Millennium Developmenta

l GoalsEl Salvador and Swaziland

The 8 Millennium Goals

1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger2. Achieve universal primary education

3. Promote gender equality and empower women4. Reduce child mortality

5. Improve maternal health6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases

7. Ensure environmental sustainability8. Develop a global partnership for development

http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/mdgoverview.html

1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

El Salvador and Poverty

Poverty, which affects mostly the rural sector, has a significant impact on children, especially in terms of access to adequate nutrition, water and sanitation.

On December 1, 2009 over 100 Mayors from all over El Salvador met to discuss the 'Seal of Approval' Programme. This program is to help rid of extreme poverty and Hunger among children.

40% of the population lives in poverty. Half of all Salvadorans living in poverty are children.

In fact, the situation may be even more dire today. In the past year, the global financial downturn has decimated the remittances that are sent home by some 2 million Salvadorans living in the United States.The country has been able to drop the poverty and hunger by 10 percent.

Swaziland and Poverty

Swaziland also struggles with levels of poverty in their country. While Swaziland has over double the prevalence of poverty, they have also decreased the percentage, dropping 6% from 69% to 63%.

Nonetheless, an estimated 30% of people in Swaziland still live in extreme poverty. (Extreme poverty is defined as food poverty where people are unable to meet their daily dietary needs).

Both countries have a high prominence of poverty among their people. El Salvador is closer to meeting the UNDP's goals, but Swaziland still has the potential to meeting this goal -- it would take a lot of work. The country has a strong support towards wanting to achieve this goal though.

El Salvador and Primary Education

Primary school attendance rate in El Salvador is 93% males/95% females (% nets of primary-school aged children). Children constitute 22% of El Salvador's total population.

In 2009 a program was called Full-time School program. This program has increased the quality of education and allowed children to stay at school all day (from 7 in the morning till 6 at night), helping the children keep out of gangs and stay out of trouble.

An estimated 173,000 children aged 5-14 have never attended school. In addition, about 19,700 secondary school students drop out annually (2005-2008).

According to a 2009 UNICEF study, the main causes for dropping out are poverty, violence, migration and the little significance that school has for adolescents, in particular because of the low quality of the education and its lack of relevance for employment.

Despite increases in spending for public education, spending levels remain insufficient to meet the goal of universal public education.

Swaziland and Primary Education

Swaziland has also taken great strides in improving access to primary school education.

In 2010 the government began rolling out a free education program beginning at the first three primary school grades.

The Net Enrolment Rate of primary education increased from 77.5% in 2000 to 81.9% in 2005, but there are still about 18% of school-age children excluded from the system. Like El Salvador, many children in the system dropout (averaging 6.2% in 2003) or repeat grades (averaging 16%).

Challenges Swaziland has faced with achieving this goal include a severe 60% cut in their country's total budget in 2010 (from $5.1 billions to $1.9 billion). However, this did not dent the country’s objective of making primary education accessible to all pupils and empowering the Swazi Nation through literacy, irrespective of their socio-economic status. The country is currently trying to overcome these problems (and others of accessibility and the quality of education) through implementation of the Free Primary Education programme and the Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) initiative.

Like El Salvador, if the quality of education can be addressed and if commitment towards greater accessibility can be continued, achieving this MDG is a distinct possibility for Swaziland.

3. Promote gender equality and empower women

El Salvador and Gender Equality

El Salvador has the second highest amount of women employed in non-agricultural jobs in Latin America. They also earn the second highest amount in wages.

Girls have equal educational opportunities as boys.

The gender gap in El Salvador is pretty even; women and girls are considered equal to men and boys.

Women with power in government rose over 50% in an 8 year time period.

El Salvador is doing very well with this millennial developmental goal and will most likely achieve it.

Swaziland and Gender Equality

The Kingdom approved and adopted a National Gender Policy in 2010 significantly strengthening the environment for attaining MDG Goal 3. The policy lays out a roadmap for addressing impediments for women’s advance in society.

While gender equality is developing in El Salvador as more women are starting to hold high positions and have an opportunity to work Swaziland is still struggling because they still view women as inferior to men. The 2010 MDG report shows that this target is one of the five in which the country has the greatest potential for meeting, but it would still take work.

In Swaziland women are still subject to various inequalities through discriminatory civil laws and cultural practices. Women are regarded as “minors” and are unable to take independent actions and decisions over various aspects of their lives. This gender gap often widens later in life, limiting women’s opportunities for meaningful work, fair pay and accumulation of assets. The subjugation of women disempowers them, thus reducing the welfare of their households and that of their communities.

