United Nations Millennium Development Goals - Essay Example

July 29 UN Millennium Development Goals: Final Project Millennium development goals were established following the millennium summit of the United Nations. It was held in the year 2000. All nations attended the summit in which they adopted the United Nations millennium declaration. Around twenty-three international organizations were involved in the commitment to help achieve the goals by the year 2015. The goals have specific targets and timeframes for achieving these targets. To fuel the progress, experts from the World Bank, IMF, OECD, were called upon to provide the indicators of development that is taking place along with the steps being undertaken to achieve the targets on time (United Nations). Criticism which has accompanied the achievement of millennium development goals has taken note of uneven progress, difficulty in measurements of some goals and lack of proper analysis. Some developed countries had achieved more than what was expected of them while some were behind realizing any of the targets intended to achieve the goals. The key goals and targets were outlined so that every individual could have at least the dignity to his right of freedom and the basic standard of living. Various goals and their corresponding targets outlined below have been found to be the key to economic development in the world. The indicators of how progress has been made show the effort and determination of the United Nations to achieve the goals within their specified timeline (United Nations). Target (1b): Achievement of decent employment for both genders and the young Poverty has been a hindrance to economic development. It has brought about the suffering of mankind all over the world. Many people in most developing countries are living in substandard conditions (Snarr and Snarr 25). Eradication of poverty is vital to the development of developing nations, every means has been tried to make sure that the standard for the threshold of poverty which lies at 1.25$ per day has been achieved by most nations. When a large portion of people lives in poor conditions, it becomes difficult for a country to make any huge step in economic development. The provision of jobs to people holds the main key in minimizing the levels of poverty. Through creation of jobs that provide adequate wages, people earn income that enables them to sustain their living. Discrimination of the youth and women in employment spaces provide and increase the levels of poverty in a given country. As a result, the World Bank has come up with various strategies which entail providing zero-interest loans and development grants to countries. The strategies include provision of capital to less developed countries enabling them to employ their workers which result in the reduction of hunger and poverty. The offering of technical advice and services has been effective in the reduction of poverty. It is evident in Lao PDR IN 2003; access roads and better health care were created through the poverty reduction fund. In Moldova, around 932,000 people were empowered through the social development fund from the year 1998 to the year 2011. The fund was meant to cater for their developmental needs and make them self-reliant. It was a measure put to enhance production and achieve the target of getting people employed in firms. Provision of grants to organizations and firms in less developed countries is an initiative by the World Bank to ensure that they provide opportunities to people in these countries. These strategies have been applied all over the world to ensure that the millennium goals are achieved within their timeline (The World Bank). The achievement of the target set is on track. The target aims towards realizing the millennium goal of eradicating poverty. There has been an initiative to raise awareness of the ways on how to eradicate poverty. For example, the world health organization for reproduction rights which give people the need to know the importance of family planning since fewer children means more household income for an individual in that family. However, the effectiveness of the World Bank towards achieving the targets has been met with challenges. One challenge is that the management of the funds does not ensure they reach all areas of the globe. Also; the grant is given under the influence of political interest (The World Bank). 2(a): Ensuring all children complete a full course of primary schooling Development is always characterized by education. Empowerment through education ensures that joblessness and illiteracy is eliminated. Basic education is needed for everyone without discrimination on gender or ethnic group basis. Without the investment in education, the country’s vision of development is undermined. A range of mechanisms has been utilized to ensure that at least basic education for all is attainable. The World Bank has helped the United Nations fund the education sector to ensure that the cost of education goes low which will make education affordable to all (United Nations). Through the education development fund, most nations were able to receive a donation to construct several schools so that they could be able to have affordable education. Also, the various programs of the United Nations like advocating for the education of female children has largely been successful. This campaign has aimed at making education accessible to both genders without discrimination. Snarr and Snarr (5), show that various organizations have been set up in less developed countries as a means of enhancing the education process. The indicators are illustrating that the inclination is inclined towards a positive direction as depicted by the enrollment charts of the children in primary schools. For example, in Bangladesh, more than 750000 children benefited with a second chance in primary education. The ratio between the both genders has been balanced over the time as shown in (Snarr and Snarr, 27). Development towards realizing education for both genders has advanced positively and towards the realization