Millennium Development Goals
Established by the international Millenium Declaration of 2000, General Assembly Resolution 55/2, [1] the Millenium Development Goals are a set of development areas and metrics for the elimination of poverty and the existence of self-reliant communities.[2] They are intended to provide specific measurable results by the year 2015, and are used by the United Nations, under whose auspices they were created, and national and nongovernmental assistance agencies.
The areas' often appear in brief form, which can be misleading:
- End poverty and hunger
- Maternal health
- Universal education
- HIV/AIDS
- Gender equality
- Environment
- Child health
- Global Partnership
The short terms are not always given consistently. Another way they can be misleading as "HIV/AIDS", for example, actually covers malaria, tuberculosis and other major diseases.
Poverty and hunger
There are three targets.
Increasing income
Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less than $1 a day. This protects against higher food prices that may push 100 million people deeper into poverty. Conflict leaves many displaced and impoverished, so conflict reduction is part of the target.
These are both recognized as ideals, with much development and change needed to realize them. The econd target starts to address the income problem.
Employment
To achieve target 1, it is practically necessary to achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all, including women and young people
- Full employment remains a distant possibility
- Low-paying jobs leave one in five developing country workers mired in poverty
- Half the world’s workforce toil in unstable, insecure jobs
Reduced hunger
Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger. Rising food prices threaten limited gains in alleviating child malnutrition, but the problem is more than prices, more than income. It includes physical distribution and honest markets.
Maternal health & mortality
Universal education
Major disease reduction
Areas identified include HIV, malaria and tuberculosis.
Gender equality
Environment
Infant & child mortality
Global partnership
References
- ↑ United Nations Millennium Declaration, United Nations General Assembly, Resolution adopted by the General Assembly [without reference to a Main Committee (A/55/L.2)] 55/2
- ↑ Millenium Development Goals: Background, United Nations