Humanism and Humanitarian Aid through the UN's Millennium Development Goals
As Humanists, we are often quick to point out the need
for humanitarian aid. We should be just
as quick to be knowledgeable about the efforts of humanitarian aid. The United Nation’s Millennium Development
Goals are a set of goals set by the UN in the year 2000 and set to expire next
year, in 2015. The progress towards
these goals has been phenomenal. Few people
realize that extreme poverty was cut in half by the year 2010 – 5 years ahead
of schedule. Few people are aware of the
other goals which have already been reached.
And few people are aware of the goals that are not on track to be met.
This is one of the last “scorecards” of the MDGs as the
MDGs will be phased into the Sustainability Development Goals for the years
2015 and Beyond. It is refreshing to
hear of what has been done rather the constant din and roar of what needs to be
done. This work in the civil sector has
been accomplished through the collaborative efforts of over 25,000 Non
Government Organization (NGOs), some governments, and some organizations in the
business sector.
The bullets below are shown here to give an overview of
the “scorecard” for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). For more detailed information, read the
accompanying paragraphs below. For
charts and data by global sectors for even further details, view the full
report at the following web site:
From the United Nations Millennium Development Goals
Report for 2014
SEVERAL MDG TARGETS HAVE BEEN MET
The world has reduced extreme poverty by half
Efforts in the fight against malaria and tuberculosis have shown
results
Access to an improved drinking water source became a reality for 2.3
Billion people
Disparities in primary school enrolment between boys and girls are
being eliminated in all developing regions.
The political participation of women has continued to increase
Development assistance rebounded, the trading system stayed favorable
for developing countries and their debt burden remained low
SUBSTANTIAL
PROGRESS HAS BEEN MADE IN MOST AREAS, BUT MUCH MORE EFFORT IS NEEDED TO REACH
THE SET TARGETS
Major trends that threaten environmental sustainability continue, but
examples of successful global action exists
Hunger continues to decline, but immediate additional efforts are
needed to reach the MDG target
Chronic undernutrition among young children declined, but one in four
children is still affected
Child mortality has been almost halved, but more progress is needed
Much more needs to be done to reduce maternal mortality
Antiretroviral therapy is saving lives and must be expanded further
Over a quarter of the world’s population has gained access to improved
sanitation since 1990, yet a Billion people still resorted to open defacation
90 per cent of children in developing regions are attending primary
school
SEVERAL MDG TARGETS HAVE BEEN MET
The world has reduced
extreme poverty by half
In 1990 almost half of the
population in developing regions lived on less than $1.25 a day. This rate dropped to 22 per cent by 2010,
reducing the number of people living in extreme poverty by 700 million.
Efforts in the
fight against malaria and tuberculosis have shown results
Between 2000 and 2012, an
estimated 3.3 million deaths from malaria were averted due to the substantial
expansion of malaria interventions.
About 90 per cent of those averted deaths – 3 Million – were children
under the age of five living in sub-Saharan Africa. The intensive efforts to fight tuberculosis
have saved an estimated 22 Million lives worldwide since 1995. If the trends continue, the world will reach
the MDG targets on malaria and tuberculosis.
Access to an
improved drinking water source became a reality for 2.3 Billion people
The target of halving the
proportion of people without access to an improved drinking water source was
achieved in 2010, five years ahead of schedule.
In 2012, 89 per cent of the world’s population had access to an improved
source, up from 76 per cent in 1990.
Over 2.3 Billion people gained access to an improved source of drinking
water between 1990 and 2012.
Disparities in
primary school enrolment between boys and girls are being eliminated in all
developing regions.
Substantial gains have been made
towards reaching gender parity in school enrolment at all levels of education
in all developing regions. [Note: This is “developing regions” and not “Least
Developed Countires”] By 2012, all
developing regions have achieved, or were close to achieving, gender parity in
primary education.
