Within Goal 8, developed states bind themselves to support developing countries in their economic development. The goal is very broad embracing various aspects related to development. There is a large delivery gap in meeting commitments towards the MDGs target of addressing the special needs of least developed countries (LDCs), and to provide more generous official development assistance (ODA) for countries committed to poverty reduction. Efforts to step up ODA have been set back. Total net aid flows from members of OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC) fell to $103.7 billion in 2007, representing 0.28 per cent of the combined national income of the developed countries (End Povert...

Climate change is intensifying disasters, including extreme weather events, storm surges, floods and droughts. It is vital that development strategies incorporate measures to strengthen community resilience through economic development, income diversification, strengthened natural/infrastructural defenses and disaster preparedness. While no area can escape the adverse impact of climate change, the Arctic, small islands, mega-deltas in Asia and Africa, and the African region overall seem to be especially vulnerable because of their high exposure to the effects of climate change, their populations’ limited capacity to adapt to the consequences or both (End Poverty 2015, Fact Sheet). Goal sev...

Hundreds of thousands of children across the world become infected with HIV every year and, without treatment, die as a result of AIDS. In addition, millions more children who are not infected with HIV are indirectly affected by the epidemic, as a result of the death and suffering that AIDS causes in their families and their communities (Avert). Within goal six, all UN countries pledge to combat AIDS/HIV, Malaria & other diseases. The situation is dramatic. At the end of 2008, there were 2.1 million children living with HIV around the world. In the same year estimated 430,000 children became newly infected. Out of the 2 million people who died of AIDS during 2008, more than one in seven ...

Goal five of the Millennium Development Goals focuses on the maternal health. It sets the target of three quarters’ reduction of the maternal mortality rate. Every year, 536,000 women and girls die as a result of complications during pregnancy, childbirth or the six weeks following delivery. Almost all of these deaths (99 per cent) occur in developing countries (UN MDG Report 2009). Maternal mortality is among the health indicators that show the greatest gap between the rich and the poor — both between countries and within them. The heavy concentration of maternal and child death in sub-Saharan African and South Asia is a reflection of this inequity in service. Reducing both types of di...

Around 24 000 children die a day due to preventable causes. That equals a number of people of  a small town disappearing each day from the earth's surface. The problem of high child mortality is tackled within goal four of Millennium Development Goals. The vast majority of child deaths occurs in 68 poorest countries, reaching nearly 98% of all. These 68 countries constitute the so-called ‘priority countries’ on MDGs agenda. To achieve anticipated targets immediate actions need to be taken in most of the priority countries (Countdown Report 2008) The majority of deaths results from preventable diseases like measles, malaria or tetanus. Others result indirectly from marginalization,...

Goal three of Millennium Developmets Goals commits all countries around the globe to eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and in all levels of education no later than 2015. It seeks to ensure of the fundamental  rights rooted in not only the Convention of the Right of Child, but also Universal Declaration of Human Right which says that ‘Everyone is entitled in full equality’. Gender equality is vital for achieving all of the Millennium Development Goals. Girls/Women carry the brunt of poverty. There can be no development, and no lasting peace on the planet, if women continue to be relegated to subservient and often dangerous and b...

Within goal two, all countries commit themselves to ensure universal education at the primary level to all children, regardless of gender. Right to education is one of the basic human rights guaranteed by the Convention of the Rights of Child. It clearly says: ‘Make primary education compulsory and available to all for free’. Yet, around 100 million children worldwide are deprived of the chance to acquire knowledge. Dakar World Education Forum in 2000 had a significant impact on aid environment. After a steep decline in the 1990s, development assistance budgets have been on a rise. Millennium Development Goal 2 has reinforced the message of Dakar World Education Forum and has become an i...