Cooperatives can play a great role in the realisation of MDGs

With only five years left, African economies have continued to grapple with the realisation of the Millennium Development Goals. A report from the over-seas Development Institute, 2010 reveals that Sierra Leone, Benin, Mali, Ethiopia, Gambia, Malawi, Uganda, Mauritania, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Rwanda and Togo are on track to halve poverty by 2015 but like the rest of other African countries still a long way in realising on any of the other MDGs.

The first MDG goal is to eradicate extreme poverty by 2015. Cooperatives, as income generating enterprises, and member owned institutions distribute surpluses to their members in the form of a patronage refund based on the use people have made of the cooperative. This enhances equitable resource distribution. Cooperatives strengthen the links between economic growth and poverty reduction and go on to single-out growth that does not discriminate against rural areas, ethnic groups and women.

The second MDG relates to universal access to education. In developing countries, around 57 per cent of children enrolled in primary schools, only one in three children in Africa complete primary education. The cooperative movement has further demonstrated that they can deliver on access to education.

As local civil society organisations, cooperatives can monitor the quality of education, preventing absenteeism among teachers. Cooperatives have been instrumental in raising the status of women enabling girls to complete their education.

Every year, more than 10 million children die of preventable diseases, while more than half a million women die in pregnancy and childbirth. Evidence has shown that were cooperatives have operated, they have raised people’s incomes, provided decent work, healthy housing, unadulterated food, and this has had an effect on the health of children and their mothers.

There cases in India were Health Cooperatives continue to provide primary health care to their members significantly affecting the quality of health of children and their mothers.

Around the world, 42 million people are living with HIV/Aids. In 2002, 3.1 million people died of Aids. Already, it has killed the mother or both parents of 13 million children, mainly in Africa to-date. The consequences for already weak African economies and public services are disastrous, because it kills the young adults who are most needed.

In most Asian countries, cooperatives are providing health care services and health education programmes for their members. In India, there are 181 hospital cooperatives, and 50 cooperative education field projects providing family welfare and health awareness programmes. Cooperatives are also a means by which people can gain micro-insurance against illness. Cooperatives have demonstrated that they are a powerful tool for improving delivery of health-care specifically for those living with Aids.

Depletion of the world’s fisheries, soil erosion, water stress, climate change from greenhouse gases, have all affected developing countries disproportionately. In Africa, one person in three does not have access to safe water and if the current trends continue, by 2020, the numbers of people without proper services will have doubled.

Cooperatives have taken up projects that promote the environment. In many African countries, forestry cooperatives are engaged in large scale tree planting; Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies have developed loan products that finance environmental related products. Products that mitigate the effects of climate change such as solar loans, energy savings stoves, water tanks to collect rain water for home use and irrigation.

Cooperators around the world have demonstrated that little pulled resources have a great impact in touching the fabric of the society. African governments ought to support cooperators for they have proved to be an effective tool that can provide lasting solution to the realisation of the MDGs.

The Writer is a Market and Product Specialist at the Microfinance Support Centre Ltd. were.nathan@gmail.com