Millennium Development Goals

"MDG" redirects here. For other uses, see MDG (disambiguation).
The Millennium Development Goals are a UN initiative.

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are the eight international development goals that were established following the Millennium Summit of the United Nations in 2000, following the adoption of the United Nations Millennium Declaration. All 189 United Nations member states at the time (there are 193 currently), and at least 23 international organizations, committed to help achieve the following Millennium Development Goals by 2015:

  1. To eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
  2. To achieve universal primary education
  3. To promote gender equality and empower women
  4. To reduce child mortality
  5. To improve maternal health
  6. To combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases
  7. To ensure environmental sustainability[1]
  8. To develop a global partnership for development[2]

Each goal has specific targets, and dates for achieving those targets. To accelerate progress, the G8 finance ministers agreed in June 2005 to provide enough funds to the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) to cancel $40 to $55 billion in debt owed by members of the heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC) to allow them to redirect resources to programs for improving health and education and for alleviating poverty.

Critics of the MDGs complained of a lack of analysis and justification behind the chosen objectives, and the difficulty or lack of measurements for some goals and uneven progress, among others. Although developed countries' aid for achieving the MDGs rose during the challenge period, more than half went for debt relief and much of the remainder going towards natural disaster relief and military aid, rather than further development.

As of 2013, progress towards the goals was uneven. Some countries achieved many goals, while others were not on track to realize any. A UN conference in September 2010 reviewed progress to date and concluded with the adoption of a global plan to achieve the eight goals by their target date. New commitments targeted women's and children's health, and new initiatives in the worldwide battle against poverty, hunger and disease.

Among the non-governmental organizations assisting were the United Nations Millennium Campaign, the Millennium Promise Alliance, Inc., the Global Poverty Project, the Micah Challenge, The Youth in Action EU Programme, "Cartoons in Action" video project and the 8 Visions of Hope global art project.

Background

Millennium Summit

Preparations for the 2000 Millennium Summit launched with the report of the Secretary-General entitled, "We the people: The Role of the United Nations in the Twenty-First Century". Additional input was prepared by the Millennium Forum, which brought together representatives of over 1,000 non-governmental and civil society organizations from more than 100 countries. The Forum met in May to conclude a two-year consultation process covering issues such as poverty eradication, environmental protection, human rights and protection of the vulnerable.

MDGs derive from earlier development targets, where world leaders adopted the United Nations Millennium Declaration. The approval of the Millennium Declaration was the main outcome of the Millennium Summit.

The MDGs originated from the United Nations Millennium Declaration. The Declaration asserted that every individual has dignity; and hence, the right to freedom, equality, a basic standard of living that includes freedom from hunger and violence and encourages tolerance and solidarity. The MDGs set concrete targets and indicators for poverty reduction in order to achieve the rights set forth in the Declaration.[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ , United Nations Millennium Development Goals website, retrieved 21 September 2013
  2. ↑ Background page, United Nations Millennium Development Goals website, retrieved 16 June 2009
  3. ↑ An Introduction to the Human Development and Capability Approach: Freedom and Agency'</ref/>

    Precursors

    The Brahimi Report provided the basis of the goals in the area of peace and security. The Millennium Summit Declaration was, however, only part of the origins of the MDGs. More ideas came from Adam Figueroa, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. A series of UN‑led conferences in the 1990s focused on issues such as children, nutrition, human rights and women. The OECD criticized major donors for reducing their levels of Official Development Assistance (ODA). UN Secretary General Kofi Annan signed a report titled, We the Peoples: The Role of the United Nations in the 21st Century. The OECD had formed its International Development Goals (IDGs). The two efforts were combined for the World Bank's 2001 meeting to form the MDGs.<ref>"The Political Economy of the MDGs: Retrospect and Prospect for the World's Biggest Promise"</ref>

    Human capital, infrastructure and human rights

    The MDGs emphasized three areas: human capital, infrastructure and human rights (social, economic and political), with the intent of increasing living standards.<ref>"The Millennium Development Goals Report"</ref> Human capital objectives include nutrition, healthcare (including child mortality, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, and reproductive health) and education. Infrastructure objectives include access to safe drinking water, energy and modern information/communication technology; increased farm outputs using sustainable practices; transportation; and environment. Human rights objectives include empowering women, reducing violence, increasing political voice, ensuring equal access to public services and increasing security of property rights. The goals were intended to increase an individual’s human capabilities and "advance the means to a productive life". The MDGs emphasize that each nation's policies should be tailored to that country's needs; therefore most policy suggestions are general.

    Partnership

    MDGs emphasize the role of developed countries in aiding developing countries, as outlined in Goal Eight, which sets objectives and targets for developed countries to achieve a "global partnership for development" by supporting fair trade, debt relief, increasing aid, access to affordable essential medicines and encouraging technology transfer. Thus developing nations ostensibly became partners with developed nations in the struggle to reduce world poverty.

