EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is the end result of the United Nations Millennium Summit in September 2000 focusing on eight development goals: eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, achieve universal primary education, promote gender equality and empower women, reduce child mortality, improve maternal health, combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, ensure environmental sustainability, and develop a global partnership for development. These specific development goals are expected to be achieved on or before the year 2015. This year is considered as the midway point of the MDGs. How much remain to be done and how much more to be accomplished? How do MDGs keep its promise?
Using descriptive research approach, this report centers on providing relevant information on MDGs. Specifically, the identified MDGs are related with human rights; the present progress in achieving its development goals are included; reasons for successes and failures at global, regional and country-specific levels are explored; and its possibility as a unifying vision for the international community is justified. The progress of the MDGs is mainly based on The Millennium Development Goals Report 2007, a publicly accessed and published document in the UN Millennium Development Goals website. The reasons of success of MDGs are seen on the global effort of addressing the issues confronting every country, provision to partnership among developed countries and global development institutions, and particular attainment of development goals in specific areas like the African countries through integration of national policies and MDGs. On the other hand, the reasons of failure of MDGs are seen on the formulation of the said development goals, political integration, and financing. It is also argued that the MDGs hold the potential as a unifying vision for the international community because they mainly serve as global challenges or goals that ask for unity and cooperation among countries for them to be achieved.
The MDGs is argued to be rooted on the concept of development. Although the progress of the MDGs is inconsistent, there are high hopes that they are still achievable. In general, it is recommended that there is still a fervent need to elicit global support from all levels to facilitate the achievement of each development goals and promote good life to people and better humanity.
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs): How is it keeping the promise?
The United Nations Millennium Summit held in UN Headquarters, New York on September 8, 2000 is a momentous global happening that united world leaders to commence the international challenge of facing various problems affecting the human race. This gathering made another world history, where the participants agreed on the contents of the UN Millennium Declaration that address key global issues for the 21st century including “fundamental values and principals, peace, security and disarmament, development and poverty eradication, the protection of the environment, human rights, democracy and good governance, the needs of the most vulnerable, the special needs of Africa and the strengthening of the UN” (Moshirian 2005, p. 304). By the year 2015, world leaders decided to address and provide long-term solutions to the major maladies of the international community particularly on the poorest countries. These are all included in and generally summarized as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
This paper discusses the general concept of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), its present progress in achieving its goals, reasons for successes and failures at global, regional and country-specific levels, and its possibility as a unifying vision for the international community. Additionally, the discussion on each goal is related to human rights and some internationally existing conventions. This is to put emphasis on the importance of each goal particularly in promoting good life and better humanity.
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Human Rights
There are eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that are placed at the heart of the global agenda in the Summit’s Millennium Declaration. According to the United Nations (UN) (2008), the eight goals were adopted and endorsed by 189 countries and considered as a general blueprint decided by all the world’s countries and majority of the world’s top development institutions. The MDGs are directed in meeting the needs of world’s poorest countries through unified and exceptional efforts. Specifically, the MDGs are expected to be achieved on the year 2015 and listed in the UN Millennium Development Goals website (www.un.org/millenniumgoals/) as follows:
eradicate extreme poverty and hunger;
achieve universal primary education;
promote gender equality and empower women;
reduce child mortality;
improve maternal health;
combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases;
ensure environmental sustainability; and
develop a global partnership for development.
Saith (2006) avers MDGs, by itself, were not parts of the Millennium Declaration, instead, these goals “fleshed out and agreed to subsequently” (p. 1169) and. The language used appears to be overly basic and uncomplicated but the implication and the process on how to achieve these goals remain to be controversial.
