WHAT IS MDG?

MDG stands for Millennium Development Goals. The Millennium

Development Goals (MDGs) are eight international development goals
that were officially established following the Millennium Summit of the
United Nations in 2000, following the adoption of the United Nations
Millennium Declaration. All 193 United Nations member states and at
least 23 international organizations have agreed to achieve these goals by
the year 2015. The goals are:

1. Eradicating extreme poverty and hunger

2. Achieving universal primary education
3. Promoting gender equality and empowering women
4. Reducing child mortality rates
5. Improving maternal health
6. Combating HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases
7. Ensuring environmental sustainability
8. Developing a global partnership for development

The aim of the MDGs is to encourage development by improving

social and economic conditions in the world's poorest countries. Each
of the goals has specific stated targets and dates for achieving those targets.
To accelerate progress, the G8 Finance Ministers agreed in June 2005 to
provide enough funds to the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund
(IMF), and the African Development Bank (AfDB) to cancel an additional $40
to $55 billion in debt owed by members of the Heavily Indebted Poor
Countries (HIPC) to allow impoverished countries to re-channel the resources
saved from the forgiven debt to social programs for improving health and
education and for alleviating poverty.

The MDGs are inter-dependent; all the MDG influence health, and
health influences all the MDGs. For example, better health enables
children to learn and adults to earn. Gender equality is essential to the
achievement of better health. Reducing poverty, hunger and environmental
degradation positively influences, but also depends on, better health.
UNITED NATIONS PARTNERS ON
MDGS
UNDP :United Nations Development Programme

UNDESA :UN Department of Economic & Social Affairs

World Bank

UNICEF: UN Children's Fund

UNEP: UN Environment Programme

UNFPA: UN Population Fund

WHO: World Health Organization

IMF: International Monetary Fund

UN-HABITAT: UN Human Settlements Programme

FAO: Food & Agriculture Organization

IFAD: International Fund for Agricultural Development

ILO: International Labour Organization

ITU: International Telecommunications Union

UNAIDS: Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS

UNCTAD: UN Conference on Trade and Development

UNDG: UN Development Group

UNESCO: UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

UNHCR: UN Refugee Agency

UNIDO: UN Industrial Development Organization

UN Women: UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women

OHCHR: Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

UNRWA: UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East

WFP: World Food Programme

WMO: World Meteorological Organization

WTO: World Trade Organization

UNWTO: World Tourism Organization

UNOSDP: UN Office on Sport for Development and Peace

MDG 1: ERADICATE EXTREME POVERTY

AND HUNGER

Target 1.A: Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people
whose income is less than $1 a

day

The global economic crisis has slowed progress, but the world is still on track to
meet the poverty reduction target. Prior to the crisis, the depth of poverty had
diminished in almost every region.

Target 1.B: Achieve full and productive employment and decent work for
all, including women and

young people

Deterioration of the labour market, triggered by the economic crisis, has resulted in
a decline in employment. As jobs were lost, more workers have been forced into
vulnerable employment .Since the economic crisis, more workers find themselves
and their families living in extreme poverty.

Target 1.C: Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who
suffer from hunger

Hunger may have spiked in 2009, one of the many dire consequences of the global
food and financial crises .Progress to end hunger has been stymied in most regions
of the world. Despite some progress, one in four children in the developing world
are still underweight. Children in rural areas are nearly twice as likely to be
underweight as those in urban areas. In some regions, the prevalence of
underweight children is dramatically higher among the poor.

WHO is working with countries:

1. To build capacity in using standard growth assessment tools.

2. To assist in planning and conducting nutritional surveys.
3. To support the analysis and interpretation of nutritional survey results.
4. To support the development of nutritional surveillance systems.
5. To ensure that nutrition is an integral part of care and support for people with
HIV and TB.
6. To develop national nutrition plans and policies.
 7. To strengthen the delivery of essential nutrition actions.

MDG 2: to achieve universal primary

education

Target 2.A: Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls
alike, will be able to complete a

full course of primary schooling

Hope dims for universal education by 2015, even as many poor countries
make tremendous strides. Sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia are home to the
vast majority of children out of school. Inequality thwarts progress towards universal
education. . To achieve the goal by the target date, all children at official
entry age for primary schooling would have had to be attending classes by
2009. Instead, in half of the sub-Saharan African countries with available data, at
least one in four children of enrolment age was not attending school in 2008. About
69 million school-age children were not going to school in 2008, down from 106
million children in 1999. Almost three-quarters of children out of school are in
subSaharan Africa (31 million) or Southern Asia (18 million).