The political
participation of women has continued to increase
In January 2014, 46 countries
boasted having more than 30 per cent female members of parliament in at least
one chamber. More women are now holding
some of the so-called “hard” ministerial portfolios – such as Defense, Foreign
Affairs, and the Environment.
Development
assistance rebounded, the trading system stayed favorable for developing
countries and their debt burden remained low
Official development assistance
stood at $134.8 Billion in 2013, the highest level ever recorded, after two
years of declining volumes. However, aid
is shifting away from the poorest countries.
80 per cent of imports from developing countries entered developed
countries duty-free and tariffs remained at an all-time low. The debt burden of developing countries
remained stable at about 3 per cent of export revenue.
SUBSTANTIAL
PROGRESS HAS BEEN MADE IN MOST AREAS, BUT MUCH MORE EFFORT IS NEEDED TO REACH
THE SET TARGETS
Major trends that
threaten environmental sustainability continue, but examples of successful
global action exists
Global emissions of carbon
dioxide (CO2) continued their upward trend and those in 2011 were almost 50 per
cent above their 1990 level. Millions of
hectares of forest are lost every year, many species are being driven closer to
extinction and renewable water resources are becoming scarcer. At the same time, international action is on
the verge of eliminating ozone-depleting substances and the proportion of
terrestrial and coastal marine areas under protection has been increasing.
Hunger continues
to decline, but immediate additional efforts are needed to reach the MDG target
The proportion of undernourished
people in developing regions has decreased from 24 per cent in 1990 – 1992 to
14 per cent in 2011 – 2013. However,
progress has slowed down in the past decade.
Meeting the target of halving the percentage of people suffering from
hunger by 2015 will require immediate additional effort, especially in
countries which have made little headway.
Chronic
undernutrition among young children declined, but one in four children is still
affected
In 2012, a quarter of all
children under the age of five years were estimated to be stunted – having inadequate
height for their age. This represents a
significant decline since 1990 when 40 per cent of young children were
stunted. However, it is unacceptable
that 162 Million young children are still suffering from chronic
undernutrition.
Child mortality
has been almost halved, but more progress is needed
Worldwide, the mortality rate
for children under age five dropped almost 50 per cent, from 90 deaths per
1,000 live births in 1990 to 48 in 2012.
Preventable diseases are the main causes of under-five deaths and appropriate
actions need to be taken to address them.
Much more needs to
be done to reduce maternal mortality
Globally, the maternal mortality
ratio dropped by 45 per cent between 1990 and 2013, from 380 to 210 deaths per
100,000 live births. Worldwide, almost
300,000 women died in 2013 from causes related to pregnancy and
childbirth. Maternal death is mostly
preventable and much more needs to be done to provide care to pregnant women.
Antiretroviral
therapy is saving lives and must be expanded further
Access to antiretroviral therapy
(ART) for HIV-infected people has been increasing dramatically, with a total of
9.5 Million people in developing regions receiving treatment in 2012. ART has saved 6.6 Million lives since
1995. Expanding its coverage can save
many more. In addition, knowledge about HIV
among youth needs to be improved to stop the spread of the disease.
Over a quarter of
the world’s population has gained access to improved sanitation since 1990, yet
a Billion people still resorted to open defacation
Between 1990 and 2012, almost 2
Billion people gained access to an improved sanitation facility. However, in 2012, 2.5 Billion people did not
use an improved sanitation facility and 1 Billion people still resorted to open
defecation, which poses a huge risk to communities that are often poor and
vulnerable already. Much greater effort
and investment will be needed to redress inadequate sanitation in the coming
years.
90 per cent of
children in developing regions are attending primary school
The school enrolment rate in
primary education in developing regions increased from 83 per cent to 90 per
cent between 2000 and 2012. Most of the
gains were achieved by 2007, after which progress stagnated. In 2012, 58 Million children were out of
school. High dropout rates remain a
major impediment to universal primary education. And estimated 50 per cent of out-of-school
children of primary school age live in conflict-affected areas.
David Kimball