    Goals

    A poster at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, New York, USA, showing the Millennium Development Goals.
    The MDGs were developed out of several commitments set forth in the Millennium Declaration, signed in September 2000. There are eight goals with 21 targets,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/poverty.shtml |title=United Nations Millennium Development Goals |publisher=Un.org |date=2008-05-20 |accessdate=2012-10-18}}</ref> and a series of measurable health indicators and economic indicators for each target.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mdgmonitor.org |title=Tracking the Millennium Development Goals |publisher=Mdg Monitor |date=2011-05-16 |accessdate=2012-10-18}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://siteresources.worldbank.org/DATASTATISTICS/Resources/MDGsOfficialList2008.pdf |title=List of goals, targets, and indicators|publisher=Siteresources.worldbank.org|accessdate=2012-10-18}}</ref>

    Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

    • Target 1A: Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people living on less than $1.25 a day<ref>http://content.undp.org/go/cms-service/stream/asset/;jsessionid=aMgXw9lbMbH4?asset_id=2620072</ref>
      • Poverty gap ratio [incidence x depth of poverty]
      • Share of poorest quintile in national consumption
    • Target 1B: Achieve Decent Employment for Women, Men, and Young People
      • GDP Growth per Employed Person
      • Employment Rate
      • Proportion of employed population below $1.25 per day (PPP values)
      • Proportion of family-based workers in employed population
    • Target 1C: Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger
      • Prevalence of underweight children under five years of age
      • Proportion of population below minimum level of dietary energy consumption<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mdgmonitor.org/goal1.cfm |title=Goal :: Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger |publisher=Mdg Monitor |accessdate=2012-10-18}}</ref>

    Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education

    • Target 2A: By 2015, all children can complete a full course of primary schooling, girls and boys
      • Enrollment in primary education
      • Completion of primary education<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mdgmonitor.org/goal2.cfm |title=Goal :: Achieve Universal Primary Education |publisher=Mdg Monitor |date=2011-05-15 |accessdate=2012-10-18}}</ref>

    Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women

    • Target 3A: Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education preferably by 2005, and at all levels by 2015
      • Ratios of girls to boys in primary, secondary and tertiary education
      • Share of women in wage employment in the non-agricultural sector
      • Proportion of seats held by women in national parliament<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mdgmonitor.org/goal3.cfm |title=Goal :: Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women |publisher=Mdg Monitor |date=2011-04-30 |accessdate=2012-10-18}}</ref>

    Goal 4: Reduce child mortality rates

    • Target 4A: Reduce by two-thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under-five mortality rate
      • Under-five mortality rate
      • Infant (under 1) mortality rate
      • Proportion of 1-year-old children immunized against measles<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mdgmonitor.org/goal4.cfm |title=Goal :: Reduce Child Mortality |publisher=Mdg Monitor |date=2011-05-16 |accessdate=2012-10-18}}</ref>

    Goal 5: Improve maternal health

    • Target 5A: Reduce by three quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio
      • Maternal mortality ratio
      • Proportion of births attended by skilled health personnel
    • Target 5B: Achieve, by 2015, universal access to reproductive health
      • Contraceptive prevalence rate
      • Adolescent birth rate
      • Antenatal care coverage
      • Unmet need for family planning<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mdgmonitor.org/goal5.cfm |title=Goal :: Improve Maternal Health |publisher=Mdg Monitor |accessdate=2012-10-18}}</ref>

    Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases

    • Target 6A: Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS
      • HIV prevalence among population aged 15–24 years
      • Condom use at last high-risk sex
      • Proportion of population aged 15–24 years with comprehensive correct knowledge of HIV/AIDS
    • Target 6B: Achieve, by 2010, universal access to treatment for HIV/AIDS for all those who need it
      • Proportion of population with advanced HIV infection with access to antiretroviral drugs
    • Target 6C: Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases
      • Prevalence and death rates associated with malaria
      • Proportion of children under 5 sleeping under insecticide-treated bednets
      • Proportion of children under 5 with fever who are treated with appropriate anti-malarial drugs
      • Incidence, prevalence and death rates associated with tuberculosis
      • Proportion of tuberculosis cases detected and cured under DOTS (Directly Observed Treatment Short Course)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mdgmonitor.org/goal6.cfm |title=Goal :: Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Other Diseases |publisher=Mdg Monitor |accessdate=2012-10-18}}</ref>

    Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability

    • Target 7A: Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programs; reverse loss of environmental resources
    • Target 7B: Reduce biodiversity loss, achieving, by 2010, a significant reduction in the rate of loss
      • Proportion of land area covered by forest
      • CO2 emissions, total, per capita and per $1 GDP (PPP)
      • Consumption of ozone-depleting substances
      • Proportion of fish stocks within safe biological limits
      • Proportion of total water resources used
      • Proportion of terrestrial and marine areas protected
      • Proportion of species threatened with extinction
    • Target 7C: Halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation
    • Target 7D: By 2020, to have achieved a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum-dwellers
      • Proportion of urban population living in slums<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mdgmonitor.org/goal7.cfm |title=Goal :: Ensure Environmental Sustainability |publisher=Mdg Monitor |accessdate=2012-10-18}}</ref>

