United Nations on 1 July 2013 released the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) Report with more targets to be achieved by 2015. The report that seeks urgent address to several important challenges being faced by the world and its people was launched by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
The 2013 MDG Report looks forward to areas that requires urgent attention such as, one of every eight people of world remain hungry, death of women during childbirth, although facilities to protect them are available, lack of improved sanitation facilities for more than 2.5 billion people, of which one billion continue to practice open defecation, a major health and environmental hazard. Our resource base is in serious decline, with continuing losses of forests, species and fish stocks, in a world already experiencing the impacts of climate change. The report highlights major eight goals to be worked upon.
The eight major Goals set by United Nations under the Millennium Development Program were: Eradication of Extreme Poverty and Hunger, Achieve Universal Primary Education, Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women, Reduce Child Mortality, Improve Maternal Health, Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases, Ensure Environmental Sustainability, Develop Global Partnership for Development. These goals were set for the first time at the time of Project inception in July 2002.
Progress Report of the major Eight Goals:
• Goal 1: Eradication of Extreme Poverty and Hunger – Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less than $1 a day. Some of the quick facts about improvement:
a) With about less than 700 million people, who live in extreme poverty conditions in 2010 than in 1990, the Poverty rates have been halved
b) Widening of the global jobs gap by 67 million people due to the economic and financial crisis One in eight people still go to bed hungry, despite major progress
c) Globally, nearly one in six children under age five are underweight; one in four are stunted
d) An estimated 7 per cent of children under age five worldwide are now overweight, another aspect of malnutrition; one quarter of these children live in sub-Saharan Africa
• Goal 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education – If current trends continue, the world will not meet the goal of universal primary education by 2015. Quick Facts:
a) By 2011, 57 million children of primary school age were out of school, down from 102 million in 2000
b) More than half of these out-of-school children live in sub-Saharan Africa
c) Globally, 123 million youth (aged 15 to 24) lack basic reading and writing skills; 61 per cent of them are young women
• Goal 3: Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women – Steady progress has been made towards equal access of girls and boys to education, but more targeted action is needed in many regions. The quick Overview:
a) Gender parity is closest to being achieved at the primary level; however, only 2 out of 130 countries have achieved that target at all levels of education
b) Globally, 40 out of 100 wage-earning jobs in the non-agricultural sector are held by women
c) As of 31 January 2013, the average share of women members in parliaments worldwide was just over 20 per cent
• Goal 4: Reduce Child Mortality – Reduce by two thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under-five mortality rate. The Quick Overview:
a) Since 1990, the child mortality rate has dropped by 41 per cent; 14,000 fewer children are dying each day
b) Still, 6.9 million children under age five died in 2011—mostly from preventable diseases
c) In sub-Saharan Africa, one in nine children die before age five, more than 16 times the average for developed regions
• Goal 5: Improve Maternal Health – Maternal mortality has declined by nearly half since 1990, but falls far short of the MDG target. Quick Overview:
a) In Eastern Asia, Northern Africa and Southern Asia, maternal mortality has declined by around two thirds.
b) Only half of pregnant women in developing regions receive the recommended minimum of four antenatal care visits.
c) Some 140 million women worldwide who are married or in union say they would like to delay or avoid pregnancy, but are not using contraception
• Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases – The incidence of HIV is declining steadily in most regions; still, 2.5 million people are newly infected each year. The Quick Overview of the Facts:
a) In 2011, 230,000 fewer children under age 15 were infected with HIV than in 2001.
b) Eight million people were receiving antiretroviral therapy for HIV at the end of 2011.
c) In the decade since 2000, 1.1 million deaths from malaria were averted.
d) Treatment for tuberculosis has saved some 20 million lives between 1995 and 2011
• Goal 7: Ensure Environmental Sustainability – Forests are a safety net for the poor, but they continue to disappear at an alarming rate. The Quick Overview of the Facts:
a) Global emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) have increased by more than 46 per cent since 1990.
b) Nearly one third of marine fish stocks have been overexploited.
c) Many species are at risk of extinction, despite an increase in protected areas.
d) More than 2.1 billion people and almost 1.9 billon people, respectively, have gained access to improved water sources and sanitation facilities since 1990.
e) An estimated 863 million people reside in slums in the developing world
• Goal 8: Develop Global Partnership for Development – The global financial crisis and euro zone turmoil continue to take a toll on official development assistance. The Overview of the Facts:
a) Official development assistance stood at $126 billion in 2012.
b) Eighty-three per cent of least developed country exports enter developed countries duty free.
c) The debt service of developing countries consumes only 3 per cent of their export revenues.
d) In the developing world, 31 percent of the population uses the Internet, compared to 77 percent of the developed world
MDG targets have already been met or are within close reach:
• The proportion of people living in extreme poverty has been halved at the global level
• Over 2 billion people gained access to improved sources of drinking water
• Remarkable gains have been made in the fight against malaria and tuberculosis
• The proportion of slum dwellers in the cities and metropolises of the developing world is declining
• A low debt burden and an improved climate for trade are levelling the playing field for developing countries
• The hunger reduction target is within reach
MDG targets, for which accelerated Progress and bolder actions needs to be taken
• Environmental sustainability is under severe threat, demanding a new level of global cooperation
• Big gains have been made in child survival, but more must be done to meet our obligations to the youngest generation
• Most maternal deaths are preventable, but progress in this area is falling short
• Access to antiretroviral therapy and knowledge about HIV prevention must expand
• Too many children are still denied their right to primary education
• Gains in sanitation are impressive—but not good enough
• There is less aid money overall, with the poorest countries most adversely affected
Areas with disparities, where attention needs to be focused as these often stand in the way of further improvements:
Rural-urban gaps persist—access to reproductive health services and to clean drinking water is only two examples: In 2011, only 53 per cent of deliveries in rural areas were attended by skilled health personnel, versus 84 per cent of them in urban areas. Eighty-three percent of the population without access to an improved drinking water source lives in rural communities.
The poorest children are most likely to be out of School:Children and adolescents from the poorest households are at least three times more likely to be out of school than children from the richest households. Girls are more likely to be out of school than boys among both primary and lower secondary age groups, even for girls living in the richest households Gender-based inequalities in decision-making power persist: Whether in the public or private sphere, from the highest levels of government decision-making to households, women continue to be denied equal opportunity with men to participate in decisions that affect their lives
Measuring progress towards the MDGs: Progress towards the eight Millennium Development Goals is measured through 21 targets and 60 official indicators. This report presents an accounting to date of how far the world has come in meeting the goals using data available as of June 2013. Most of the MDG targets have a deadline of 2015, using 1990 as the baseline against which progress is gauged.
The basis for this Analysis: Regional and sub-regional figures presented in this report are compiled by members of the United Nations Inter-Agency and Expert Group on MDG Indicators (IAEG). In general, the figures are weighted averages of country data, using the population of reference as a weight. For each indicator, individual agencies were designated as official providers of data and as leaders in developing methodologies for data collection and analysis. The team that prepared the report was headed by the Department of Economic and Social affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, in response to the wishes of the General Assembly for periodic assessment of progress towards the MDGs.
UN Millennium Project: The Millennium Project was commissioned by the United Nations Secretary-General in 2002 to develop a concrete action plan for the world to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and to reverse the grinding poverty, hunger and disease affecting billions of people. In 2005, the independent advisory body headed by Professor Jeffrey Sachs, presented its final recommendations to the Secretary-General in a synthesis volume investing in Development: A Practical Plan to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
UN Millennium Campaign: The United Nations Millennium Campaign, started in 2002, supports and inspires people from around the world to take action in support of the Millennium Development Goals.
