Achieving the MDGs

The 2011 report on how Guyana fared in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) was recently released, and even though its findings did not come as a surprise, they provide a clearer picture for governments, policy makers and activists to take the kind of action that is necessary to achieve the targets set by world leaders. The aim of the MDGs is to encourage development by improving social and economic conditions in the world’s poorest countries. The goals derived from earlier international development targets, and were officially established following the Millennium Summit in 2000, where all world leaders present adopted the United Nations’ Millennium Declaration.

Hence the MDGs Report is an annual assessment of regional progress towards the goals, and reflects the most comprehensive, up-to-date data compiled by more than 25 UN and other international agencies. The 2011 Report mentions that significant strides towards achieving the MDGs have been made, yet reaching all the goals by the 2015 deadline remains challenging, as there are concerns that some of the world’s poorest are still left behind. For example, the Report states that advances in sanitation often bypass the poor and those living in rural areas, as more than 2.6 billion people still lack access to toilets or other forms of improved sanitation.

In southern Asia, for instance, sanitation coverage for the poorest 40 per cent of households has hardly increased between 1995 and 2008.

However, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says there is reason to celebrate, as major successes have been made since world leaders established the goals to reduce extreme poverty, hunger, illiteracy, and diseases.

One of the MDGs is to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. Whilst this sounds very ambitious and will take concrete economic and social reforms, especially regarding the economies of the developing world, the UN has been very optimistic that the target could be met. The international body has boasted that, already, the MDGs have helped lift millions of people out of poverty, saved countless children’s lives, and ensured that they attend school. Further, according to the UN, the MDGs have helped to reduce maternal deaths, expand opportunities for women, increase access to clean water, and free many people from deadly and debilitating diseases.

At the same time, the UN Report states that “we still have a long way to go in terms of empowering women and girls, promoting sustainable development, and protecting the most vulnerable from the devastating effects of multiple crises – be they conflicts, natural disasters, or volatility in prices for food and energy.” The Report, which highlights development successes, notes increased funding from many sources has expanded key programmes, such as treatment for people living with HIV/AIDS, and explains that, in 2009, some 2.6 million people were newly infected with HIV – a 21 per cent drop since 1997, when new infections peaked. Additionally, the number of people receiving antiretroviral therapy for HIV or AIDS increased 13- fold from 2004 to 2009, thanks to increased funding and expanded programmes.

Also, the Report states that some of the poorest countries have made the greatest strides in education, citing as examples Burundi, Madagascar, Rwanda, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Togo and Tanzania, which have achieved or are nearing the goal of universal primary education.

Progress, however, has been uneven, as large gaps remain between and within countries, and efforts need to be intensified to bridge those gaps. The report also stressed that achieving the MDGs largely depends on ensuring women’s empowerment and equal opportunities for women and men, girls and boys. The Report shows that achieving this goal remains a long way off. For instance, following significant job losses in 2008/ 2009, the growth in employment that occurred during the economic recovery in 2010, especially in the developing world, was lower for women than for men.

While we can reasonably conclude that significant progress has been made with respect to achieving the MDGs, the UN SG was on target by emphasizing that achieving the goals will require equitable and inclusive economic growth — growth that reaches everyone and that will enable all people, especially the poor and marginalised, to benefit from equal economic opportunities.