The poorest nations are forgotten by the MDGs

The report presented on 7 July 2011 by the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon, on the state of progress of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) shows uneven improvement. While it highlights success in many areas, such as access to treatment to combat HIV/AIDS, it also states that the most vulnerable in society still do not have access to education or health care.

There remains a lot to be done to achieve all the objectives – of which there are eight – established by the Member States of the United Nations and to be fully achieved by 2015, with the aim of reducing poverty in the world. The Rio +20 Conference on Sustainable Development, which will take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2012, will provide a decisive opportunity to ensure that promises made become promises kept, emphasised Ban Ki-Moon.

However, the report highlights that between now and 2015 the global poverty rate is expected to fall below 15%, but still remains far from  the 23% target. Significant progress has been made in education in countries which are considered to be the poorest on the planet. Thus, in Burundi, Madagascar, Rwanda, Togo, and even in Tanzania, the target of primary education for all children has been met or is on the point of being met. The number of children under five dying has also decreased, from 12.4 million in 1990 to 8.1 million in 2009. The same can be observed for the global mortality rate linked to malaria. Lastly, 1.1 billion people living in urban areas and 723 million living in rural areas had access to an improved source of drinking water in the period 1990-2008.

The report brings to light a shortcoming: the world’s poorest children continue to be the most neglected when it comes to health and nutrition. Furthermore, the report points out that the progress on sanitation is not usually felt by those living in extreme poverty or in rural areas.

M.M.B.