‘End poverty by 2015′ This is the historic promise 189 world leaders made at the United Nations Millennium Summit in 2000 when they signed onto the Millennium Declaration and agreed to meet the “Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).” The MDGs are an eight-point road map with measurable targets and clear deadlines for improving the lives of the world’s poorest people. World leaders have agreed to achieve the MDGs by 2015.
It’s up to us to make sure leaders follow through on these commitments. The “United Nations Millennium Campaign” supports and inspires people from around the world to take action in support of the Millennium Development Goals. Join the UN Millennium Campaign and be part of the generation that puts an end to poverty.
Why now?
Nearly 1 billion people live on less than $1 per day—yet the world has never been so prosperous.The world has enough money, resources and technology to end poverty forever. 2007, marks the halfway point to achieving the MDGs and this rate many Goals will not be met. It is more urgent than ever that we intensify our efforts to demand that
promises made to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and end poverty are kept.
What’s different?
The Millennium Development Goals are a unique opportunity to finally end poverty. For the first time, commitments have been made at the highest political level to see these Goals achieved and end extreme poverty. The Goals are achievable; they have timelines and deadlines; they are locally defined and measurable. For the first time, there is an agreed global compact in which rich and poor countries recognize that they share the responsibility to end poverty and its root causes. The world has the money, resources and technology to achieve these Goals. But only if governments take urgent and concrete action now.
Why me?
The Goals ill not be achieved unless each of us plays our part to make sure that the promises made are delivered. It is up to us to remind our governments, in both rich and poor countries that we expect them to deliver. No more excuses. Join the growing global movement of people who are demanding that their government honor their commitments to achieve the MDGs by 2015. Rich or poor, young or old, man or woman, your voice counts.
To find out more and join the campaign to end poverty by 2015 click here!
Below are the targets of each goal set out in the Millenium Development Goals, the link under each target takes you to the corresponding page in the United Nations Millenium Development Goals Report 2010. More information can be found on the UN website here (http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals).
GOAL 1:
ERADICATE EXTREME POVERTY & HUNGER
Target 1.A:
Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less than $1 a day
- The global economic crisis has slowed progress, but the world is still on track to meet the poverty reduction target
- Prior to the crisis, the depth of poverty had diminished in almost every region
Target 1.B:
Achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all, including women and young people
- Deterioration of the labour market, triggered by the economic crisis, has resulted in a decline in employment
- As jobs were lost, more workers have been forced into vulnerable employment
- Since the economic crisis, more workers find themselves and their families living
in extreme poverty
Target 1.C:
Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger
- Hunger may have spiked in 2009, one of the many dire consequences of the global
food and financial crises - Progress to end hunger has been stymied in most regions
- Despite some progress, one in four children in the developing world are still underweight
- Children in rural areas are nearly twice as likely to be underweight as those in urban areasn
- In some regions, the prevalence of underweight children is dramatically higher among the poor
- Over 42 million people have been uprooted by conflict or persecution
GOAL 2:
ACHIEVE UNIVERSAL PRIMARY EDUCATION
Target 2.A:
Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling
- Hope dims for universal education by 2015, even as many poor countries make tremendous strides
- Sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia are home to the vast majority of children out of school
- Inequality thwarts progress towards universal education
GOAL 3:
PROMOTE GENDER EQUALITY AND EMPOWER WOMEN
Target 3.A:
Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and in all levels of education no later than 2015
- For girls in some regions, education remains elusive
- Poverty is a major barrier to education, especially among older girls
- In every developing region except the CIS, men outnumber women in paid employment
- Women are largely relegated to more vulnerable forms of employment
- Women are over-represented in informal employment, with its lack of benefits and security
- Top-level jobs still go to men — to an overwhelming degree
- Women are slowly rising to political power, but mainly when boosted by quotas and other special measures
GOAL 4:
REDUCE CHILD MORTALITY
Target 4.A:
Reduce by two thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under-five mortality rate
- Child deaths are falling, but not quickly enough to reach the target
- Revitalizing efforts against pneumonia and diarrhoea, while bolstering nutrition, could save millions of children
- Recent success in controlling measles may be short-lived if funding gaps are not bridged
GOAL 5:
IMPROVE MATERNAL HEALTH
Target 5.A:
Reduce by three quarters the maternal mortality ratio
- Most maternal deaths could be avoided
- Giving birth is especially risky in Southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, where most women deliver without skilled care
- The rural-urban gap in skilled care during childbirth has narrowed