    Goal 8:Develop a global partnership for development

    • Target 8A: Develop further an open, rule-based, predictable, non-discriminatory trading and financial system
    • Target 8B: Address the Special Needs of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs)
      • Includes: tariff and quota free access for LDC exports; enhanced programme of debt relief for HIPC and cancellation of official bilateral debt; and more generous ODA (Official Development Assistance) for countries committed to poverty reduction
    • Target 8C: Address the special needs of landlocked developing countries and small island developing States
      • Through the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States and the outcome of the twenty-second special session of the General Assembly
    • Target 8D: Deal comprehensively with the debt problems of developing countries through national and international measures in order to make debt sustainable in the long term
      • Some of the indicators listed below are monitored separately for the least developed countries (LDCs), Africa, landlocked developing countries and small island developing States.
      • Official development assistance (ODA):
        • Net ODA, total and to LDCs, as percentage of OECD/DAC donors’ GNI
        • Proportion of total sector-allocable ODA of OECD/DAC donors to basic social services (basic education, primary health care, nutrition, safe water and sanitation)
        • Proportion of bilateral ODA of OECD/DAC donors that is untied
        • ODA received in landlocked countries as proportion of their GNIs
        • ODA received in small island developing States as proportion of their GNIs
      • Market access:
        • Proportion of total developed country imports (by value and excluding arms) from developing countries and from LDCs, admitted free of duty
        • Average tariffs imposed by developed countries on agricultural products and textiles and clothing from developing countries
        • Agricultural support estimate for OECD countries as percentage of their GDP
        • Proportion of ODA provided to help build trade capacity
      • Debt sustainability:
        • Total number of countries that have reached their HIPC decision points and number that have reached their HIPC completion points (cumulative)
        • Debt relief committed under HIPC initiative, US$
        • Debt service as a percentage of exports of goods and services
    • Target 8E: In co-operation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to affordable, essential drugs in developing countries
      • Proportion of population with access to affordable essential drugs on a sustainable basis
    • Target 8F: In co-operation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies, especially information and communications
      • Telephone lines and cellular subscribers per 100 population
      • Personal computers in use per 100 population
      • Internet users per 100 Population<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mdgmonitor.org/goal8.cfm |title=Goal :: Develop a Global Partnership for Development |publisher=Mdg Monitor |accessdate=2012-10-18}}</ref>

    Criticism

    General

    General criticisms include a perceived lack of analytical power and justification behind the chosen objectives.<ref name="idrc.ca">{{cite book | last1 = Deneulin | first1 = Séverine | last2 = Shahani | first2 = Lila | author-link1 = Séverine Deneulin | title = An introduction to the human development and capability approach freedom and agency | publisher = Earthscan International Development Research Centre | location = Sterling, Virginia Ottawa, Ontario | year = 2009 | isbn = 9781844078066 }}</ref> The MDGs lack strong objectives and indicators for within-country equality, despite significant disparities in many developing nations.<ref name=idrc.ca /><ref name="ReferenceA">Can the MDGs provide a pathway to social justice?: The challenge of intersecting inequalities. 2010. Naila Kabeer for Institute of Development Studies.</ref> Further critique of the MDGs is that the mechanism being used is that they seek to introduce local change through external innovations supported by external financing. The counter proposal being that these goals are better achieved by community initiative, building from resources of solidarity and local growth within existing cultural and government structures;<ref>Dani Rodrik, ''One Economics, Many Recipes: Globalization, Institutions, and Economic Growth'' (Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press, 2008)</ref><ref>Stephen Marglin, ''The Dismal Science: How Thinking Like an Economist Undermines Community'' (Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press, 2008)</ref> iterations of proven local successes can scale up to address the larger need through human energy and existing resources using methodologies such as Participatory Rural Appraisal, Asset Based Community Development, or SEED-SCALE. <ref>Daniel C. Taylor, Carl E. Taylor, Jesse O. Taylor, ‘’Empowerment on an Unstable Planet: From Seeds of Human Energy to a Scale of Global Change’’ (New York: Oxford University Press, 2012) p.25-33.</ref> MDG 8 uniquely focuses on donor achievements, rather than development successes. The Commitment to Development Index, published annually by the Center for Global Development in Washington, D.C., is considered the best numerical indicator for MDG 8.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unmillenniumproject.org/documents/hdr03_complete.pdf |title=Human Development Report 2003 |format=PDF |accessdate=2014-02-06}}</ref> It is a more comprehensive measure of donor progress than official development assistance, as it takes into account policies on a number of indicators that affect developing countries such as trade, migration and investment.

    Alleged lack of legitimacy

    The entire MDG process has been accused of lacking legitimacy as a result of failure to include, often, the voices of the very participants that the MDGs seek to assist. The International Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty, in its Post 2015 thematic consultation document on MDG 1 states "The major limitation of the MDGs by 2015 was the lack of political will to implement due to the lack of ownership of the MDGs by the most affected constituencies".<ref>{{cite web|title=Position International Planning Committee on Food Sovereignty Informal Thematic Consultation Hunger, Food and Nutrition Post 2015, CSA actors|url=http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/post2015/sites/post2015/files/files/IPC%20declarat%20post2015%2B%2011feb%20(ES%20EN).pdf|accessdate=7 October 2013}}</ref>

    Human rights

    According to Deneulin & Shahani the MDGs under-emphasize local participation and empowerment (other than women’s empowerment).<ref name=idrc.ca /> FIAN International, a human rights organization focusing on the right to adequate food, contributed to the Post 2015 process by pointing out a lack of: "primacy of human rights; qualifying policy coherence; and of human rights based monitoring and accountability. Without such accountability, no substantial change in national and international policies can be expected."<ref>{{cite web|last=FIAN International|title=Post 2015 Thematic Consultation|url=http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/post2015/comments/2?page=1|accessdate=7 October 2013}}</ref>

    Infrastructure

    The MDGs were attacked for insufficient emphasis on environmental sustainability.<ref name=idrc.ca /> Thus, they do not capture all elements needed to achieve the ideals set out in the Millennium Declaration.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> Agriculture was not specifically mentioned in the MDGs even though most of the world's poor are farmers.

    Human capital

    MDG 2 focuses on primary education and emphasizes enrollment and completion. In some countries, primary enrollment increased at the expense of achievement levels. In some cases, the emphasis on primary education has negatively affected secondary and post-secondary education.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Waage |first=Jeff|title=The Millennium Development Goals: a cross-sectoral analysis and principles for goal setting after 2015 |url=http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(10)61196-8/fulltext |date=18 September 2010 |journal=The Lancet |volume=376 |issue=9745 |pages=991–1023 |doi=10.1016/s0140-6736(10)61196-8|display-authors=etal}}{{registration required}}</ref> A publication from 2005 argued that goals related to maternal mortality, malaria and tuberculosis are impossible to measure and that current UN estimates lack scientific validity or are missing.<ref name="Amir Attaran 2005">{{cite journal|first=Amir |last=Attaran |authorlink=Amir Attaran |date=October 2005 |title=An Immeasurable Crisis? A Criticism of the Millennium Development Goals and Why They Cannot Be Measured |journal=[[PLOS Medicine]] | volume=2 | issue=10 | page=318 | doi=10.1371/journal.pmed.0020318}}</ref> Household surveys are the primary measure for the health MDGs but may be poor and duplicative measurements that consume limited resources. Furthermore, countries with the highest levels of these conditions typically have the least reliable data collection. The study also argued that without accurate measures, it is impossible to determine the amount of progress, leaving MDGs as little more than a rhetorical call to arms.<ref name="Amir Attaran 2005"/> MDG proponents such as McArthur and Sachs countered that setting goals is still valid despite measurement difficulties, as they provide a political and operational framework to efforts. With an increase in the quantity and quality of healthcare systems in developing countries, more data could be collected.<ref name="McArthur JW 2005">{{Cite journal | last1 = McArthur | first1 = J. W. | last2 = Sachs | first2 = J. D. | last3 = Schmidt-Traub | first3 = G. | doi = 10.1371/journal.pmed.0020379 | title = Response to Amir Attaran | journal = PLoS Medicine | volume = 2 | issue = 11 | pages = e379 | year = 2005 | pmid = 16288557| pmc =1297542 }}</ref> They asserted that non-health related MDGs were often well measured, and that not all MDGs were made moot by lack of data. The attention to well being other than income helps bring funding to achieving MDGs.<ref name=idrc.ca /> Further MDGs prioritize interventions, establish obtainable objectives with useful measurements of progress despite measurement issues and increased the developed world’s involvement in worldwide poverty reduction.<ref name=haines>Andy Haines and Andrew Cassels. 2004. "Can The Millennium Development Goals Be Attained?" ''BMJ: British Medical Journal'', Vol. 329, No. 7462 (14 August 2004), pp. 394-397</ref> MDGs include gender and reproductive rights, environmental sustainability, and spread of technology. Prioritizing interventions helps developing countries with limited resources make decisions about allocating their resources. MDGs also strengthen the commitment of developed countries and encourage aid and information sharing.<ref name=idrc.ca /> The global commitment to the goals likely increases the likelihood of their success. They note that MDGs are the most broadly supported poverty reduction targets in world history.<ref name="undp.org">United Nations. 2006. "The Millennium Development Goals Report: 2006." United Nations Development Programme, www.undp.org/publications/MDGReport2006.pdf (accessed 2 January 2008).</ref> Achieving the MDGs does not depend on economic growth alone. In the case of MDG 4, developing countries such as Bangladesh have shown that it is possible to reduce child mortality with only modest growth with inexpensive yet effective interventions, such as measles immunization.<ref>[http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/blogs/2010/08/addressing-the-inequalities-in-child-survival/ ] {{wayback|url=http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/blogs/2010/08/addressing-the-inequalities-in-child-survival/ |date=20100902084512 |df=y }}</ref> Still, government expenditure in many countries is not enough to meet the agreed spending targets.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.odi.org.uk/resources/docs/6325.pdf/ |title=The Feasibility of Financing Sectoral Development Targets |accessdate=2014-02-06}}</ref> Research on health systems suggests that a "one size fits all" model will not sufficiently respond to the individual healthcare profiles of developing countries; however, the study found a common set of constraints in scaling up international health, including the lack of absorptive capacity, weak health systems, human resource limitations, and high costs. The study argued that the emphasis on coverage obscures the measures required for expanding health care. These measures include political, organizational, and functional dimensions of scaling up, and the need to nurture local organizations.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Subramanian |first=Savitha |author2=Joseph Naimoli |author3=Toru Matsubayashi |author4=David Peters |title=Do We Have the Right Models for Scaling Up Health Services to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals?|journal=BMC Health Services Research |year=2011|volume=11|issue=336|doi=10.1186/1472-6963-11-336|url=http://www.futurehealthsystems.org/publications/do-we-have-the-right-models-for-scaling-up-health-services-t.html}}</ref> Fundamental issues such as gender, the divide between the humanitarian and development agendas and economic growth will determine whether or not the MDGs are achieved, according to researchers at the Overseas Development Institute (ODI).<ref>{{cite web|title=Gender and the MDGs|url=http://www.odi.org.uk/resources/details.asp?id=2386&title=gender-mdgs-gender-lens-vital-pro-poor-results/ |work=ODI Briefing Paper|publisher=[[Overseas Development Institute]]|accessdate=7 July 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=MDGs and the humanitarian-development divide |url=http://www.odi.org.uk/resources/details.asp?id=1937&title=mdgs-humanitarian-development-divide|work=ODI Briefing Paper|publisher=[[Overseas Development Institute]]|accessdate=7 July 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Economic Growth and the MDGs|url=http://www.odi.org.uk/resources/details.asp?id=4892&title=millennium-development-goals-equitable-growth-policy-brief|work=ODI Briefing Paper|publisher=[[Overseas Development Institute]]|accessdate=7 July 2011}}</ref> According to D+C Development and Cooperation magazine, MDG 7 is still far from being reached. Since national governments often cannot provide the necessary infrastructure, civil society in some countries organised and worked on sanitation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dandc.eu/articles/220737/index.en.shtml |title=Yirenya-Tawiah/Tweneboah Lawson: Civil society is paving the way towards better sanitation in Ghana - Development and Cooperation - International Journal |publisher=Dandc.eu |accessdate=2012-10-18}}</ref> For instance, in Ghana an umbrella organisation called CONIWAS (Coalition of NGOs in Water and Sanitation), enlisted more than 70 member organisations to provide access to water and sanitation. The International Health Partnership (IHP+) aimed to accelerate MDG progress by applying international principles for effective aid and development in the health sector. In developing countries, significant funding for health came from external sources requiring governments to coordinate with international development partners. As partner numbers increased variations in funding streams and bureaucratic demands followed. By encouraging support for a single national health strategy, a single monitoring and evaluation framework, and mutual accountability, IHP+ attempted to build confidence between government, civil society, development partners and other health stakeholders.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.internationalhealthpartnership.net/en/ |title=IHP+ The International Health Partnership|publisher=Internationalhealthpartnership.net |accessdate=2012-10-14}}</ref>

