Question

Write a minimum 500 word essay on "Millenium Development goals"

Answer 1

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were eight international development goals for the year 2015 that had been established following the Millennium Summit of the United Nations in 2000, following the adoption of the United Nations Millennium Declaration. All 191 United Nations member states at that time, and at least 22 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
8. To develop a global partnership for development

Each goal had a target and a set date to achieve them. Various funds were released to heavily poor countries and their previous debts were cancelled to allow them to utilise funds for improvising health and education and eradicating poverty in their countries.

By 2013, progress of the goals was uneven. Some countries had achieved many goals, while others did not. A UN conference in September 2010 reviewed progress to date and adopted 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.

Role of United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in the Millenium Development Goals:

UNDP supports a range of local capacity development initiatives that address implementation challenges. UNDP works directly with more than 15 central ministries and several states, strengthening capacity of elected representatives and government officials at state, district and local levels and strategic government development programmes and schemes which are geared towards achievement of MDG and national development goals. The process of preparation of human development reports has been instrumental in generating awareness on MDGs at the state and district levels and the policy and statistical challenges around attaining MDGs.

Progress of the MDGs:

Progress towards reaching the goals has been uneven across countries. Brazil achieved many of the goals,while others, such as Benin, could not achieve any of the goal.The major successful countries include China (whose poverty population declined from 452 million to 278 million) and India.The World Bank estimated that MDG 1 (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.

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. The Multidimensional Poverty Index has seen the largest decreases of any tracked country. Bangladesh has made some of the greatest improvements in infant and maternal mortality ever seen, despite modest income growth.

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 MDG1 before the target date, although the biggest decline was in China.

Many goals are achieved by many countries but we still need to achieve more to make world a better place to live.