Millennium Development Goals

Established by the international Millenium Declaration of 2000, General Assembly Resolution 55/2, the Millenium Development Goals are a set of development areas and metrics for the elimination of poverty and the existence of self-reliant communities. They are intended to provide specific measurable results by the year 2015, and are used by the United Nations, under whose auspices they were created, and national and nongovernmental assistance agencies.

The areas include:

• Poverty & Hunger
• Maternal health & mortality
• Universal Education
• Major disease reduction
• Gender equality
• Environment
• Infant & Child Mortality
• Global Partnership

Poverty and hunger

There are three targets.

Increasing income

Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less than $1 a day. This protects against higher food prices that may push 100 million people deeper into poverty. Conflict leaves many displaced and impoverished, so conflict reduction is part of the target.

These are both recognized as ideals, with much development and change needed to realize them. The econd target starts to address the income problem.

Employment

To achieve target 1, it is practically necessary to achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all, including women and young people

• Full employment remains a distant possibility
• Low-paying jobs leave one in five developing country workers mired in poverty
• Half the world’s workforce toil in unstable, insecure jobs

Reduced hunger

Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger. Rising food prices threaten limited gains in alleviating child malnutrition, but the problem is more than prices, more than income. It includes physical distribution and honest markets.

Major disease reduction

Areas identified include HIV, malaria and tuberculosis.