The dramatic surge in food prices has plunged millions of poor people and many net food importing poor countries into a food crisis. Consequently, it has also put at risk their chances of achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. Whilst the focus has been on the impact on the MDG1 of reducing poverty and hunger, given the close inter-connectedness between all the 8 MDGs, the impact on these sections of the poor on health, education and livelihoods more broadly, cannot be underestimated.
The Millennium Development Goals Report 2010
The Millennium Declaration in 2000 was a milestone in international cooperation, inspiring development efforts that have improved the lives of hundreds of millions of people around the world. Ten years later, world leaders will gather again at the United Nations in New York to review progress, assess obstacles and gaps, and agree on concrete strategies and actions to meet the eight Millennium Development Goals by 2015.
Millennium Development Goals Report Card
The last two decades have shown that it is possible to defeat the scourge of poverty. Progress has not been uniform across countries, and there have been setbacks and disappointments. But overall, the rate of progress in reducing poverty and in increasing access to basic health, education, water, and other essential services is unparalleled in many countries’ histories.
New Analysis Reveals African Countries Top List of 20 Countries Making Most Overall Progress on MDGs
As G-8 and G-20 leaders prepare to gather in Canada, new analysis issued by the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) and the United Nations Millennium Campaign finds that, in absolute terms, many of the world’s poorest countries are making the most overall progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – the set of promises world leaders made to significantly reduce extreme poverty, illiteracy and disease by 2015.
Ahead of the World Cup in South Africa, former UN Secretary-General/Africa Progress Panel Chair Kofi Annan and UNDP Goodwill Ambassador/football star Didier Drogba released ‘Scoring for Africa – An Alternative Guide to the World Cup’. The report compares statistics from African nations on issues such as economic growth, CO2 emissions, access to education and human development, with the nations they will face on the football field. It finds that Africans simply do not have a fair playing field on issues such as trade or the fight against climate change.
Climate Change has a disproportionate impact on the poorest countries, who have contributed the least to the problem. Africa, for instance, accounts for less than 3 percent of global emissions, yet its 850 million inhabitants face some of the biggest challenges from drought and disrupted water supplies. Moreover, poor countries lack the basic infrastructure and financial means to respond adequately to these challenges. Decades of development gains are under threat due to climate change.
Minar Pimple, Deputy Director for Asia, UN Millennium Campaign
Sering Falu Njie Deputy Director Policy
Children and Youth all over Ghana will participate in the campaign with a clear message to leaders “We Can’t Wait; Stand Up, Take Action, End Climate Change and Poverty Now.’ The campaign will call on Ghanaians and the world to stand up for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and take actions that send clear and powerful message to governments and leadership; Keep your promises to end poverty and achieve the MDGs.