Target 5.B:
Achieve universal access to reproductive health
- More women are receiving antenatal care
- Inequalities in care during pregnancy are striking
- Only one in three rural women in developing regions receive the recommended care during pregnancy
- Progress has stalled in reducing the number of teenage pregnancies, putting more young mothers at risk
- Poverty and lack of education perpetuate high adolescent birth rates
- Progress in expanding the use of contraceptives by women has slowed
- Use of contraception is lowest among the poorest women and those with no education
- Inadequate funding for family planning is a major failure in fulfilling commitments to improving women’s reproductive health
GOAL 6:
COMBAT HIV/AIDS, MALARIA AND OTHER DISEASES
Target 6.A:
Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS
- The spread of HIV appears to have stabilized in most regions, and more people are surviving longer
- Many young people still lack the knowledge to protect themselves against HIV
- Empowering women through AIDS education is indeed possible, as a number of countries have shown
- In sub-Saharan Africa, knowledge of HIV increases with wealth and among those living in urban areas
- Disparities are found in condom use by women and men and among those from the richest and poorest households
- Condom use during high-risk sex is gaining acceptance in some countries and is one facet of effective HIV prevention
- Mounting evidence shows a link between gender-based violence and HIV
- Children orphaned by AIDS suffer more than the loss of parents
Target 6.B:
Achieve, by 2010, universal access to treatment for HIV/AIDS for all those who need it
- The rate of new HIV infections continues to outstrip the expansion of treatment
- Expanded treatment for HIV-positive women also safeguards their newborns
Target 6.C:
Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases
- Production of insecticide-treated mosquito nets soars
- Across Africa, expanded use of insecticide-treated bed nets is protecting communities from malaria
- Poverty continues to limit use of mosquito nets
- Global procurement of more effective antimalarial drugs continues to rise rapidly
- Children from the poorest households are least likely to receive treatment for malaria
- External funding is helping to reduce malaria incidence and deaths, but additional support is needed
- Progress on tuberculosis inches forward
- Tuberculosis prevalence is falling in most regions
- Tuberculosis remains the second leading killer after HIV
GOAL 7:
ENSURE ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
Target 7.A:
Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes and reverse the loss of environmental resources
- The rate of deforestation shows signs of decreasing, but is still alarmingly high
- A decisive response to climate change is urgently needed
- The unparalleled success of the Montreal Protocol shows that action on climate change is within our grasp
Target 7.B:
Reduce biodiversity loss, achieving, by 2010, a significant reduction in the rate of loss
- The world has missed the 2010 target for biodiversity conservation, with potentially grave consequences
- Key habitats for threatened species are not being adequately protected
- The number of species facing extinction is growing by the day, especially in developing countries
- Overexploitation of global fisheries has stabilized, but steep challenges remain to ensure their sustainability
Target 7.C:
Halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation
- The world is on track to meet the drinking water target, though much remains to be done in some regions
- Accelerated and targeted efforts are needed to bring drinking water to all rural households
- Safe water supply remains a challenge in many parts of the world
- With half the population of developing regions without sanitation, the 2015 target appears to be out of reach
- Disparities in urban and rural sanitation coverage remain daunting
- Improvements in sanitation are bypassing the poor
Target 7.D:
By 2020, to have achieved a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers
- Slum improvements, though considerable, are failing to keep pace with the growing ranks of the urban poor
- Slum prevalence remains high in sub-Saharan Africa and increases in countries affected by conflict
GOAL 8:
DEVELOP A GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP FOR DEVELOPMENT
Target 8.A:
Develop further an open, rule-based, predictable, non-discriminatory trading and financial system
- Developing countries gain greater access to the markets of developed countries
- Least developed countries benefit most from tariff reductions, especially on their agricultural products
Target 8.B:
Address the special needs of least developed countries
- Aid continues to rise despite the financial crisis, but Africa is short-changed
- Only five donor countries have reached the UN target for official aid
Target 8.C:
Address the special needs of landlocked developing countries and small island developing States
Target 8.D:
Deal comprehensively with the debt problems of developing countries
- Debt burdens ease for developing countries and remain well below historical levels
Target 8.E:
In cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to affordable essential drugs in developing countries
Target 8.F:
In cooperation with the private sector, make available benefits of new technologies, especially information and communications
- Demand grows for information and communications technology
- Access to the World Wide Web is still closed to the majority of the world’s people
- A large gap separates those with high-speed Internet connections, mostly in developed nations, and dial-up users
SOURCE: http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/ [7/01/11]
