Three important targets on poverty, slums and water have been met three years ahead of 2015, according to this year’s Report on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), launched yesterday by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
However, violence against women continues to undermine efforts to reach all goals, he said, adding that gender inequality persists and women continue to face discrimination in access to education, work and economic assets, and participation in government. Further progress to 2015 and beyond will largely depend on success on these interrelated challenges, the Secretary General said in his foreword to the report.
Further success depends on fulfilling MDG-8 – the global partnership for development, he said. “The current economic crises besetting much of the developed world must not be allowed to decelerate or reverse the progress that has been made. Let us build on the successes we have achieved so far, and let us not relent until all the MDGs have been attained,” said Secretary-General Ban.
He highlighted other successes: halving the proportion of people without access to improved sources of drinking water by 2010; reducing the number of urban residents in developing countries living in slums; parity in primary education and an increase in the number of people in the developing world having access to HIV treatment.
According to the MDG 2012 report, the proportion of people using improved water sources rose from 76 per cent in 1990 to 89 per cent in 2010, translating to more than two billion people currently with access to improved sources such as piped supplies or protected wells.
Urban slum dwellers have declined from 39 per cent in 2000 to 33 per cent in 2012. More than 200 million have gained access to either improved water sources, improved sanitation facilities, or durable or less crowded housing. “This achievement exceeds the target of significantly improving the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers, also ahead of a 2020 deadline,” Ban said.
The MDG Report 2012 also points out that many more of the world’s children are enrolled in school at the primary level, especially since 2000. Girls have benefited the most. There were 97 girls enrolled per 100 boys in 2010—up from 91 girls per 100 boys in 1999.
And at the end of 2010, 6.5 million people in developing regions were receiving antiretroviral therapy for HIV or AIDS, constituting the largest one-year increase ever. Since December 2009, more than 1.4 million people were being treated.
“These results,” Ban said, “represent a tremendous reduction in human suffering and are a clear validation of the approach embodied in the MDGs. But, they are not a reason to relax. Projections indicate that in 2015 more than 600 million people worldwide will still lack access to safe drinking water, almost one billion will be living on an income of less than $1.25 per day, mothers will continue to die needlessly in childbirth, and children will suffer and die from preventable diseases. Hunger remains a global challenge, and ensuring that all children are able to complete primary education remains a fundamental, but unfulfilled, target that has an impact on all the other goals. Lack of safe sanitation is hampering progress in health and nutrition … and greenhouse gas emissions continue to pose a major threat to people and ecosystems”.
He pointed out that persisting inequalities are detracting from these gains and progress has slowed for some MDGs. While there have been improvements in maternal health and reduction in maternal deaths, progress is still slow. Adolescent childbearing and expansion of contraceptive use have continued, but at a slower pace since 2000 as compared to the decade before, he noted.
The MDG Report warns that the 2015 deadline is fast approaching and in order to achieve outstanding goals, governments, the international community, civil society and the private sector need to intensify their contributions.
The report says a new agenda to continue efforts beyond 2015 is taking shape. Meanwhile, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Sha Zukang, noted that there is expectation around the world that the goals can and must be achieved. “Leaders will be held to this high standard. Sectors such as government, business, academia and civil society, often known for working at cross-purposes, are learning how to collaborate on shared aspirations,” he said.
