Recent gains in eradicating hunger and poverty
More than halfway to the 2015 deadline to achieve the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs), major advances in the fight against poverty
and hunger have begun to slow or even reverse as a result of the global
economic and food crises, a progress report by the United Nations has
found.
The assessment launched in Geneva by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
warns that, despite many successes, overall progress has been too slow
for most of the targets to be met by 2015.
"We cannot allow an unfavourable economic climate to prevent us from
realizing the commitments made in 2000," Ban states in the foreword to
the Millennium Development Goals Report 2009. "The global community
cannot turn its back on the poor and the vulnerable". He adds: "Now is
the time to accelerate progress
Poverty leads to malnutrition worldwide |
towards the MDGs. The goals are within reach, and even in the very
poor countries, with strong political commitment and sufficient and
sustained funding."
Globally, the picture is mixed:
* Gains in the eradication of hunger since the early 1990s - when the
proportion of hungry people decreased from 20 percent in 1990-92 to 16
per cent in 2004-06 were reversed in 2008, largely due to higher food
prices. A decrease in international food prices in the second half of
2008 has since failed to translate into more affordable food for most
people around the world.
* In the period 1990 to 2005, the number of people living on less
than $1.25 a day decreased from 1.8 billion to 1.4 billion (prior to the
economic crisis and higher food prices). But major gains in the fight
against extreme poverty are likely to stall, indicators show, although
data are not yet available to reveal the full impact of the recent
economic downturn. In 2009, an estimated 55 million to 90 million more
people will be living in extreme poverty than anticipated before the
crisis.
* More than one-quarter of children in developing regions are
underweight for their age, and the meagre progress on child nutrition
from 1990 to 2007 is insufficient to meet the 2015 target. This will
likely be eroded further by high food prices and economic turmoil.
* Global unemployment in 2009 could reach 6.1 to 7.0 percent for men
and 6.5 to 7.4 percent for women, many of whom remain trapped in
insecure - often unpaid jobs, holding back progress towards gender
equality.
Furthermore, the report suggests that many global gains were due to a
dramatic fall in poverty rates in East Asia. Elsewhere, progress has
been slower. Sub-Saharan Africa counted 100 million more extremely poor
people in 2005 than in 1990, and the poverty rate remained above 50
percent.
The MDG Report also says that funding gaps are evident for programs
needed to improve maternal health (MDG 5), the goal towards which least
progress has been made so far. Most developing countries have
experienced a major reduction in donor funding for family planning since
the mid-1990s, on a per woman basis, despite the undeniable contribution
of such programmes to maternal and child health.
The ability of countries themselves to finance development programs
may also be in jeopardy. Export revenues of developing countries fell in
the last quarter of 2008, as the financial meltdown in high-income
economies began to trickle down. The debt service to export ratio of
developing countries is likely to deteriorate further, specially for
those countries that enjoyed increased export revenues for the last
several years.
At the 2005 Group of Eight Summit at Gleneagles and at the General
Assembly World Summit later that year, donors committed to increasing
their aid. The majority of these commitments remain in force, but as the
global economy contracts in 2009, as anticipated, the absolute amount of
such commitments would diminish, since most are expressed as a
percentage of national income. For many developing countries, lower
levels of aid would not only impede further progress, but could reverse
some of the gains already made, says the MDG Report.
Major advances
The report portrays remarkable advances that many countries and
regions had made before the economic landscape changed so radically in
2008:
* In the developing world, enrolment in primary education reached 88
percent in 2007, up from 83 percent in 2000. In sub-Saharan Africa and
Southern Asia, enrolment increased by 15 percentage points and 11
percentage point, respectively, from 2000 to 2007.
* Deaths in children under five declined steadily worldwide - to
around 9 million in 2007, down from 12.6 million in 1990, despite
population growth. Although child mortality rates remain highest in
sub-Saharan Africa, there have been remarkable improvements in key
interventions, including the distribution of insecticide-treated bed
nets to reduce the toll of malaria - a major killer of children. As a
result of 'second chance' immunizations, dramatic progress is also being
made in the fight against measles.
* Worldwide, the number of people newly infected with HIV peaked in
1996 and has since declined, to 2.7 million in 2007. The estimated
number of AIDS deaths also appears to have peaked, in 2005, at 2.2
million, and has since declined to 2 million in 2007, partly due to
increased access to antiretroviral drugs in poorer countries. Still, the
number of people living with HIV worldwide - estimated at 33 million in
2007 - continues to grow, largely because people infected with the virus
are surviving longer.
Challenges
The report calls on governments and all stakeholder to revitalize
efforts to provide productive and decent employment for all, including
women and young people. It points out that employment opportunities for
women in Southern Asia, Northern Africa and Western Asia remain
extremely low.
The target of eliminating gender disparities in primary and secondary
education by 2005 has already been missed. The report urges governments
to intensify efforts to get all children into school, especially those
living in rural communities, and eliminate inequalities in education
based on gender and ethnicity.
Greater political will must be mustered to reduce maternal mortality,
especially in sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia, according to the
report. Rapid acceleration of progress is needed to bring improved
sanitation - toilets or latrines - to the 1.4 billion people still
lacking, or the 2015 sanitation target will be missed. And slum
improvements are barely keeping pace with the rapid growth of developing
country cities.
The UN Under Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Sha
Zukang, described the report as the most comprehensive global MDG
assessment to date. It is based, he said, on a set of data prepared by
over 20 organizations both within and outside the United Nations system,
including the World Bank and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation
and Development (OECD). |