In details, the UN website specifically focused on MDGs provides basic information about these goals. Nelson (2007) and Alston (2005) believe that MDGs are rooted on human rights. Using Nelson’s belief, the succeeding discussion incorporates the concept of human rights using various conventions. The first goal is to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger and could be achieved in three ways. To succeed, clear reduction by half in the number of people who live on less than a dollar daily is set. Full and productive employment and decent work is available for everyone including women and young people. Lastly, reduction by half in terms of the proportion of people who suffer from hunger is included. Targeting this goal is the fulfillment of people’s basic human rights to essential needs (e.g. food, water, clothing, and shelter) and based on Articles 24[1] and 27[2] of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and Article 11[3] International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
The second goal is to achieve universal primary education by ensuring that all boys and girls complete a full course of primary schooling. It is universally accepted that education is important in individual growth and nation-building. This goal supports fundamental right of people to education as envisioned in three human rights conventions such as Articles 13[4] and 14[5] of the International Convention on Economic, Article 28[6] of the Social and Cultural Rights, Convention on the Rights of the Child, and Articles 5[7] and 7[8] of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
The third goal is to promote gender equality and empower women. Specifically, this goal intends to eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education preferably by 2005, and at all levels by 2015. The entire Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, Articles 3[9] and 7[10] of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and Articles 3, 6 and 23 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights supports this goal.
The fourth goal is to reduce child mortality with the target of reducing it by two thirds particularly on the case of children under the age of five. The Article 6[11] of the Convention on the Rights of the Child supports this goal.
The fifth goal is improve maternal health by reducing maternal mortality ration by three quarters and achieve universal access to reproductive health by 2015. This goal is supported by the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination as well as Article 24 (d)[12] of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The sixth goal is to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases. This goal aims to halt and begin to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS, universal access to treatment for HIV/AIDS for all those who need it by 2010, and halt and begin to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases. As supported by article 24 (c)[13] of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the peoples’ fundamental right to life and health in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, this goal is similarly important.
The seventh goal is to ensure environmental sustainability by integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes, and reversing loss of environmental resources; reducing biodiversity loss, achieving, by 2010, a significant reduction in the rate of loss; reducing by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water; and achieving significant improvement in lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers, by 2020. Several fundamental rights specifically covering the provision of safe drinking water covered by General Comment 14 and addressing of the issues of slum dwellers contained in General Comment 4 and 7 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights are supported by this goal.
The eighth and last goal is to develop a global partnership for development. Specifically, the following provisions are identified: Develop further an open trading and financial system that is rule-based, predictable and non-discriminatory, includes a commitment to good governance, development and poverty reduction – nationally and internationally. Address the least developed countries’ special needs including tariff- and quota-free access for their exports; enhanced debt relief for heavily indebted poor countries; cancellation of official bilateral debt; and more generous official development assistance for countries committed to poverty reduction. Address the special needs of landlocked and small island developing States. Deal comprehensively with developing countries’ debt problems through national and international measures to make debt sustainable in the long term. In cooperation with the developing countries, develop decent and productive work for youth. In cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to affordable essential drugs in developing countries. In cooperation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies – especially information and communications technologies. Article 1 (3)[14] of the United Nations Charter, Article 2[15] of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and Article 4[16] of the Convention on the Rights of the Child support this goal.
Furthermore, MDGs are said to be mainly motivated by the factors of development. Kalb and colleagues (2004) argue that “development has always been a subsumption of space and time” (p. 1). The world is always looking forward on development where success is measured on the ability to develop. For Fues (2007), development is the basis of an equitable global system and an important prerequisite for a peaceful and stable humanity. After World War II, all countries look on the idea of development. Development is assumed to be connected with various factors including cultural differences, alternative social structures and organizations, and the spatial contradictions of capitalism (Kalb et al. 2004). A close examination on MDGs leads to the understanding that development is not only to be seen on specified country level but also on global level. Development on a global level is sought by the proponents of MDGs and development in general is now incorporated with globalization.
MDGs Progress Report
The midway point of the 15-year period of achieving MDGs (UN 2007) is already here. Albeit the recorded fluctuations and inconsistencies of performance and achievement, the difficulties encountered plus the continuous debates on how to achieve such goals (Haines and Sanders 2005), the proponents of MDGs are still hopeful. According to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, “The MDGs are still achievable if we act now. This will require inclusive sound governance, increased public investment economic growth, enhanced productive capacity, and the creation of decent work” (UN 2007). Basing on the Millennium Development Goals Report 2007, the following are the latest measures of progress:
· The proportion of people living in extreme poverty fell from nearly a third to less than one fifth between 1990 and 2004. If the trend is sustained, the MDG poverty reduction target will be met for the world as a whole and for most regions.
