Millennium Development Report, 2013

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have been the most successful global anti-poverty push in history. This year’s report looks at the areas where action is needed most. For example, one in eight people worldwide remain hungry. Too many women die in childbirth when we have the means to save them. More than 2.5 billion people lack improved sanitation facilities, of which one billion continue to practice open defecation, a major health and environmental hazard. Our resource base is in serious decline, with continuing losses of forests, species and fish stocks, in a world already experiencing the impacts of climate change.
This report also shows that the achievement of the MDGs has been uneven among and within countries. Children from poor and rural households are much more likely to be out of school than their rich and urban counterparts. Wide gaps remain in basic knowledge about HIV and its prevention among young men and women in sub-Saharan Africa, which has been hardest hit by the epidemic.

Highlights

• The proportion of people living in extreme poverty has been halved at the global level
• Over 2 billion people gained access to improved sources of drinking water
• Remarkable gains have been made in the fight against malaria and tuberculosis
• The hunger target is within reach
• Remarkable gains have been made in the fight against malaria and tuberculosis
• The proportion of slum dwellers in the cities and metropolises of the developing world is declining
• A low debt burden and an improved climate for trade are levelling the playing field for developing countries
• Environmental sustainability is under severe threat, demanding a new level of global cooperation
• Most maternal deaths are preventable, and progress in this area is falling short
• Access to antiretroviral therapy and knowledge about HIV prevention must expand
• Too many children are still denied primary education
• There is less aid money overall, with the poorest countries most adversely affected
• Gains in sanitation are impressive—but not good enough
• Gender-based inequalities in decision-making power persist

Goal 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 MDG target has been met, but 1.2 billion people still live in extreme poverty

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

• The slowing of economic growth spells continued job losses, with young people bearing the brunt of the crisis
• Though working poverty has declined, over 60 per cent of workers in the developing world still live on less than $4 a day

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

• The hunger reduction target is within reach if recent slowdowns in progress can be reversed
• More than 100 million children under age five are still undernourished and underweight
• Despite steady gains, one in four children around the world show signs of stunted growth
• The number of people uprooted by conflict or persecution is at its highest level in 18 years

Quick Facts

• Poverty rates have been halved, and about 700 million fewer people lived in conditions of extreme poverty in 2010 than in 1990
• The economic and financial crisis has widened the global jobs gap by 67 million people
• One in eight people still go to bed hungry, despite major progress
• Globally, nearly one in six children under age five are underweight; one in four are stunted
• An estimated 7 per cent of children under age five worldwide are now overweight, another aspect of malnutrition; one quarter of these children live in sub-Saharan Africa

Goal 2: 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

• If current trends continue, the world will not meet the goal of universal primary education by 2015
• Poverty is a key factor keeping children out of school, but gender and place of residence also matter
• One in four children who enter primary school will probably leave before reaching the last grade
• Literacy rates among adults and youth are on the rise, and gender gaps are narrowing

 Quick Facts

• In 2011, 57 million children of primary school age were out of school, down from 102 million in 2000
• More than half of these out-of-school children live in sub-Saharan Africa
• Globally, 123 million youth (aged 15 to 24) lack basic reading and writing skills; 61 per cent of them are young women

 

Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women

Target 3.A: Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and in all levels of education no later than 2015

• Steady progress has been made towards equal access of girls and boys to education, but more targeted action is needed in many regions
• Gender disparities become more marked at higher levels of education, with girls not always at a disadvantage
• Women are gaining ground in the labour market, though not in all regions and not in all areas of work
• In every developing region, women tend to hold less secure jobs than men, with fewer social benefits
• Women are assuming more power in the world’s parliaments, boosted by quota systems
• Women’s decision-making power at home leaves lots of room for improvement

Quick facts

• Gender parity is closest to being achieved at the primary level; however, only 2 out of 130 countries have achieved that target at all levels of education
• Globally, 40 out of 100 wage-earning jobs in the non-agricultural sector are held by women
• As of 31 January 2013, the average share of women members in parliaments worldwide was just over 20 per cent

Goal 4: Reduce Child Mortality

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

• Big gains have been made in child survival, but efforts must be redoubled to meet the global target
• Increasingly, child deaths are concentrated in the poorest regions
• Newborns in their first month of life now account for a growing share of child deaths
• Meeting the target by 2015 will require greater focus and a renewed commitment to reaching the most vulnerable children
• Since 2000, measles vaccines have averted over 10 million deaths, but continued progress is uncertain

Quick Facts:

• Since 1990, the child mortality rate has dropped by 41 per cent; 14,000 fewer children are dying each day
• Still, 6.9 million children under age five died in 2011—mostly from preventable diseases
• In sub-Saharan Africa, one in nine children die before age five, more than 16 times the average for developed regions

