Business Business News World meets targets on poverty, slums, water under Millenium Development Goals
World meets targets on poverty, slums, water under Millenium Development Goals
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- Published on Wednesday, 04 July 2012 01:00
By A Web design Company
The world has achieved three targets on poverty, slums, and water under the Millennium Development Goals, the United Nations yesterday said.
According to the 2012 MDG report, the targets of cutting extreme poverty into half of its 1990 level by 2015; halving the proportion of people without access to improved sources of water by 2010; and improving the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers by 2020, has already been achieved.
However, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said that meeting the remaining targets will only be possible if governments do not waiver from their commitments made over a decade ago.
The MDGs were formed in 2000 when 189 member states of the United Nations, which include the Philippines, committed themselves to making the right to development a reality for all.
There are eight MDGs, and the Philippines has low probability of achieving the goals on basic education and maternal health; while it has a medium probability of achieving two targets, and high probability of achieving the remaining four.
“The current economic crises besetting much of the developed world must not be allowed to decelerate or reverse the progress that has been made. Let us build on the successes we have achieved so far, and let us not relent until all the MDGs have been attained,” Secretary-General Ban said.
According to the MDG report, the preliminary poverty estimates indicate that in 2010, the share of people living on less than $1.25 a day dropped to less than half of the 1990 level.
Meanwhile, the proportion of people using improved water sources went up to 89 percent in 2010, from 76 percent in 1990.
This means that more than two billion people now have access to improved sources such as piped supplies or protected wells.
The report also said that more than 200 million slum dwellers have gained access to improved water sources and sanitation facilities, or durable or less crowded housing.
This shows that the target of improving the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers has been met ahead of the 2020 deadline.
“These results represent a tremendous reduction in human suffering and are a clear validation of the approach embodied in the MDGs,” Ban said.
However, Ban said that this success is not a reason to relax.
He said that projections indicate that in 2015 more than 600 million people worldwide will still lack access to safe drinking water, almost one billion will be living on an income of less than $1.25 per day, mothers will continue to die needlessly in childbirth, and children will suffer and die from preventable diseases.
“Hunger remains a global challenge, and ensuring that all children are able to complete primary education remains a fundamental, but unfulfilled, target that has an impact on all the other goals. Lack of safe sanitation is hampering progress in health and nutrition… and greenhouse gas emissions continue to pose a major threat to people and ecosystems,” Ban said.
While bullish on the success recorded, the MDG Report warned that the 2015 deadline is fast approaching.
Governments, the international community, civil society and the private sector need to intensify their contributions, the report said.