Drop-out rates in sub-Saharan Africa remain high. Achieving universal

primary education requires more than full enrolment. It also means ensuring that
children continue to attend classes. In sub-Saharan Africa, more than 30 per cent of
primary school students drop out before reaching a final grade. Moreover,
providing enough teachers and classrooms is vital in order to meet
demand, most notably in sub-Saharan Africa. It is estimated that double the current
number of teachers would be needed in sub-Saharan Africa in order to meet the
primary education target by 2015.
 MDG 3: PROMOTE GENDER EQUALITY
AND EMPOWER WOMEN

The MDG 3 indicators track key elements of women's social, economic and political
participation and guide the building of gender-equitable societies.

Target 3.A: Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary

education, preferably by 2005, and in

all levels of education no later than 2015

For girls in some regions, education remains elusive. Poverty is a major

barrier to education, especially among older girls. Girls' education is critically linked
to self-determination, improved health, social and economic status as well as
positive health outcomes for the mother and the child. Yet, girls still account for
55% of the out-of-school population.

Maternal deaths and pregnancy-related conditions cannot be eliminated

without the empowerment of women. Maternal mortality is the number one cause of
death for adolescents 1519 years old and in many countries, sexual and
reproductive health services tend to focus exclusively on married women and ignore
the needs of adolescents and unmarried women.

In every developing region except the CIS, men outnumber women in paid
employment. Women are largely relegated to more vulnerable forms of
employment. Women are over-represented in informal employment, with its lack of
benefits and security. Top-level jobs still go to men, to an overwhelming degree.
Women are slowly rising to political power, but mainly when boosted by quotas and
other special measures.
In partnership with Member States and others, WHO:

1. Furthers the empowerment of women, especially as it contributes to health

2. Supports the prevention of and response to gender-based violence
3. Promotes women's participation and leadership, especially in the health
sector
4. Defines ways in which men can be engaged to promote gender equality and
to contribute more to their own health and that of their families and
communities
5. Builds the capacity of who and its member states to identify gender equality-
related gaps
6. Provides support for gender-responsive policies and programmes.

MDG 4: REDUCE CHILD MORTALITY

Target 4.A: Reduce by two-thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under-five
mortality rate

6.9 million children under five died in 2011. Almost 75% of all child deaths
are attributable to just six conditions: neonatal causes, pneumonia, diarrhoea,
malaria, measles, and HIV/AIDS. The aim is to further cut child mortality by two
thirds by 2015 from the 1990 level.

Reaching the MDG on reducing child mortality will require universal coverage
with key effective, affordable interventions: care for newborns and their mothers;
infant and young child feeding; vaccines; prevention and case management of
pneumonia, diarrhoea and sepsis; malaria control; and prevention and care of
HIV/AIDS. In countries with high mortality, these interventions could reduce the
number of deaths by more than half.

WHO strategies

To deliver these interventions, WHO promotes four main strategies:

1. appropriate home care and timely treatment of complications for newborns.

2. integrated management of childhood illness for all children under five years
old.
3. expanded programme on immunization.
4. infant and young child feeding.
 5. These child health strategies are complemented by interventions for maternal
health, in particular, skilled care during pregnancy and childbirth.

MDG 5: IMPROVE MATERNAL

HEALTH

Target 5.A: Reduce by three quarters the maternal mortality ratio

Globally, an estimated 287 000 women died during pregnancy and childbirth
in 2010, a decline of 47% from levels in 1990. Most of them died because they had
no access to skilled routine and emergency care. Since 1990, some countries in Asia
and Northern Africa have more than halved maternal mortality. Most maternal
deaths could be avoided. Giving birth is especially risky in Southern Asia and sub-
Saharan Africa, where most women deliver without skilled care. The rural-urban gap
in skilled care during childbirth has narrowed.

There has also been progress in sub-Saharan Africa. But here, unlike in the
developed world where a woman's life time risk of dying during or following
pregnancy is 1 in 3800, the risk of maternal death is very high at 1 in 39. Increasing
numbers of women are now seeking care during childbirth in health facilities and
therefore it is important to ensure that quality of care provided is optimal.

