Miles to go before we sleep

 Since the world leaders in the year 2000 established the goals to reduce extreme poverty, hunger, illiteracy and disease, governments across the world has been working hard to achieve these targets. It’s nice to note that we are in the correct grove with respect to some of the objectives. But at the same time its heart-breaking to see that there are a good number yet to cross the line.

Here, let me give you a bird’s eye view of THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOAL REPORT 2011   published by WHO.

Global

Achievements:

• As per the current trend, by 2015 the poverty in the world will fall below 15% when the target is 23%
• Excellent progress made by some of the poorest countries in basic education.
• Decline in under-five deaths and Malaria deaths
• Decline in new HIV infections and the rise in the number HIV infected on anti retroviral treatment.
• Improved access to an improved drinking water source.

Challenges

• The word is yet to move forward together. When some countries make considerable progress, some fail to even touch the base line.
• Within  a country, there exists a big disparity between the urban and rural development.
• In poorer part of the county/world, being a female still could be a reason for not getting the basic education.
• Though statistically we are improving, it is still evident that the poorer the income of the family, the  higher the chance for a child to die before the age of 5, under-nutrition being the major cause.

What seems impossible as of today?

• Ensuring women’s empowerment and equal opportunities for women in the developing world.

What got neglected in the long run?

• Improving Sanitation and toilet facilities to the poor. In Southern Asia, there seem to be no improvement in this from 1995 to 2008.

South East Asia Region

(comprsing Bangladesh , Bhutan, DPR, Korea, India, Indonesia,  Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Timor-Leste.)
Targets  already met or expected to meet by 2015

1. Reduce extreme poverty by half
2. Reduce extreme hunger by half
3. Equal girls’ enrolment in primary school
4. Halt and reverse spread of tuberculosis
5. Halve proportion of population without improved drinking water
6. Halve proportion of population without sanitation
7. Improve the lives of slum-dwellers

Progress insufficient to reach the target if prevailing trends persist.

1. Productive and decent employment
2. Universal primary schooling
3. Women’s share of paid employment
4. Women’s equal representation in national parliaments
5. Reduce mortality of under-five-year-olds by two thirds
6. Reduce maternal mortality by three quarters
7. Access to reproductive health
8. Halt and begin to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS
9. Internet usage

No Progress/Deterioration

1. Reverse loss of forests

With just 4 years left and the target seeming to recede, it is high time we look at these data with eyes wide open and get working. But it seems near to impossible as of today with a good number of people on the chair not knowing what Millennium Development Goal is all about.


The report is published with the following statement by the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the outer back cover which warns us on how devastating the consequences are.

“Between now and 2015, we must make sure
that promises made become promises kept.
The consequences of doing otherwise are
profound: death, illness and despair, needless
suffering, lost opportunities for millions upon
millions of people.”