4. Reduce child mortality

El Salvador and Child Mortality

UNICEF has a goal to reduce child mortality by two-thirds, from 93 children of every thousand dying before age five in 1990 to 31 of every thousand in 2015.

El Salvador currently has a child death rate of 16 per 1000 and an infant death rate of 20 per 1000.

Yes the country struggles financially, but the reductions of childhood mortality are meeting (even beating) UNICEF's goal.This is a great achievement for such a poor country.

Swaziland & Child Mortality

The immunization programme has a high utilization rate of over 80%.

Despite the stable picture of infant mortality, a further reduction of infant mortality will be met through significant gains in the national HIV/AIDS response, food security and improvement of access to safe water and sanitation.

Swaziland’s main causes of child mortality are HIV and AIDS, poverty, lack of education and poor health care services.In addition to these, inadequate newborn health practices and care seeking, insufficient access to nutritious food and essential micronutrients also undermine the health

of Swaziland's children. With the current food security crisis, children under 5 years old are very vulnerable; thus, mortality is likely to increase.

While El Salvador has achieved its goal, Swaziland is still struggling. With it's high rates of HIV/AIDs, their rates of child mortality are impacted devastatingly. Thankfully their advancements in vaccinations have lowered the transfer of HIV/AIDs, improving the outlook of the lives of their children.

5. Improve maternal health

El Salvador and Maternal Health

El Salvador ranks sixth in UNICEF standards with neonatal deaths.

In 1990, El Salvador had a MMR (maternal mortality rate) of 135.3 per 100,000. The country has done a lot to improve this and to help mothers; in 2008, the rate had become 37.1 per 100,000.

This rate is still present from the bad living conditions mothers dwell in and also a variety of factors from HIV/AIDS

These numbers underscore El Salvador's improved regarding this concern and have reached their goal.

Swaziland and Maternal Health

Maternal health continues to be a major problem and concern in Swaziland.

In 1995 (according to 2003 HDR), Swaziland's maternal mortality rate was estimated at 370 per 100, 000 live births. Instead of the rate decreasing like it did in El Salvador's, the ratio rose to 589 deaths per 100, 000 live births in 2007 (2007 DHS).

The leading causes of maternal mortality in Swaziland are puerperal sepsis, hemorrhage, abortions eclampsia and AIDS/TB/Malaria related conditions.

The HIV/AIDS epidemic has worsened the maternal health condition of women by increasing complications during childbearing because of the low immune system of HIV infected pregnant women that makes them susceptible to opportunistic infections.

El Salvador has taken great strides towards achieving this goal, but until Swaziland improves its rate of HIV/AIDS they don't have much hope in achieving this goal.

6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases

El Salvador and Disease

El Salvador has a high risk of disease in the country. Some of these major diseases in El Salvador come from food or the water, including bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever .

Ranking 34th of over 180 countries on the UNICEF country list, El Salvador has a low

prevalence of HIV/AIDS.

El Salvador is doing pretty good when it comes to reaching this goal. Even the diseases they are primarily dealing with are not HIV or AIDs, the diseases are still deadly and are a place where they can improve.

Swaziland and Disease

There has been a significant reduction in the incidence of clinical malaria from 4.1 per 1000 people in 2000 to 2.2 per 1 000 people in 2004. With the exception of Malaria though, the country has not made significant progress towards achieving this MDG Goal.

The number of TB cases notified in Swaziland over the last 15 years has increased six-fold.

Even though Swaziland doesn't struggle to the same length with sanitation like El Salvador does, only about 36% of households in 2006 had access to an improved source of water and 47% of households still lacked access to improved sanitation.

There has also been a significant increase in the incidence of diarrhoeal diseases, rising from 177 cases per 1, 000 people in 2001 to 279 cases per 1, 000 in 2006.

An estimated 26% of the adult population is infected with HIV. However the country has rolled out a significant treatment programme which currently covers over 80% of eligible patients for Anti Retroviral Treatment (ART) and almost 100% of women needing Prevention of Mother To Child Transmission (PMCTC) of HIV. It's not feasible for Swaziland to eliminate their high prevalence of HIV in less than 3 years, they can still strive to prevent further cases and take care of the population with it right now. Nevertheless, a lot can happen by 2015.