Target 5.B: Achieve universal access to reproductive health

More women are receiving antenatal care. Inequalities in care during

pregnancy are striking. Only one in three rural women in developing regions receive
the recommended care during pregnancy. Progress has stalled in reducing the
number of teenage pregnancies, putting more young mothers at risk. Poverty and
lack of education perpetuate high adolescent birth rates. Progress in expanding the
use of contraceptives by women has slowed. Use of contraception is lowest among
the poorest women and those with no education. Inadequate funding for family
planning is a major failure in fulfilling commitments to improving womens
reproductive health.

The UN Secretary-General's Global Strategy for Women's and Children's

Health aims to prevent 33 million unwanted pregnancies between 2011 and 2015
and to save the lives of women who are at risk of dying of complications during
pregnancy and childbirth, including unsafe abortion.

WHO key working areas:

1. Strengthening health systems and promoting interventions focusing on

policies and strategies that work, are pro-poor and cost-effective.
2. Monitoring and evaluating the burden of maternal and newborn ill-health and
its impact on societies and their socio-economic development.
3. Building effective partnerships in order to make best use of scarce resources
and minimize duplication in efforts to improve maternal and newborn health.
4. Advocating for investment in maternal and newborn health by highlighting
the social and economic benefits and by emphasizing maternal mortality as
human rights and equity issue.
5. Coordinating research, with wide-scale application, that focuses on improving
maternal health in pregnancy and during and after childbirth.
 MDG 6: COMBAT HIV/AIDS,
MALARIA AND OTHER DISEASES
Target 6.A: Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the spread of
HIV/AIDS

The spread of HIV appears to have stabilized in most regions, and more
people are surviving longer. Many young people still lack the knowledge to protect
themselves against HIV. Empowering women through AIDS education is indeed
possible, as a number of countries have shown. In sub-Saharan Africa, knowledge of
HIV increases with wealth and among those living in urban areas. Disparities are
found in condom use by women and men and among those from the richest and
poorest households .Condom use during high-risk sex is gaining acceptance in some
countries and is one facet of effective HIV prevention.

Target 6.B: Achieve, by 2010, universal access to treatment for HIV/AIDS

for all those who need it

The rate of new HIV infections continues to outstrip the expansion of

treatment. Expanded treatment for HIV-positive women also safeguards their
newborns.
Target 6.C: Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the incidence of
malaria and other major

diseases

Production of insecticide-treated mosquito nets soars. Across Africa,

expanded use of insecticide-treated bed nets is protecting communities from
malaria. Poverty continues to limit use of mosquito nets. Global procurement of
more effective antimalarial drugs continues to rise rapidly. Children from the poorest
households are least likely to receive treatment for malaria. External funding is
helping to reduce malaria incidence and deaths, but additional support is needed.
Progress on tuberculosis inches forward. Tuberculosis prevalence is falling in most
regions. Tuberculosis remains the second leading killer after HIVTarget 6A. Have
halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS.

WHO is working with countries:

1. to prevent people becoming infected with HIV helping to change behaviours

to reduce HIV risks; increasing access to prevention commodities; supporting
programmes for prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV; promoting
safe blood supplies and prevention of HIV transmission in health care
settings; assessing new prevention technologies;
2. to expand the availability of treatment;
3. to provide the best care for people living with HIV/ AIDS and their families;
4. to expand access and uptake of HIV testing and counselling so that people
can learn their HIV status;
5. to strengthen health care systems so that they can deliver quality and
sustainable HIV/AIDS programmes and services; and
6. to improve HIV/AIDS information systems, including HIV surveillance,
monitoring and evaluation and operational research.
 MDG 7: ensure environmental
sustainability

Target 7.A: Integrate the principles of sustainable development into

country policies and programmes

and reverse the loss of environmental resources

The rate of deforestation shows signs of decreasing, but is still alarmingly

high. A decisive response to climate change is urgently needed. The unparalleled
success of the Montreal Protocol shows that action on climate change is within our
grasp.

