MDG final report highlights the success of strategic intervention

The final report measuring the achievements of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), set by the United Nations, highlights that they have saved millions of lives and improved conditions for many more. This is the last report of the MDGs, which will work as a base for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that the world community is discussing.

The report, which was released on July 6, highlights that human society across the globe has achieved several milestones on all eight aspirational goals set in 2000. Most of the MDG targets have a deadline of 2015, using 1990 as the baseline against which progress is checked.

The MDG Report 2015 found that the 15-year effort to achieve these goals were largely successful across the globe. The report also acknowledged shortfalls that remain to be achieved. For example, nearly half of the developing world lived in extreme poverty two decades ago. The number of people now living in extreme poverty has declined by more than half, falling from 1.9 billion in 1990 to 836 million in 2015. The world has also witnessed dramatic improvement in gender equality in schooling since the MDGs, and gender parity in primary school has been achieved in the majority of countries.

The report highlights the importance of targeted intervention. “Following profound and consistent gains, we now know that extreme poverty can be eradicated within one more generation,” said UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. “The MDGs have greatly contributed to this progress and have taught us how governments, business and civil society can work together to achieve transformational breakthroughs”.

• In 1990, nearly half of the population in the developing world lived on less than $1.25 a day; that proportion dropped to 14 per cent in 2015. 
• Globally, the number of people living in extreme poverty has declined by more than half, falling from 1.9 billion in 1990 to 836 million in 2015. 
• The proportion of undernourished people in the developing regions has fallen by almost half since 1990, from 23.3 per cent to 12.9 per cent. 

GOAL 2- Achieve Universal Primary Education

• The primary school net enrollment rate in the developing regions has reached 91 per cent in 2015, up from 83 per cent in 2000. In 2000, 100 million children were out-of school globally where 57 million were out-of school in 2015. 
• The literacy rate among youth aged 15 to 24 increased globally from 83 per cent to 91 per cent between 1990 and 2015. 

GOAL 3: Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women

• In South Asia, only 74 girls were enrolled in primary school for every 100 boys in 1990. Today, 103 girls are enrolled for every 100 boys. 
• Women now make up 41 per cent of paid workers outside the agricultural sector, an increase from 35 per cent in 1990. 

GOAL 4- Reduce Child Mortality

• The global under-five mortality rate has declined by more than half, dropping from 90 to 43 deaths per 1,000 live births between 1990 and 2015. 
• Since the early 1990s, the rate of reduction of under-five mortality has more than tripled globally. 
• In sub-Saharan Africa, the annual rate of reduction of under-five mortality was over five times faster during 2005-2013 than it was during 1990-1995. 

GOAL 5- Improve Maternal Health

• Since 1990, the maternal mortality ratio has declined by 45 per cent worldwide and most of the reduction has occurred since 2000. 
• In South Asia, the maternal mortality ratio declined by 64 per cent between 1990 and 2013 while in sub-Saharan Africa, it fell by 49 per cent. 
• More than 71 per cent of births were assisted by skilled health personnel globally in 2014, an increase from 59 per cent in 1990. 

GOAL 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases

• New HIV infection fell by approximately 40 per cent between 2000 and 2012 from an estimated 3.5 million cases to 2.1 million. 
• Over 6.2 million malaria deaths have been averted between 2000 and 2015. 
• Between 2000 and 2013, tuberculosis prevention, diagnosis and treatment intervention saved and estimated 37 million lives. 

GOAL7: Ensure Environmental sustainability

• Ozone-depleting substances have been virtually eliminated since 1990 and the ozone layer is expected to recover by the middle of this century. 
• In 2015, 91 per cent of the global population is using an improved drinking water source, compared to 76 per cent in 1990. 
• Worldwide, 2.1 billion people have gained access to improved sanitation. The proportion of people practicing open defecation has fallen almost by half since 1990. 

GOAL 8: Develop a global partnership for development

• Official development assistance from developed countries increased by 66 per cent in real terms between 2000 and 2014. 
• In 2014, 79 per cent of imports from developing to developed countries were admitted duty free, up from 65 per cent in 2000.