7. Ensure environmental sustainability

El Salvador & Environmental Sustainability

Central American and Latin American countries share a range of challenges for sustainable development. According to Todaro and Smith (2006) such problems include poverty, population growth, rural-urban migration, and current economic policies. These authors emphasize the importance of links between environmental issues and economic development programs.

Landless people may move into ecologically sensitive areas, farming steep slopes, for example, which leads to increased soil degradation and soil erosion in times of heavy rains, leading to mudslides and so on.Population 6.7 million (2005). 36per cent are under age 15. GDP per capita $5,100 (2005).

Main exports: maquila products and coffee. Main agricultural products: coffee, sugar, corn, rice, beans, oilseed, cotton, sorghum, shrimp, beef and dairy products. Main industries: food processing, beverages, petroleum, chemicals, fertilizer, textiles, furniture, light metals.

Swaziland & Environmental Sustainability

The number of people without clean drinking water is urban areas has decreased from 37% in 2000 to 21% in 2005, and the slum upgrading beneficiaries have increased from 21,000 in 2005 to 41,000 in 2007. Achievements include the finalisation of the National Forestry Programme and Forestry Legislation, and the drafting of the Action Plan for implementing the Stockholm Convention Persistent Organic Pollutants. Waste disposal and management remain key challenge though.

Unanticipated consequences of events such as the global

financial and economic crisis contributed to the closure of the country’s biggest forestry company SAPPI and the devastating forest fires that occurred in the country in 2008. In addition, the increase in the importation of second-hand cars into the country contributes to high gases emissions.

In both countries (El Salvador and Swaziland) , the environment has been affected from the results of poverty. Their developments so far highlight the need for each country to give an even greater emphasis to the efforts to achieve the MDG target of integrating the principle of sustainable development into the country policies and programmes and reverse the loss of environmental resources to be able to achieve the goal by 2015.

8. Develop a global partnership for development

El Salvador & GlobalPartnership

UNICEF In 2011, net aid disbursements amounted to $133.5 billion, representing 0.31 per cent of developed countries’ combined national income. While constituting an increase in absolute dollars, this was a 2.7 per cent drop in real terms over 2010. If debt relief and humanitarian aid are excluded, bilateral aid for development programmes and projects fell by 4.5 per cent in real terms.

EL Salvador has been big into trading with other countrie. GDP per capita $5,100 (2005). Main exports: maquila products and coffee. Main agricultural products: coffee, sugar, corn, rice, beans, oilseed, cotton, sorghum, shrimp, beef and dairy products. Main industries: food

processing, beverages, petroleum, chemicals, fertilizer, textiles, furniture, light metals. (Most likely making El Salvador between a 1.0 and 2.0 Flat World Country.)

El Salvador is doing a good job trying to make their country a global player -- they are taking the first vital steps towards greater interaction, but they'll have to do more to reach the UNDP's goal.

Swaziland and Global Partnership

Swaziland’s trade and financial system has been faced with serious challenges in attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) due to the competition for the FDI with economically superior neighbours.

Swaziland’s membership to big trading organisations have paid dividends in the past but with the changing trading regimes, challenges of penetrating those markets and maintaining a secured share has posed serious challenges. Economic growth in Swaziland has lagged behind that of its neighbors. Real GDP growth

since 2001 has averaged 2.8 percent, nearly 2 percentage points lower than growth in other Southern African Customs Union (SACU) member countries. Low agricultural productivity in the SNLs, repeated droughts, the devastating effect of HIV/AIDS and an overly large and inefficient government sector are likely contributing factors.

The Swazi economy is very closely linked to the economy of South Africa, from which it receives over 90% of its imports and to which it sends about 70% of its exports. (Most likely making Swaziland a 1.0 Flat World country.) Swaziland’s other key trading partners are the US and the EU, from whom the country has received trade preferences for apparel exports and for sugar.

Overall

The El Salvadoran government hopes that their country will reach a little more than half of their goals. El Salvador has greatly improved the health of their people and the education for primary age kids but struggle with secondary education due to the drug and gang influence in the country. In addition, they have made great improvement to empower women and help them have equal opportunities as men.

The Swaziland government believes it has provided a strong supportive environment for all 8 goals and created the potential to meet 5 of those goals, consisting of Goals 2 - 6 inclusively. Though stubbornly high HIV infection rates will continue to retard progress in this goal (and affects the outcomes of other), substantial progress has been made in providing HIV treatment and in eradicating other issues in the country.

From their endeavors towards achieving these goals, we believe that El Salvador and Swaziland are supportive of the 8 Millennium Developmental Goals set by the UNDP.