Global poverty should fall 15 per cent by 2015 – UN report

Global poverty could be reduced by 15 per cent by 2015, the United Nations said in its latest Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) report released on July 7.

The report said significant strides towards achieving the MDGs have been made, yet reaching all the goals by the 2015 deadline remains challenging, because the world’s poorest are being left behind.

The report, launched by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, says there is reason to celebrate, as major successes have been made since world leaders in 2000 established the goals to reduce extreme poverty, hunger, illiteracy and disease.

“Already, the MDGs have helped lift millions of people out of poverty, save countless children’s lives, and ensure that they attend school,” Ban said. “They have reduced maternal deaths, expanded opportunities for women, increased access to clean water, and freed many people from deadly and debilitating diseases. At the same time, the report shows that we still have a long way to go in 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 MDG Report 2011 highlights development successes, and says many are due in part to continued economic growth in some developing countries and targeted efforts in critical MDG areas, such as health. Increased funding from many sources, it says, has expanded key programmes, such as treatment for people living with HIV/AIDS.

Progress

“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 economic opportunities,” the secretary general said. “Between now and 2015, we must make sure that promises made become promises kept. World leaders must show not only that they care, but that they have the courage and conviction to act.”

Moving on to a more sustainable path is essential to achieving the MDGs, Ban said. Ecosystems must be protected to support continued growth and natural environments.

The June 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development, to take place in Rio de Janeiro and often referred to as Rio+ 20, offers a major opportunity for new progress.

Meanwhile, with respect to poverty, the report noted that the world as a whole is still on track to reach the poverty- reduction target; and, by 2015, the global poverty rate should fall below 15 per cent – well under the 23 per cent target – despite setbacks from recent economic, food and energy crises. The report said 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.

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. An estimated 1.1 billion people in urban areas and 723 million people in rural areas gained access to an improved drinking water source over the period 1990-2008.

Progress, however, has been uneven, and there are still too many people being left behind, the report notes. It states that, despite major improvements, large gaps remain between and within countries, and efforts need to be intensified.

The report shows that the poorest children have made the slowest progress in terms of improved nutrition and survival. In 2009, nearly a quarter of the children in the developing world were underweight, with the poorest children most affected. Children from the poorest households in the developing world have more than twice the risk of dying before their fifth birth day as children in the richest households.

Being poor, female, or living in a conflict zone increases the probability that a child will be out of school, the report says. Worldwide, among children of primary school age not enrolled in school, 42 per cent – 28 million – live in poor countries affected by conflict.

While stressing that achieving the MDGs largely depends on ensuring women’s empowerment and equal opportunities for women and men, girls and boys, the report also shows that achieving this goal remains a long way off.

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.

The Millennium Development Goals Report, an annual assessment of regional progress towards the goals, reflects the most comprehensive, up- to-date data compiled by more than 25 UN and international agencies, and is produced by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs.