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The UN’s Millennium Development GoalsAna Moral and Ben Likis

+What are the Millennium Development Goals?

There are eight goals that the 193 member states of the UN have committed to achieving by the year 2015:

+Millennium Development Goals

1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

2. Achieve universal primary education

3. Promote gender equality and empower women

4. Reduce child mortality rates

5. Improve maternal health

6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases

7. Ensure environmental sustainability

8. Develop a global partnership for development

+1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

Halve the proportion of people living in poverty and suffering from hunger

World Bank identified 1.4 billion people living in extreme poverty in 2008, down from 1.8 billion in 1990

The number of individuals living off $1/day in Sub-Saharan Africa increased by 100 million between 1990 and 2005

+2. Achieve universal primary education

Since 2000, many developing countries have enrolled more than 90% of children in primary education

72 million primary school age children around the world – nearly half in Sub-Saharan Africa – remain out of school

+3. Promote gender equality and empower women

Women’s presence in Sub-Saharan governments has doubled from 9% (2000) to 18% (2009)

Only 17% of parliamentary seats in developing countries are held by women

+4. Reduce child mortality

Reduce by 2/3 the under-five mortality rate

Deaths among children under five have been reduced from 12.5 million per year in 1990 to 8.8 million in 2008

Based on current trends, many countries are unlikely to achieve the MDG health targets by 2015

+5. Improve maternal health

Reduce the maternal mortality ratio by ¾, between 1990 and 2015

In 2007, 61% of deliveries were attended by skilled health workers (up from 53% in 1990)

At current rate, the target of 120 or fewer deaths per 100,000 live births cannot be achieved

+6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases

To have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS and the incidence of malaria and other major diseases

Number of new HIV infections decreased 30% between 1996 and 2008, while the number of individuals in low- and middle-income countries receiving HIV antiretroviral treatment has increased by a factor of ten

For every two people who start antiretroviral treatment, there are five people newly infected with HIV

+7. Ensure environmental sustainability

Halve the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation

Current rates suggest the world will meet this target

Rate of CO2 emissions has continued to grow with each generation

+8. Develop a global partnership for development

Global cooperation on aid, trade, debt, access to affordable essential medicines and technologies and addressing the special needs of the least developed, landlocked and small island states

Improved telecommunications and access to information via internet

On average, people in developing countries pay more for the cheapest generic medicines than people in the developed world

+Assignment

If you were able to work toward one of these Millennium Development Goals, which would you choose and why? (One paragraph)

+Works Cited

The Millennium Development Goals: A Snapshot http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/pdf/mdg_snapshot_16m

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