Fiji has made positive progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

This is according to the Pacific Island Forum Secretariat (PIFS) which is tracking the progress of Forum island countries towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

The deadline for United Nations member states to meet the eight international development goals is the end of this year.

Tracking our progress is the Pacific Island Forum which says Fiji is on track to achieve the goals.

However according to the PIFS, Fiji is only on track to achieve 4 development goals – that’s in primary education, reducing child mortality, improving maternal health and ensuring environment sustainability.

Efforts in alleviating poverty, gender equality and combating diseases such as HIV/AIDS needs to be strengthened.

“I think the government has been tracking this for sometime and have done a lot of work in these areas from poverty and gender equality and the empowerment of women including on HIV /AIDS, so they;re aware of the progress that Fiji needs to try and achieve these things” said Resina Katafono – MDG’s Regional adviser Pacific Island Forum Secretariat.

Katafono said only two Pacific Island Countries are on track to achieve the MDG’s

“That’s Cook Islands and Niue. However Fiji with Palau and Tonga are on track to achieve four of the seven. We only track developing countries progress towards 7 MDG’s because that’s the commitment they made in 2000 whereas MDG 8 is the commitment that developed countries made in terms of providing assistance to the developing countries in achieving the first MDG’s ”

Already talks on the post 2015 development agenda will get underway from next week, this will look into including development goals that were not in the current 8 MDG’s.

“Those are things such as climate change, Oceans, economic, growth so there will be specific goals in those areas. The Pacific has been very active in the global discussions that have been happening in New York” said Katafono.