns Compact and our bilateral partnerships for development," he said.