Goal 5: Improve Maternal Health

Target 5.A: Reduce by three quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio

• Maternal mortality has declined by nearly half since 1990, but falls far short of the MDG target
• Nearly 50 million babies worldwide are delivered without skilled care

Target 5.B: Achieve, by 2015, universal access to reproductive health

• Health care during pregnancy can save lives, but only half of women in developing regions receive the recommended amount of care
• Over half of married women in most developing regions are using some form of family planning
• African countries show wide disparities in maternal and reproductive health, emphasizing the need to expand effective interventions
• The need for family planning is slowly being met for more women, but demand is increasing at a rapid pace
• Adolescent childbearing is risky for both mother and child, and remains at very high levels in many developing regions

Quick Facts

• In Eastern Asia, Northern Africa and Southern Asia, maternal mortality has declined by around two thirds
• Only half of pregnant women in developing regions receive the recommended minimum of four antenatal care visits
• Some 140 million women worldwide who are married or in union say they would like to delay or avoid pregnancy, but are not using contraception

Goal 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 incidence of HIV is declining steadily in most regions; still, 2.5 million people are newly infected each year
• As treatment is scaled up, fewer people are dying of AIDS and more people are living with HIV than ever before
• Knowledge about HIV among young people falls far short of the global target
• More orphaned children are now in school due to expanded efforts to mitigate the impact of AIDS

Target 6.B: Achieve, by 2010, universal access to treatment for HIV/AIDS for all those who need it

• Universal access to antiretroviral therapy is within reach, but will require sustained political support

Target 6.C: Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases

• More than 1 million deaths from malaria were averted over the last decade, but renewed commitment is needed to sustain gains
• The world is on its way to halting the spread and reversing the incidence of tuberculosis
• Successful treatment of tuberculosis is exceeding global targets, but more work lies ahead

Quick Facts

• In 2011, 230,000 fewer children under age 15 were infected with HIV than in 2001
• Eight million people were receiving antiretroviral therapy for HIV at the end of 2011
• In the decade since 2000, 1.1 million deaths from malaria were averted
• Treatment for tuberculosis has saved some 20 million lives between 1995 and 2011

Goal 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

• Forests are a safety net for the poor, but they continue to disappear at an alarming rate
• Global greenhouse gas emissions resume their upward path, confirming an ominous trend and calling for bold action
• Overexploitation of marine fish stocks is resulting in diminished yields

Target 7.B: Reduce biodiversity loss, achieving, by 2010, a significant reduction in the rate of loss

More of the earth’s land and marine areas are under protection

• Birds, mammals and other species are heading for extinction

Target 7.C: Halve by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation

• More than 2.1 billion people have gained access to improved drinking water sources since 1990, exceeding the MDG target
• Access to drinking water for the rural poor, along with water quality and safety,remain serious concerns
• Over 240,000 people a day gained access to improved sanitation facilities from 1990 to 2011—impressive but not enough
• Stopping open defecation and instituting the right policies are key to continued progress in sanitation

Target 7.D: By 2020, to have achieved a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers

• Though the MDG target has been met,urbanization continues to outpace improvements in slum conditions
• Lessons from countries that have tackled the multifaceted problems of urban slums may benefit other countries

Quick Facts

• Global emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) have increased by more than 46 per cent since 1990
• Nearly one third of marine fish stocks have been overexploited
• Many species are at risk of extinction, despite an increase in protected areas
• More than 2.1 billion people and almost 1.9 billon people, respectively, have gained access to improved water sources and sanitation facilities since 1990
• An estimated 863 million people reside in slums in the developing world

Goal 8: Develop A Global Partnership For Development

Target 8.A: Develop further an open, rule-based, predictable, non-discriminatory trading and financial system

• The trade climate continues to improve for developing and least developed countries in terms of duty-free access
• Average tariffs levied by developed countries continued to decline slightly for developing and least developed countries alike

Target 8.B and 8.c:Address the special needs of the least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and small island developing States

• Aid money is declining overall, and moving away from the poorest countries

Target 8.D: Deal comprehensively with developing countries’ debt

• Debt service ratios are one quarter of their 2000 level, lightening the financial burden on developing countries
• Reductions in export earnings have caused debt service ratios of some regions to rise

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

• Mobile-cellular subscriptions are moving towards saturation levels, and almost 40 per cent of the world’s population are online
• Broadband is becoming more widely available and affordable, but is still out of reach of many in developing countries

Quick Facts

• Official development assistance stood at $126 billion in 2012
• Eighty-three per cent of least developed country exports enter developed countries duty free
• The debt service of developing countries consumes only 3 per cent of their export revenues
• In the developing world, 31 per cent of the population use the Internet, compared to 77 per cent of the developed world