    Equity

    Further developments in rethinking strategies and approaches to achieving the MDGs include research by the Overseas Development Institute into the role of equity.<ref name=ODI2>Vandemoortele, Milo (2010) [http://www.odi.org.uk/resources/details.asp?id=4895&title=mdgs-equity "The MDGs and Equity"], Overseas Development Institute.</ref> Researchers at the ODI argued that progress could be accelerated due to recent breakthroughs in the role equity plays in creating a virtuous circle where rising equity ensures the poor participate in their country's development and creates reductions in poverty and financial stability.<ref name=ODI2/> Yet equity should not be understood purely as economic, but also as political. Examples abound, including Brazil's cash transfers, Uganda's eliminations of user fees and the subsequent huge increase in visits from the very poorest or else Mauritius's dual-track approach to liberalization (inclusive growth and inclusive development) aiding it on its road into the World Trade Organization.<ref name=ODI2/> Researchers at the ODI thus propose equity be measured in league tables in order to provide a clearer insight into how MDGs can be achieved more quickly; the ODI is working with partners to put forward league tables at the 2010 MDG review meeting.<ref name=ODI2/> The effects of increasing drug use were noted by the International Journal of Drug Policy as a deterrent to the goal of the MDGs.<ref name=singer>{{cite journal | last1 = Singer | first1 = M | year = 2008 | title = Drugs and Development: The Global Impact of Drug Use and Trafficking on Social and Economic Development | url = | journal = International Journal of Drug Policy | volume = 19 | issue = 6| pages = 467–478 | doi=10.1016/j.drugpo.2006.12.007}}</ref>

    Women's issues

    Increased focus on gender issues could accelerate MDG progress, e.g. empowering women through access to paid work could help reduce child mortality.<ref name="Kabeer, Naila 2003">Kabeer, Naila. 2003. ''Gender Mainstreaming in Poverty Eradication and the Millennium Development Goals: A Handbook for Policy-Makers and Other Stakeholders''. Commonwealth Secretariat.</ref> In South Asian countries babies often suffered from low birth weight and high mortality due to limited access to healthcare and maternal malnutrition. Paid work could increase women's access to health care and better nutrition, reducing child mortality. Increasing female education and workforce participation increased these effects. Improved economic opportunities for women also decreased participation in the sex market, which decreased the spread of AIDS, MDG 6A.<ref name="Kabeer, Naila 2003"/> Although the resources, technology and knowledge exist to decrease poverty through improving gender equality, the political will is often missing.<ref name="Grown, Caren 2005">{{cite journal | last1 = Grown | first1 = Caren | year = 2005 | title = Answering the Skeptics: Achieving Gender Equality and the Millennium Development Goals | url = | journal = Development | volume = 48 | issue = 3| pages = 82–86 | doi=10.1057/palgrave.development.1100170}}</ref> If donor and developing countries focused on seven "priority areas", great progress could be made towards the MDG. These seven priority areas include: increasing girls’ completion of secondary school, guaranteeing sexual and reproductive health rights, improving infrastructure to ease women’s and girl’s time burdens, guaranteeing women’s property rights, reducing gender inequalities in employment, increasing seats held by women in government, and combating violence against women.<ref name="Grown, Caren 2005"/> It is thought that the current MDGs targets do not place enough emphasis on tracking gender inequalities in poverty reduction and employment as there are only gender goals relating to health, education, and political representation.<ref name="Kabeer, Naila 2003"/><ref>Noeleen Heyzer. 2005. "Making the Links: Women's Rights and Empowerment Are Key to Achieving the Millennium Development Goals". ''Gender and Development'', Vol.&nbsp;13, No.&nbsp;1, Millennium Development Goals (March 2005), pp. 9-12</ref> To encourage women’s empowerment and progress towards the MDGs, increased emphasis should be placed on gender mainstreaming development policies and collecting data based on gender.

