“MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS (MDGS)”:Excerpt

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Lesson 25

"MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS (MDGS)"

Text of handout for students

Note: In this Lecture, the attention of students has been focused on the identification of 8 Millennium

Development Goals and 18 corresponding targets that have been set in order to achieve the 8 Goals.

Coming after a series of summit conferences of Heads of State and Government held during the 1990s, the

Millennium summit at the UN in September 2000 became the first time in history that a very large majority of

leaders of countries represented in the UN agreed upon 8 specific goals for the tangible, measurable

improvement of disadvantaged people.

The Human Development Report of 2003 published each year since 1990 by the United Nations

Development Programme devoted its entire contents to the subject: "Millennium Development Goad: A

compact among nations to end human poverty".

Student may refer to the website: http://hdr.undp.org for further details about the contents of this report,

and of previous, and of later reports.

This handout is the first part of the first section of the HDR 2003 Report. It provides a relevant contextual

background to the priorities and issues that are pertinent to any consideration of this subject.

Excerpt:

The new century opened with an unprecedented declaration of solidarity and determination to rid the world

of poverty. In 2000 the UN Millennium Declaration, adopted at the largest-ever gathering of heads of state,

committed countries -- rich and poor -- to doing all they can to eradicate poverty, promote human dignity

and equality and achieve peace, democracy and environmental sustainability. World leaders promised to work

together to meet concrete targets for advancing development and reducing poverty by 2015, or earlier.

Emanating from the Millennium Declaration, the Millennium Development Goals bind countries to do more

in the attack on inadequate incomes, widespread hunger, gender inequality, environmental deterioration and

lack of education, health care and clean water. They also include actions to reduce debt and increase aid,

trade and technology transfer to poor countries. The March 2002 Monterrey Consensus -- reaffirmed in the

September 2002 Johannesburg Declaration on Sustainable Development and the Johannesburg Plan of

Implementation -- provides a framework for this partnership between rich and poor countries.

It is hard to think of a more propitious time to mobilize support for such a global partnership. In 2003 the

world has seen even more violent conflict, accompanied by heightened international tension and fear of

terrorism. Some might argue that the war on poverty must take a backseat until the war on terrorism has

been won. But they would be wrong. The need to eradicate poverty does not compete with the need to make

the world more secure. On the contrary, eradicating poverty should contribute to a safer world -- the vision

of the Millennium Declaration.

Addressing poverty requires understanding its causes. The Human Development Report 2003 adds to that

understanding by analyzing the root causes of failed development. During the 1990s debates about

development focused on three sets of issues. The first was the need for economic reforms to establish

macroeconomic stability. The second was the need for strong institutions and governance -- to enforce the

rule of law and control corruption. The third was the need for social justice and involving people in decisions

that affect them and their communities and countries -- an issue that this Report continues to champion.

These issues are all crucial for sustainable human development, and they continue to deserve priority

attention in policy-making. But they overlook a fourth factor, explored here: the structural constraints that

impede economic growth and human development. The Millennium Development Compact presented in this

Report proposes a policy approach to achieving the Millennium Development Goals that starts by addressing

these constraints.

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The Goals will succeed only if they mean something to the billions of individuals for whom they are intended.

The Goals must become a national reality, embraced by their main stakeholders -- people and governments.

They are a set of benchmarks for assessing progress -- and for enabling poor people to hold political leaders

accountable. They help people fight for the kinds of policies and actions that will create decent jobs, improve

access to schools and root out corruption. They are also commitments by national leaders, who must be held

accountable for their fulfillment by their electorates.

When adopted by communities, the Goals can spur democratic debates about government performance,

especially when impartial data are made available -- posted on the door of every village hall. They can also

become campaign platforms for politicians, as with Brazilian President Luis Inacio "Lula" da Silva's Fome

Zero (Zero Hunger) campaign to eliminate hunger, part of the manifesto for his (successful) presidential bid.

Civil society groups -- from community organizations to professional associations to women's groups to

networks of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) -- have an important role in helping to implement and

monitor progress towards the Goals. But the Goals also require capable, effective states able to deliver on

their development commitments. And they require popular mobilization to sustain the political will for

achieving them. This popular mobilization requires open, participatory political cultures.

Political reforms, such as decentralizing budgets and responsibilities for the delivery of basic services, put

decision-making closer to the people and reinforce popular pressure for implementing the Goals. Where

decentralization has worked -- as in parts of Brazil, Jordan, Mozambique and the Indian states of Kerala,

Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal -- it has brought significant improvements. It can lead to government

services that respond faster to people's needs, expose corruption and reduce absenteeism.

But decentralization is difficult. To succeed, it requires a capable central authority, committed and financially

empowered local authorities and engaged citizens in a well-organized civil society. In Mozambique,

committed local authorities with financing authority increased vaccination coverage and prenatal consultation

by 80%, overcoming capacity constraints by contracting NGOs and private providers at the municipal level.

Recent experiences have also shown how social movements can lead to more participatory decision-making,

as in the public monitoring of local budgets. In Porto Alegre, Brazil, public monitoring of local budgets has

brought huge improvements in services. In 1989 just under half of city residents had access to safe water.

Seven years later, nearly all did. Primary school enrolments also double during that time, and public

transportation expanded to outlying areas.

Such collective action improves basic services and helps spur and sustain political will. Ordinary citizens have

pressured their leaders to deliver on their political commitments. And the Goals provide citizens with a tool

to hold their governments accountable.

The past 30 years saw dramatic improvements in the developing world. Life expectancy increased by eight

years. Illiteracy was cut nearly in half, to 25%. And in East Asia the number of people surviving on less than

$1 a day was almost halved just in the 1990s.

Still, human development is proceeding too slowly. For many countries the 1990s were a decade of despair.

Some 54 countries are poorer now than in 1990. In 21 a larger proportion of people is going hungry. In 14,

more children are dying before age five. In 12, primary school enrolments are shrinking. In 34, life expectancy

has fallen. Such reversals in survival were previously rare.

A further sign of development crises is the decline in 21 countries in the human development index (HDI, a

summary measure of three dimensions of human development -- living a long and health life, being educated

and having a decent standard of living). This too was rare until the late 1980s, because the capabilities

captured by the HDI are not easily lost.

If global progress continues at the same pace as in the 1990s, only the Millennium Development Goals of

halving income poverty and halving the proportion of people without access to safe water stand a realistic

chance of being met, thanks mainly to China and India. Regionally, at the current pace, Sub-Saharan Africa

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would not reach the Goals for poverty until 2147 and for child mortality, until 2165. And for HIV/AIDS and

hunger, trends in the region are heading up -- not down.

That so many countries around the world will fall far short of the Millennium Development Goals in the 12

years to 2015 points to an urgent need to change course. But past development successes show what is

possible even in very poor countries. Sri Lanka managed to increase life expectancy by 12 years between 1945

and 1953. Botswana provides another inspiring example: gross enrolments in primary school jumped from

40% in 1960 to almost 91% in 1980.

Today's world has greater resources and know-how than ever before to tackle the challenges of infectious

disease, low productivity, lack of basic services such as clean water, sanitation, schools and health care. The

issue is how best to apply these resources and know-how to benefit the poorest people.

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