· The number of extremely poor people in sub-Saharan Africa has levelled off, and the poverty rate has declined by nearly six percentage points since 2000. Nevertheless, the region is not on track to reach the Goal of reducing poverty by half by 2015.
· Progress has been made in getting more children into school in the developing world. Enrolment in primary education grew from 80 per cent in 1991 to 88 per cent in 2005. Most of this progress has taken place since 1999.
· Women’s political participation has been growing, albeit slowly. Even in countries where previously only men were allowed to stand for political election, women now have a seat in parliament.
· Child mortality has declined globally, and it is becoming clear that the right life-saving interventions are proving effective in reducing the number of deaths due to the main child killers – such as measles.
· Key interventions to control malaria have been expanded.
· The tuberculosis epidemic, finally, appears on the verge of decline, although progress is not fast enough to halve prevalence and death rates by 2015.
The list is still growing. The Report projects the accomplishments of MDGs and shows how much remain to be done and how much more to be accomplished. There are numerous challenges that hinder the maximum achievement of these goals. For example on sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where the countries on this region are among the poorest in the world, they are far off-track to achieve the goals (Klopper 2007; Sachs and McArthur 2005). The declaration of MDGs alone is a challenge itself – political and intellectual (Atkinson 2006). To Atkinson, MDGs represent a political challenge both developed (wealthy) and developing (poor) countries. For developed or wealthy countries, the political challenge is mainly elaborated on providing the necessary transfer of resources. On the other hand, the challenge for developing or mostly poor countries is on how these transfers are effectively used and how to manage their own resources. The intellectual challenge is directed to the economists and other scientists particularly on having better understanding of the processes by which MDGs can be achieved and the overall operation of the global economy. Other scholars and authors argue that the challenges are still on. It must be understood that differences on the progress of achieving these goals are to be seen on specific levels – global, regional and country. Perhaps, MDGs are achieved on some extent and identified cases. Aside from the difficulties confronting national governments, the constant challenge of changing the pessimistic beliefs, the national political and social issues, and the transforming policies into action are also present and causative.
Reasons for successes and failures: Global, regional and country-specific levels
The reasons for successes of MDGs are seen on the global effort of addressing the issues confronting every country, provision to partnership among developed countries and global development institutions, and particular attainment of goals in specific areas like the African countries through integration of national policies and MDGs. The first and second reasons for success of MDGs are interrelated. The presence of the global awareness of the need to provide long-term solutions to major issues that hinders every country to develop and the provision to partnership among developed countries and development institutions is commendable. While it is true that most countries struggle towards development, majority of their efforts are unsuccessful if not insufficient (Bigg and Satterthwaite 2005). This is because they are not capable of sustaining developmental efforts, thus, requiring support from various sources. On all levels, the MDGs paved way to a global cooperation and this alone could be considered as a reason and manifestation of success. The MDGs are successful in obtaining international support particularly among developed countries (Unterhalter 2005). According to the MDG Report 2007, the accomplishments are evidences that show the unprecedented degree of commitment by developing countries and their development partners in relation to living up with the provisions of the Millennium Declaration and to some success in building the global partnership embodied in the Declaration. The success is possible in most countries provided that there is a continued and sustained action until 2015.
Some goals are at an advantage when implemented in certain levels, like on sub-Saharan Africa (Klopper 2007; UN 2007). This is another reason for success of MDGs. With the support of the UN, there are a significant number of developing countries that have superior ability in preparing strategies to achieve MDGs. For example, the MDGs Report 2007 (UN 2007) conveys that 41 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, during mid-2007, had started the process of preparing national development strategies aligned with MDGs and other goals agreed upon through the UN. However, it is also ironically reflected that the seldom integration of MDGs by some national government is a hindrance for success. Thus, support from the international community is always needed particularly in preparing strategies that speed up the implementation. All development partners are required to collaborate intensively in coming up with a collective global strategy to address given problems.
On the contrary, the main and common reasons why MDGs fail include the formulation of the said goals, political integration, and financing. The formulation of these goals is a consensus of all the participants in the Millennium Summit. Critics points out that there are complexities in the formulation of each goals (Nayar and Razum 2006). For example, the goal of reducing poverty is criticized by the scholars from the International Institute for Development and Environment and considered as “too narrow, as a greater focus on achieving these goals reduces support for other important poverty reduction initiatives” (p. 319). On the aspect of providing universal primary education to all boys and girls, it is argued that inter-related actions are needed. Gender equality and empowerment of women, on the other hand, is limited to the provision of education and removing discrimination in primary and secondary education and do not cater to actual issues of gender inequality, thus ignoring the other domains (Nayar and Razum 2006). Similarly, Nayar and Razum contend that MDGs on health are selective in approach due to the insufficiency of reliable data from developing countries for the process of planning and coming up with public health initiatives. Meanwhile, Roy and Heuty (2005) identify that the formulation of definite strategy to accomplish the goals are among the reasons of heated debates. Questioning the process of formulating strategies for the responsibility of developed countries to distribute additional and better aid and on the requirement for developing countries to make adequate policy reforms to achieve MDGs as among the reasons of failure in all levels are the main issues. The success of MDGs is attributed to the integration of national government policies but Nayar and Razum (2006) argue that “many governments have not clearly incorporated the goals in their policy statements” (p.317). National governments have their individual priority as based on the immediate needs of their people. If governments are unable to integrate MDGs in national policies, the tendency that such goals are underachieved or unachieved is potentially high. Thus, the advocates of MDGs particularly the UN and its officials call for collaborative and intensive effort in coming up with a shared global strategy to achieve MDGs.
Lastly, the failure of financing MDGs is a universal concern (Kimenyi 2007; Atkinson 2006; Baulch 2006). Moshirian (2005) assumes that “any fair minded observer would agree that our priorities are not well organised and the current international institutions are not able to reallocate any resources and finance required for developmental expenditure and hence one should question the underlying principles that should guide the way in which national and international resources are allocated” (p. 307). The problem of financing is a great challenge to face (Roy and Heuty 2005). Aside from the decreasing efforts from developed countries and other development institutions, the problem of graft and corruption among national government contributes to the failure of MDGs in all levels. The conspicuous effort of the UN calling for aid is enough to prove that financing towards development of the goals is difficult.
MDGs as a unifying vision for the international community
The goals hold the potential as a unifying vision for the international community because they mainly serve as global challenges or goals that ask for unity and cooperation among countries for them to be achieved. To Bass and associates (2006), “the MDGs form an integrated set of targets, demanding integrated responses to the linked challenges of poverty, hunger, disease, gender inequity and environmental degradation” (p. 44). Kimenyi (2007) avows that these goals become a core concept in making policy proposals in most developing countries. Further, Kimenyi states that the spirit of these goals is “noble and commendable” (p. 14) because each goal is intended in achieving long-term development and works on core elements of human capital (i.e. education and health), which are directly linked with productivity. Roy and Heuty (2005) affirm that MDGs are tantamount to having a decent human existence through time-specified and measured targets. It is true that the basic human rights are all encompassed on the said goals. ‘Easier said than done’ could be the perfect description from critics who raise their questions about its sheer existence up to its specific strategy formulation and implementation. The general consensus of different countries particularly on the aspect of cooperation in the achievement of these common goals is contributory. The identification of the goals mean that progress is measurable and a period for achieving these goals implies being time-bound yet it is something arbitrary. However, it is acknowledged that the achievement of MDGs on or before 2015 fundamentally change the lives of millions of people worldwide. To date, progress is deemed to be inconsistent.
In conclusion, the MDGs include eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education, promoting gender equality and empowering women, reducing child mortality, improving maternal health, combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, ensuring environmental sustainability, and developing a global partnership for development and expected to be achieved on or before the year 2015. This year is considered as the midway point of the MDGs yet progress is argued to be inconsistent. The UN monitors the progress of each goal and publishes annual report that shows how far these goals have been achieved. The report includes factors that explain its success and failure. The reasons of success of MDGs are seen on the global effort of addressing the issues confronting every country, provision to partnership among developed countries and global development institutions, and particular attainment of development goals in specific areas like the African countries through integration of national policies and MDGs. On the other hand, the reasons of failure of MDGs are seen on the formulation of the said goals, political integration, and financing. It is also argued that MDGs hold the potential as a unifying vision for the international community because they mainly serve as global challenges or goals that ask for unity and cooperation among countries for them to be achieved. Considering the findings of this paper, the main recommendation is focused on the need to elicit global support from all levels to facilitate the achievement of each development goals and promote good life to people and better humanity. The role of national government is required particularly in integrating MDGs in making policy initiatives in regional and country levels. All in all, everyone is encouraged to do his/her own share in building a wonderful world for tomorrow and the next generations to come.
References
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End Notes
[1] Article 24 (1) States Parties recognize the right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health and to facilities for the treatment of illness and rehabilitation of health. States Parties shall strive to ensure that no child is deprived of his or her right of access to such health care services.
[2] Article 27 (1) States Parties recognize the right of every child to a standard of living adequate for the child’s physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development.
[3] Article 11 (1) The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions. The States Parties will take appropriate steps to ensure the realization of this right, recognizing to this effect the essential importance of international co-operation based on free consent.
[4] Article 13 (1) The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to education. They agree that education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and the sense of its dignity, and shall strengthen the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. They further agree that education shall enable all persons to participate effectively in a free society, promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations and all racial, ethnic or religious groups, and further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
[5] Article 14 Each State Party to the present Covenant which, at the time of becoming a Party, has not been able to secure in its metropolitan territory or other territories under its jurisdiction compulsory primary education, free of charge, undertakes, within two years, to work out and adopt a detailed plan of action for the progressive implementation, within a reasonable number of years, to be fixed in the plan, of the principle of compulsory education free of charge for all.
[6] Article 28 (1) States Parties recognize the right of the child to education, and with a view to achieving this right progressively and on the basis of equal opportunity, they shall, in particular: (a) Make primary education compulsory and available free to all;
[7] Article 5 In compliance with the fundamental obligations laid down in article 2 of this Convention, States Parties undertake to prohibit and to eliminate racial discrimination in all its forms and to guarantee the right of everyone, without distinction as to race, colour, or national or ethnic origin, to equality before the law, notably in the enjoyment of the following rights: (v) The right to education and training;
[8] Article 7 States Parties undertake to adopt immediate and effective measures, particularly in the fields of teaching, education, culture and information, with a view to combating prejudices which lead to racial discrimination and to promoting understanding, tolerance and friendship among nations and racial or ethnical groups, as well as to propagating the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and this Convention.
[9] Article 3 The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to ensure the equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all economic, social and cultural rights set forth in the present Covenant.
[10] Article 7 The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to the enjoyment of just and favourable conditions of work…
[11] Article 6 (1) States Parties recognize that every child has the inherent right to life. (2) States Parties shall ensure to the maximum extent possible the survival and development of the child.
[12] Article 24 (2) States Parties shall pursue full implementation of this right and, in particular, shall take appropriate measures: (d) To ensure appropriate pre-natal and post-natal health care for mothers;
[13] (c) To combat disease and malnutrition, including within the framework of primary health care, through, inter alia, the application of readily available technology and through the provision of adequate nutritious foods and clean drinking-water, taking into consideration the dangers and risks of environmental pollution;
[14] Article 1 (3) To achieve international co-operation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character, and in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion; and …
[15] Article 2 (1) Each State Party to the present Covenant undertakes to take steps, individually and through international assistance and co-operation, especially economic and technical, to the maximum of its available resources, with a view to achieving progressively the full realization of the rights recognized in the present Covenant by all appropriate means, including particularly the adoption of legislative measures.
[16] Article 4 States Parties shall undertake all appropriate legislative, administrative, and other measures for the implementation of the rights recognized in the present Convention. With regard to economic, social and cultural rights, States Parties shall undertake such measures to the maximum extent of their available resources and, where needed, within the framework of international co-operation.
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