of the millennium goal. Target 4: eliminate gender disparity in women in education and employment sectors by 2015 The empowerment of women in various sectors is integral in ensuring development is taking place. The declaration of the millennium goals setup the various targets and indicators to ensure that women are not discriminated at the various points of existence. The United Nations made a rule of ensuring that all girl children are taken to school and the two-thirds rule to be implemented by all countries in their appointments. The indicators of development towards realizing the target are quite evident as records of UNESCO show clearly that the ratio of boys to girls is getting even, and the ratio of literate men to women at the age bracket of 15-24 years is getting better with time. It shows that the realization of the target is realistic and is highly achievable within the timeline of the year 2015. The number of seats women hold in various parliaments around the globe is increasing and showing a good trend. However, the attainment of the target is hindered by certain cultures that discourage development and empowerment of women (United Nations). 6b: To have halted by 2015 and began to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS. The HIV/AIDS menace has been a huge hurdle to less developed countries; its minimization is a key issue in the development agenda towards achieving the targets and realization of the millennium goals. The African region is the most affected as shown in the WHO records. Strategies undertaken by the World Health Organization in realization of the targets include worldwide provision of condoms to ensure that there is minimal spread of the disease. The United Nations has created awareness on the importance of using contraceptives and has supplied the same to different countries. The antiretroviral medicines have been channeled to different countries to help those that are already infected. The strategies put up to attain the target were to support countries scale up their health systems, ensuring that disease prevention is integrated into maternal care, and child health programs (United Nations). The progress of the millennium goals and target of reducing HIV/AIDS has been significant, and a positive trend has been shown over the time. In Congo, more than seventy percent of pregnant women have been given prenatal care received voluntary tests which were an increase from 16 percent in the year 2003. The progress of the achievement of the goal is taking place, but there is a huge delay since world health records show that a large number is still spreading the disease (United Nations). 7b: Reduce biodiversity loss, achieving by the year 2010 a noteworthy decrease in the pace of biodiversity loss The target was to attain sustainability of the environment by ensuring minimal loss of biodiversity by the year 2010. The main targets were aimed at increasing the proportion of land under forest cover, regulation of consumption of ozone-depleting substances, and increasing the proportion of water resources used. The sustainability of the environment aims at reducing the greenhouse effect and the effect of global warming. It also aims at reducing the loss of biodiversity through investment in clean energy, making infrastructure improvements, and promoting ecosystem-based solutions (United Nations). The World Bank has made its commitment to the realization of the same by releasing a fund of about thirteen billion US dollars in projects incorporating environmental and resources management. Because of the developments, it has been noted that in Rwanda about 100,000 hectares of land under forest cover were put under agriculture and shielded from soil erosion which prevented degradation of the environment. According to the target of achieving minimum loss of biodiversity, the target cannot be achieved within the timeline given since until now; large pieces of land are still not covered by forests, and there is huge emission of pollutant chemicals to the environment without control (The World Bank). Target 8a: Developing further open, rule-based, predictable, non-discriminatory, trading, and financial systems Creation of good systems of governance and platforms where everyone is treated with mutual respect is a key agenda in realization of the millennium goal of development (Snarr and Snarr 201). The stability of nations in the way that they govern and the freedom of trade they give are key pillars in ensuring that development takes place. The fight against terrorism by the whole world is to ensure that all countries gain freedom to trade and conduct their activities. The world has encouraged the formation of trade blocs which reduce tariffs among the member nations and form a unified entity to deal with others. As a result, various trade union blocs have been created all over the world to deal with their trade in a single way. The target has been boosted by advancement in communication infrastructure and was well set to be achieved by the year 2010. Conclusion The millennium goals target has been achieved but not in an even manner as expected. Some countries have achieved in meeting the targets while some countries have been sluggish in obtaining the same. China has eradicated poverty in a huge way, whereas some countries are still at the same level of poverty they were in several years ago. Various goals along with the targets included have. However, some have still not been met. Education targets are not well achieved as compared to eradication of poverty and reduction of HIV/AIDS. This shows a discrepancy in the implementation of the millennium development goals. However, the positive steps that have been made are an encouragement that what has not been achieved shall and can be realized. Work cited Snarr, Michael T, and Neil Snarr. Introducing Global Issues. Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2008. Print. The World Bank. Millennium Development Goals, 2014. Web. 29 July. 2014. United Nations. Report of World Development, 2013. 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