In the coming few days ,the United Nations General Assembly will discuss important reports, which will be presented by the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, one on the progress in the implementation of the MDGs (Millennium Development Goals) and the second on the Post-2015 Development Agenda. We will start with a review with the MDGs Report.
Ki-moon at the start of the report the UN Secretary General made the following remarks:
The Millennium Development Goals (MDG) the most successful global anti-poverty. Significant and substantial progress has been made in meeting many of the targets—including halving the number of people living in extreme poverty and the proportion of people without sustainable access to improved sources of drinking water.
The proportion of urban slum dwellers declined significantly. Remarkable gains have been made in the fight against malaria and tuberculosis. There have been visible improvements in all health areas as well as primary education.
We are now less than 1,000 days to the 2015 target date for achieving the MDGs. This year’s report looks at the areas where action is needed most. For example, one in eight people worldwide remain hungry. Too many women die in childbirth when we have the means to save them. More than 2.5 billion people lack improved sanitation facilities, 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.
This report also shows that the achievement of the MDGs has been uneven among and within countries. Children from poor and rural households are much more likely to be out of school than their rich and urban counterparts. Wide gaps remain in basic knowledge about HIV and its prevention among young men and women in sub-Saharan Africa, which has been hardest hit by the epidemic.
In more than a decade of experience in working towards the MDGs, we have learned that focused global development efforts can make a difference. Through accelerated action, the world can achieve the MDGs and generate momentum for an ambitious and inspiring post-2015 development framework. Now is the time to step up our efforts to build a more just, secure and sustainable future for all.
Overview
With the deadline for the MDGs on the horizon, progress can be reported in most areas, despite the impact of the global economic and financial crisis. Several important targets have or will be met by 2015, assuming continued commitment by national governments, the international community, civil society and the private sector. That said, progress in many areas is far from sufficient. Redoubled efforts are urgently needed, particularly in regions most behind to jumpstart advancement and achieve maximum gains. The world community should take pride in its accomplishments thus far, while building on existing momentum to reach as many goals as possible by 2015 and to realize gains for all.
MDG targets met
The proportion of people living in extreme poverty has been halved at the global level
The world reached the poverty reduction target five years ahead of schedule. In developing regions, the proportion of people living on less than $1.25 a day fell from 47 per cent in 1990 to 22 per cent in 2010. About 700 million fewer people lived in conditions of extreme poverty in 2010 than in 1990.
Over 2 billion people gained access to improved sources of drinking water. Over the last 21 years, more than 2.1 billion people gained access to improved drinking water sources. The proportion of the global population using such sources reached 89 per cent in 2010, up from 76 per cent in 1990. This means that the MDG drinking water target was met five years ahead of the target date, despite significant population growth.
Remarkable gains have been made in the fight against malaria and tuberculosis. Between 2000 and 2010, mortality rates from malaria fell by more than 25 per cent globally. An estimated 1.1 million deaths from malaria were averted over this period. Death rates from tuberculosis at the global level and in several regions are likely to be halved by 2015, compared to 1990 levels. Between 1995 and 2011, a cumulative total of 51 million tuberculosis patients were successfully treated, saving 20 million lives.
The proportion of slum dwellers in the cities and metropolises of the developing world is declining Between 2000 and 2010, over 200 million slum dwellers benefitted from improved water sources, sanitation facilities, durable housing or sufficient living space, thereby exceeding the 100 million MDG target. Many countries across all regions have shown remarkable progress in reducing the proportion of urban slum dwellers.
A low debt burden and an improved climate for trade are levelling the playing field for developing countries.
The debt service to export revenue ratio of all developing countries stood at 3.1 per cent in 2011, down from nearly 12 per cent in 2000. Their duty-free market access also improved in 2011, reaching 80 percent of their exports. The exports of least developed countries benefitted the most. Average tariffs are also at an all-time low. The hunger reduction target is within reach.
The proportion of undernourished people worldwide decreased from 23.2 per cent in 1990–1992 to 14.9 per cent in 2010–2012. Given reinvigorated efforts, the target of halving the percentage of people suffering from hunger by 2015 appears to be within reach. Still, one in eight people in the world today remain chronically undernourished.
Originally published on Sudan Vision Daily by Alula Berhe Kidani
Financing for Development in Africa 