    Progress

    Graph of global population living on under 1, 1.25 and 2 equivalent of 2005 US dollars a day (red) and as a proportion of world population (blue) from 1981 to 2008 based on data from The World Bank
    Progress towards reaching the goals has been uneven across countries. Brazil achieved many of the goals,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mdgmonitor.org/country_progress.cfm?c=BRA&cd= |title=Brazil: Quick Facts |publisher=MDG Monitor |accessdate=2012-10-14}}</ref> while others, such as Benin, are not on track to realize any.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mdgmonitor.org/country_progress.cfm?c=BEN&cd= |title=Benin: Quick Facts |publisher=MDG Monitor |accessdate=2012-10-14}}</ref> The major successful countries include China (whose poverty population declined from 452 million to 278 million) and India.<ref name="econ.lse.ac.uk">{{cite web|url=http://econ.lse.ac.uk/staff/rburgess/wp/jep11.pdf |title=Halving Global Poverty |format=PDF |accessdate=2012-10-14}}</ref> The World Bank estimated that MDG 1A (halving the proportion of people living on less than $1 a day) was achieved in 2008 mainly due to the results from these two countries and East Asia.<ref>Chen, Shaohua and [[Martin Ravallion]], (29 February 2012) "[http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTPOVCALNET/Resources/Global_Poverty_Update_2012_02-29-12.pdf An Update to the World Bank’s Estimates of Consumption Poverty in the Developing World]" Development Research Group, World Bank, Retrieved 14 August 2012.</ref> In the early 1990s Nepal was one of the world's poorest countries and remains South Asia's poorest country. Doubling health spending and concentrating on its poorest areas halved maternal mortality between 1998 and 2006. Its Multidimensional Poverty Index has seen the largest falls of any tracked country. Bangladesh has made some of the greatest improvements in infant and maternal mortality ever seen, despite modest income growth.<ref name=econ2013>{{cite news|url=http://www.economist.com/news/international/21586601-eradicating-extreme-poverty-no-longer-pipe-dream-first-governments-must-agree |title=Poverty: Growth or safety net? |publisher=The Economist |date=2013-09-21 |accessdate=2013-10-04}}</ref> Between 1990 and 2010 the population living on less than $1.25 a day in developing countries halved to 21%, or 1.2 billion people, achieving MDG1A before the target date, although the biggest decline was in China, which took no notice of the goal. However, the child mortality and maternal mortality are down by less than half. Sanitation and education targets will also be missed.<ref name=econ2013/>

    Multilateral debt reduction

    G‑8 Finance Ministers met in London in June 2005 in preparation for the Gleneagles Summit in July and agreed to provide enough funds to the World Bank, IMF and the African Development Bank (AfDB) to cancel an additional the remaining HIPC multilateral debt ($40 to $55 billion). Recipients would theoretically re-channel debt payments to health and education.<ref name=Carrasco>E.&nbsp;Carrasco, C.&nbsp;McClellan, & J.&nbsp;Ro (2007) [http://www.uiowa.edu/ifdebook/ebook2/contents/part4-I.shtml "Foreign Debt: Forgiveness and Repudiation"] University of Iowa Center for International Finance and Development E-Book {{wayback|url=http://www.uiowa.edu/ifdebook/ebook2/contents/part4-I.shtml |date=20080731123358 |df=y }}</ref> The Gleaneagles plan became the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI). Countries became eligible once their lending agency confirmed that the countries had continued to maintain the reforms they had implemented.<ref name=Carrasco /> While the World Bank and AfDB limited MDRI to countries that complete the HIPC program, the IMF's eligibility criteria were slightly less restrictive so as to comply with the IMF's unique "uniform treatment" requirement. Instead of limiting eligibility to HIPC countries, any country with per capita income of $380 or less qualified for debt cancellation. The IMF adopted the $380 threshold because it closely approximated the HIPC threshold.<ref name=Carrasco />

    Sub-Saharan Africa

    One success was to strengthen rice production. By the mid‑1990s rice imports reached nearly $1 billion annually. Farmers had not found suitable species that produce high yields. New Rice for Africa (NERICA), a high-yielding and well adapted strain was developed and introduced in areas including Congo Brazzaville, Côte d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, Togo and Uganda. Some 18 varieties of the hybrid species became available, enabling farmers to produce enough rice to feed their families and have extra to sell.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mdgmonitor.org/story.cfm?goal=1 |title=Goal :: Tracking the Millennium Development Goals |publisher=Mdg Monitor |date=2007-11-01 |accessdate=2012-10-14}}</ref> The region also showed progress towards MDG 2. School fees that included Parent-Teacher Association and community contributions, textbook fees, compulsory uniforms and other charges took up nearly a quarter of a poor family’s income and led countries including Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Uganda to eliminate such fees, increasing enrollment. For instance, in Ghana, public school enrollment in the most deprived districts soared from 4.2 million to 5.4 million between 2004 and 2005. In Kenya, primary school enrollment added 1.2 million in 2003 and by 2004, the number had climbed to 7.2 million.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mdgmonitor.org/story.cfm?goal=2 |title=Goal: Tracking the Millennium Development Goals|publisher=MDG Monitor |date=1 November 2007|accessdate=2012-10-14}}</ref>
    Graphs from the Millennium Development Goals Report 2010
    Malaria deaths declined by more than one-third, saving millions of lives.<ref name=js>{{cite news|url=http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21586512-guest-article-jeffrey-sachs-director-earth-institute-columbia |title=Free exchange: The next frontier |publisher=The Economist |date=2013-09-21 |accessdate=2013-10-04}}</ref> Although developed countries' financial aid rose during the Millennium Challenge, more than half went towards debt relief. Much of the remainder aid money went towards disaster relief and military aid. According to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (2006), the 50 least developed countries received about one third of all aid that flows from developed countries.<ref name=singer />

    Funding commitment

    Over the past 35 years, UN members have repeatedly "commit[ted] 0.7% of rich-countries' gross national income (GNI) to Official Development Assistance".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unmillenniumproject.org/press/07.htm |title=Press Archive |publisher=UN Millennium Project |accessdate=2012-10-14}}</ref> The commitment was first made in 1970 by the UN General Assembly. The text of the commitment was:
    Each economically advanced country will progressively increase its official development assistance to the developing countries and will exert its best efforts to reach a minimum net amount of 0.7 percent of its gross national product at market prices by the middle of the decade.[4]

    European Union

    In 2005 the European Union reaffirmed its commitment to the 0.7% aid targets, noting that "four out of the five countries, which exceed the UN target for ODA of 0.7%, of GNI are member states of the European Union".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unmillenniumproject.org/documents/EUExternalRelations24May.pdf |title=External Relations Council, Brussels 24 May 2005 |publisher=Unmillenniumproject.org |accessdate=2012-10-18}}</ref> Further, the UN "believe[s] that donors should commit to reaching the long-standing target of 0.7 percent of GNI by 2015".<ref name="unmillenniumproject.org"/>

    United States

    However, the United States as well as other nations disputed the Monterrey Consensus that urged "developed countries that have not done so to make concrete efforts towards the target of 0.7% of gross national product (GNP) as ODA to developing countries".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unmillenniumproject.org/documents/07_aconf198-11.pdf |title=United Nations Report of the International Conference on Financing for Development|format=PDF |accessdate=2012-10-14}}</ref><ref>[http://www.usunnewyork.usmission.gov/fact_sheet/ecosoc_Chapter_4_apr15.pdf ] {{wayback|url=http://www.usunnewyork.usmission.gov/fact_sheet/ecosoc_Chapter_4_apr15.pdf |date=20090508175513 |df=y }}</ref> Attempts to increase U.S. political attention to the Millennium Development Goals include The Borgen Project which worked with then Senator Barack Obama on the Global Poverty Act, a bill requiring the White House to develop a strategy for achieving the goals. The bill did not pass, despite Obama's two terms as US President.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bproject.wordpress.com/2007/06/08/borgen-on-capitol-hill/ |title=Borgen Back from Capitol Hill|publisher=Borgen Project News|date=8 June 2007|accessdate=2012-10-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://bproject.wordpress.com/2006/12/10/borgens-2006-congressional-meetings/ |title=Highlight of Borgen’s 2006 Congressional Meetings|publisher=Borgen Project News |date=10 December 2006|accessdate=2012-10-14}}</ref> The US consistently opposed setting specific foreign-aid targets since the UN General Assembly first endorsed the 0.7% goal in 1970.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/sep2005/nf2005092_5264_db039.htm |title=Bush Balks at Pact to Fight Poverty |date=2 September 2005 |work=BusinessWeek online}}</ref>

    OECD

    Many Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) nations, did not donate 0.7% of their GNI. Some nations' contributions fell far short of 0.7%.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unmillenniumproject.org/documents/endorse_TI_19Jan05.pdf |title=Poverty Can Be Halved If Efforts Are Coupled with Better Governance, says TI |publisher=UN Millennium Project |accessdate=2012-10-18}}</ref> The Australian government committed to providing 0.5% of GNI in International Development Assistance by 2015-2016.<ref>[http://www.ausaid.gov.au/media/release.cfm?BC=Media&ID=5854_3696_6753_7484_7221 ] {{wayback|url=http://www.ausaid.gov.au/media/release.cfm?BC=Media&ID=5854_3696_6753_7484_7221 |date=20120401231906 |df=y }}</ref> A major conference was held at UN headquarters in New York on 20–22 September 2010 to review progress. The conference concluded with the adoption of a global action plan to accelerate progress towards the eight anti-poverty goals. Major new commitments on women's and children's health, poverty, hunger and disease ensued.

    Improvements

    Improving living conditions in developing countries may encourage healthy workers not to move to other places that offer a better lifestyle.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Haines|first=Andy|author2=Andrew Cassels|title=Can the Millennium Development Goals Be Attained?|journal=British Medical Journal|date=August 2004|volume=329 | issue = 7462 }}</ref> Cuba, itself a developing country, played a significant role in providing medical personnel to other developing nations; it has trained more than 14,500 medical students from 30 different countries at its Latin American School of Medicine in Havana since 1999. Moreover, some 36,000 Cuban physicians worked in 72 countries, from Europe to Southeast Asia, including 31 African countries, and 29 countries in the Americas. Countries such as Honduras, Guatemala, and Nicaragua benefit from Cuban assistance.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Huish|first=Robert|title=Canadian Foreign Aid for Global Health: Human Secruity Opportunity Lost|journal=Can Foreign Policy|year=2009|issue=1192-6422|page=60}}</ref>

    Post 2015 development agenda

    Although there has been major advancements and improvements achieving some of the MDGs even before the deadline of 2015, the progress has been uneven between the countries. In 2012 the UN Secretary-General established the "UN System Task Team on the Post-2015 UN Development Agenda", bringing together more than 60 UN agencies and international organizations to focus and work on sustainable development.<ref name="ECOSOC MDGs Post Agenda">{{cite web|title=Millennium Development Goals and post-2015 Development Agenda|url=http://www.un.org/en/ecosoc/about/mdg.shtml|website=The United Nations|accessdate=18 September 2014}}</ref> At the MDG Summit, UN Member States discussed the Post-2015 Development Agenda and initiated a process of consultations. Civil society organizations also engaged in the post-2015 process, along with academia and other research institutions, including think tanks.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/beyond2015.shtml |title=United Nations Millennium Development Goals |publisher=Un.org |accessdate=2012-10-14}}</ref> The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been proposed as targets relating to future international development once they expire at the end of 2015. On 31 July 2012, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed 26 public and private leaders to advise him on the post-MDG agenda.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/Press%20release_post-2015panel.pdf |title=UN Secretary-General Appoints High-Level Panel on Post-2015 Development Agenda |publisher=Un.org |accessdate=2012-10-18}}</ref> In 2014, the UN's Commission on the Status of Women agreed on a document that called for the acceleration of progress towards achieving the millennium development goals, and confirmed the need for a stand-alone goal on gender equality and women's empowerment in post-2015 goals, and for gender equality to underpin all of the post-2015 goals.<ref>http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/mar/23/campaigners-welcome-agreement-un-gender-csw-talks</ref>