Target 7.B: Reduce biodiversity loss, achieving, by 2010, a significant

reduction in the rate of loss

The world has missed the 2010 target for biodiversity conservation, with
potentially grave consequences. Key habitats for threatened species are not being
adequately protected. The number of species facing extinction is growing by the
day, especially in developing countries. Overexploitation of global fisheries has
stabilized, but steep challenges remain to ensure their sustainability.

Target 7.C: Halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population without

sustainable access to safe

drinking water and basic sanitation

The world is on track to meet the drinking water target, though much remains
to be done in some regions. Accelerated and targeted efforts are needed to bring
drinking water to all rural households. Safe water supply remains a challenge in
many parts of the world. With half the population of developing regions without
sanitation, the 2015 target appears to be out of reach. Disparities in urban and rural
sanitation coverage remain daunting. Improvements in sanitation are bypassing the
poor.

Target 7.D: By 2020, to have achieved a significant improvement in the

lives of at least 100 million

slum dwellers

Slum improvements, though considerable, are failing to keep pace with the
growing ranks of the urban poor. Slum prevalence remains high in sub-Saharan
Africa and increases in countries affected by conflict.

WHO is working with countries and other UN agencies to:

1. monitor progress towards the drinking water and sanitation target, through
updated and refined estimates in collaboration with UNICEF in the Joint
Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation (JMP);
2. report on trends in policy, institutional and finance issues related to sanitation
and drinking-water through the UN-Water Global Annual Assessment of
Sanitation and Drinking-Water (GLAAS);
3. develop guidelines on quality of drinking-water, safe use of wastewater in
agriculture and aquaculture, and management of safe recreational waters;
4. provide guidance, capacity strengthening and good practice models to
countries. This includes capacity building in over 20 countries to develop
water resource management systems to insure the long term sustainability of
water resources;
5. manage networks of specialized issues including: small community water
supply management; for the promotion and dissemination of information on
household water treatment and safe storage; and for drinking-water
regulators;
6. assess needs and ensuring safe drinking water and sanitation to health
facilities and vulnerable groups during emergencies and natural disasters.
 MDG 8: DEVELOP A GLOBAL
PARTNERSHIP FOR DEVELOPMENT

Target 8.A: Develop further an open, rule-based, predictable, non-

discriminatory trading and financial

system

Developing countries gain greater access to the markets of

developed countries. Least developed countries benefit most from tariff
reductions, especially on their agricultural products
Target 8.B:Address the special needs of least developed countries

Aid continues to rise despite the financial crisis, but Africa is short-changed.
Only five donor countries have reached the UN target for official aid.

Target 8.C: Address the special needs of landlocked developing countries

and small island developing

States

Target 8.D: Deal comprehensively with the debt problems of developing

countries

Debt burdens ease for developing countries and remain well below historical
levels.

Target 8.E: In cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access

to affordable essential

drugs in developing countries

Target 8.F: In cooperation with the private sector, make available benefits
of new technologies,

especially information and communications

Demand grows for information and communications technology. Access to the

World Wide Web is still closed to the majority of the worlds people. A large gap
separates those with high-speed Internet connections, mostly in developed nations,
and dial-up users.

WHO's activities:

1. WHO has developed global indicators for availability, price and affordability of
essential medicines.
2. WHO/Health Action International pricing survey methodology used in over 50
countries has increased awareness of the pricing, affordability and availability
of branded and generic medicines in the public and private sectors.

MDG TARGETS THAT ALREADY

ACHIEVED
GOAL 1 (TARGET 1 A) : HALVE, BETWEEN 1990 AND 2015, THE PROPORTION OF
PEOPLE WHOSE INCOME IS LESS THAN ONE DOLLAR A DAY
Extreme poverty, proportion of the population having per capita income of less
than US$1 a day, has dropped from 20.6% (1990) to 5.9% (2008).

GOAL 1 : ERADICATE EXTREME POVERTY AND HUNGER

Prevalence of underweight children under-five years of age decreased

almost 50% from 31% (1989) to 18.4% (2007), and become 17.9% (2010).

GOAL 6 (TARGET 6C) : COMBAT TUBERCULOSIS (TB)

Detected tuberculosis cases increased from 20.0% (2000) to 73.1% (2009)

compared to the target of 70.0% (2015).

Success rate of TB increased from 87.0% (2000) to 91.0% (2008) compared

to the target of 85.0 % (2015)