The Millennium Development Goals Report 2011
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The Millennium Development Goals Report 2011
This report is based on a master set of data compiled by an Inter-agency and Expert Group on MDG Indicators led by the Department of Economic and Social affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, in response to the wishes of the General assembly for periodic assessment of progress towards the MDGs. The Group comprises representatives of the international organizations whose activities include the preparation of one or more of the series of statistical indicators that were identified as appropriate for monitoring progress towards the MDGs, as reflected in the list below. a number of national statisticians and outside expert advisers also contributed.
Overview
Despite many setbacks, due to the 2008 Economic Crisis, many developing countries are making steady progress towards the attainment of the 8 Millennium Development Goals.
Poverty progress assessment
Poverty continues to decline in many countries and region.
By 2015, it is now expected that the global poverty rate will fall below 15 per cent, well under the 23 per cent target. This global trend, however, mainly reflects rapid growth in Eastern Asia, especially China.
Some of the poorest countries have made the greatest strides in education.
Burundi, Madagascar, Rwanda, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Togo and the United Republic of Tanzania have achieved or are nearing the goal of universal primary education. Considerable progress has also been made in Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Guinea, Mali,Mozambique and Niger, where net enrolment ratios in primary school increased by more than 25 percentage points from 1999 to 2009. With an 18 percentage point gain between 1999 and 2009, sub-Saharan Africa is the region with the best record of improvement.
Improving the lives of a growing number of urban poor remains a monumental challenge.
Progress in ameliorating slum conditions has not been sufficient to offset the growth of informal settlements throughout the developing world. In developing regions, the number of urban residents living in slum conditions is now estimated at 828 million, compared to 657 million in 1990 and 767 million in 2000. ` Being poor, female or living in a conflict zone increases the probability that a child will be out of school.
The net enrolment ratio of children in primary school has only gone up by 7 percentage points since 1999, reaching 89 per cent in 2009. More recently, progress has actually slowed, dimming prospects for reaching the MDG target of universal primary education by 2015.
Health progress assessment.
Increased funding and control efforts have cut deaths from malaria
The largest absolute drops in malaria deaths were in Africa, where 11 countries have reduced malaria cases and deaths by over 50 per cent.
Investments in preventing and treating HIV are yielding results
New HIV infections are declining steadily, led by sub-Saharan Africa. In 2009, an estimated 2.6 million people were newly infected with HIV—a drop of 21 per cent since 1997, when new infections peaked. Thanks to increased funding and the expansion of major programmes, the number of people receiving antiretroviral therapy for HIV or AIDS increased 13-fold from 2004 to 2009. By end-2009, 5.25 million people were receiving such treatment in low- and middle-income countries—an increase of over 1.2 million people since December 2008. As a result, the number of AIDS-related deaths declined by 19 per cent over the same period.
Effective strategies against tuberculosis are saving millions of lives
Between 1995 and 2009, a total of 41 million tuberculosis patients were successfully treated and up to 6 million lives were saved, due to effective international protocols for the treatment of tuberculosis. Worldwide, deaths attributed to the disease have fallen by more than one third since 1990.
Child and women's conditions:
Targeted interventions have succeeded in reducing child mortality
The number of deaths of children under the age of five declined from 12.4 million in 1990 to 8.1 million in 2009. This means that nearly 12,000 fewer children are dying each day. Between 2000 and 2008, the combination of improved immunization coverage and the opportunity for second-dose immunizations led to a 78 per cent drop in measles deaths worldwide.
Opportunities for full and productive employment remain particularly slim for women
Wide gaps remain in women’s access to paid work in at least half of all regions.
