UPSC Preparation: Millenium Development Goals

The Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) form an important portion of General Studies Paper – III owing to the number of questions asked consistently over the past few years in the CSE on the same topic and its significance has only increased currently as 2015 is the deadline by which all the goals must have been achieved by the member states of the UN which have committed to attaining the same. 

The Millennium Development Goals were established by the United Nations post the Milllenium Summit in the year 2000 soon after the adoption of the United Nations Millenium Declaration. The Millennium Development Goals consist of eight international development goals which focus on achieving time bound targets across various areas of life such as health, education, environment etc. The eight Millennium Development Goals are as given below:

1. To eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
2. To achieve universal primary education
3. To promote gender equality
4. To reduce child mortality
5. To improve maternal health
6. To combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases
7. To ensure environmental sustainability
8. To develop a global partnership for development

The number of member states of the UN who committed to achieving the Millennium Development Goals in the year 2000 were 189 and 23 other international organisations also committed themselves to attaining the same. Every goal has specific targets which need to be achieved on certain dates. As of 2013, the progress has not been uniform with regard to the eight goals across various countries owing tot their position in the list of under-developed, developing and developed countries. It is necessary to analyse the targets under each goal in order to access their progress as given below:

Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

• Target 1A: Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people living on less than $1.25 a day

• Target 1B: Achieve Decent Employment for Women, Men, and Young People

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

 

Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education

• Target 2A: By 2015, all children can complete a full course of primary schooling, girls and boys

 

Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women

• Target 3A: Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education preferably by 2005, and at all levels by 2015

 

Goal 4: Reduce child mortality rates

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

 

Goal 5: Improve maternal health

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

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

 

Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases

• Target 6A: Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS

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

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

 

Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability

• Target 7A: Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programs; reverse loss of environmental resources

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

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

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

 

Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development

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

• Target 8B: Address the Special Needs of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs)

• Target 8C: Address the special needs of landlocked developing countries and small island developing States

• Target 8D: Deal comprehensively with the debt problems of developing countries through national and international measures in order to make debt sustainable in the long term

• Target 8E: In co-operation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to affordable, essential drugs in developing countries

• Target 8F: In co-operation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies, especially information and communications

Now that the targets under each goal have been viewed briefly, it is necessary to scrutinise the progress made by India currently with regard to each goal and address any shortcomings. The report titled “India and the MDGs: Towards a Sustainable Future for All” prepared by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific published in February 2015 gives a comprehensive update on the advancement India has made concerning the Millenium Development Goals. It would help to skim through the report and make note of the important milestones achieved by India and the variegated recommendations put forward by certain institutions concerning India’s progress with regard to the eight MDGs. 

The link to the report on the progress of India with regard to the MDGs is given below:

India and the MDGs: Towards a Sustainable Future for All

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