    Related activities/organizations

    The United Nations Millennium Campaign is a UNDP campaign to increase support for the Millennium Development Goals. The Millennium Campaign targets intergovernmental, government, civil society organizations and media at global and regional levels. The Millennium Promise Alliance, Inc. (or simply the "Millennium Promise") is a U.S.-based non-profit organization founded in 2005 by Jeffrey Sachs and Ray Chambers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.millenniumpromise.org |title=Overview |publisher=Millennium Promise |accessdate=2012-10-18}}</ref> Millennium Promise coordinates the Millennium Villages Project in partnership with Columbia's Earth Institute and UNDP; it aims to demonstrate MDG feasibility through an integrated, community-led approach. As of 2012 the Millennium Villages Project operated in 14 sites across 10 countries in sub-Saharan Africa.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.millenniumvillages.org |title=Millennium Villages |publisher=Millennium Villages |accessdate=2012-10-18}}</ref> The Global Poverty Project<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.globalpovertyproject.com |title=Welcome &#124; Netherlands |publisher=Global Poverty Project |date=2010-05-17 |accessdate=2012-10-18}}</ref> is an international education and advocacy organisation that encourages MC support in English-speaking countries. The Micah Challenge is an international campaign that encourages Christians to support the Millennium Development Goals. Their aim is to "encourage our leaders to halve global poverty by 2015".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.micahchallenge.org.au/ |title=Home |publisher=Micah Challenge |date=2012-10-09 |accessdate=2012-10-14}}</ref> The Youth in Action EU Programme "Cartoons in Action" project<ref>{{cite web|url=http://socialab.wix.com/cartoons/ |title=Cartoons in action Progetto Gioventù in Azione finanziato dallANG - Agenzia Nazionale per i Giovani Youth in Action EU Programme. Il presente progetto è finanziato con il sostegno della Commissione europea. &#124; Wix.com |publisher=Socialab.wix.com |accessdate=2012-10-14}}</ref> created animated videos about MDGs,<ref name="youtube1">{{cite web|author=R.I.P. giovane e dolce Melissa |url=https://www.youtube.com/user/cartoonsyouth/ |title=Cartoons inAction |publisher=YouTube |accessdate=2012-10-14}}</ref> and videos about MDG targets using Arcade C64 videogames.<ref name="youtube1"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLD29D281132FD8755 |title=MDGs |publisher=YouTube |accessdate=2012-10-14}}</ref> The World We Want 2015 is a platform and joint venture between the United Nations and Civil Society Organizations that supports citizen participation in defining a new global development framework to replace the Millennium Development Goals.

    Education

    Accessing Development Education is a web portal. It provides relevant information about development and global education and helps educators share resources and materials that are most suitable for their work.<ref name=ed>{{cite web|url=http://www.developmenteducation.info |title=Welcome to the Development Education online Depository! |publisher=Developmenteducation.info |accessdate=2012-10-18}}</ref> The Teach MDGs European project aims to increase MDG awareness and public support by engaging teacher training institutes, teachers and pupils in developing local teaching resources that promote the MDGs with a focus on sub-Saharan Africa.<ref name=ed/> Global Education Magazine<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.globaleducationmagazine.com/the-humanist-quantum-interference-towards-the-homo-conscienciatus/ |title=(2012). The Humanist Quantum Interference: Towards the "Homo Conscienciatus". Javier Collado Ruano, October 17th: International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. ISSN 2255-033X |publisher=: |date=2012-10-17 |accessdate=2014-02-06}}</ref> is an initiative launched by the teaching team that formulated the proposal most voted in the group "Sustainable Development for the Eradication of Poverty in Rio+20".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.globaleducationmagazine.com/educarparavivir/?p=514&lang=en |title=NGO Educar para Vivir (2012) |publisher=Globaleducationmagazine.com |date=2012-06-16 |accessdate=2014-02-06}}</ref> It is supported by UNESCO and UNHCR and aims to create a common place to disseminate transcultural, transpolitical, transnational and transhumanist knowledge. UN Goals is a global project dedicated to spreading knowledge of MDG through various internet and offline awareness campaigns. Librarians and others in the information professions are in a unique position to help achieve the Millennium Development Goals. It is often the dissemination of key information, e.g., about health, that changes daily life and can affect an entire community. Millennium Development Goals are not only for the developing world. Maret (2011) specifically addresses how U.S. public libraries can help the United States meet the goals.<ref>Maret, S. (2011). True community: connecting the Millennium Development Goals to public library services in the United States. Information, Society and Justice, 4(2), 29-55.</ref> Albright and Kwooya (2007) report that cultural and financial barriers in Sub-Saharan Africa impede LIS education programs. As a result, MDG goals for poverty, healthcare, and education fall short. High rates of HIV/AIDS, and escalating child and maternal mortality are the direct result of poverty and substandard medical care. Limited instruction in information access and exchange contributes to this ongoing dilemma.<ref>Albright, K., & Kawooya, D. (2007). Libraries in the time of AIDS: African perspectives and recommendations for a revised model of LIS education. International Information And Library Review, 39(Library and Information Science Education in Developing Countries), 109-120.
  4. ↑ "Publications". UN Millennium Project. 2007-01-01. Retrieved 2012-10-14.

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