Chapter 2, Problem 2.1.1P

To determine

The achievements from the report of MDG 2015.

Explanation of Solution

The UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2015 Report discusses the achievements made since the Millennium Development Goals adopted in September 2000.

Those achievements are defined below:

• Over the last two decades, extreme poverty has declined significantly.Overall the number of people living in extreme poverty has dropped by over half, from 1.9 billion in 1990 to 836 million in 2015. Since 2000, much progress has been made.Between 1991 and 2015, the number of people in the working middle class increased nearly tripled.In developing regions, the proportion of undernourished people has fallen by nearly half since 1990, from 23.3% in 1990−1992 to 12.9% in 2014−2016.

• The total enrolment rate for primary schools in developed areas hit 91% in 2015, up from 83% in 2000.Worldwide, the number of primary schoolage out ofschool children has dropped by nearly half, to an approximate 57 million in 2015, down from 100 million in 2000.Since the implementation of the MDGs, Sub-Saharan Africa has had the best record of progress in primary education in any area.Between 1990 to 2015, the literacy rate among young people aged 15 to 24 has risen globally from 83% to 91%. Women and men's gap have narrowed.

• The aim of reducing gender disparity in elementary, secondary and tertiary schooling has been accomplished by the developed regions.Females currently make up 41% of paid workers outside the agricultural sector, up from 35% in 1990.Between 1991 and 2015, there is 13 percent decline in the proportion of women in vulnerable jobs as a share of total woman workers. In comparison, men's vulnerable workers fell by 9 percent.Females also gained ground with data over the past 20 years in parliamentary representation in almost 90 percent of the 174 nations. Over the same time, the total proportion of women in parliament has almost doubled.

• The global mortality rate of under-five has dropped by more than half, declining between 1990 and 2015 from 90 to 43 deaths per 1,000 live births.Despite population growth in developed countries, children under five died from 12.7 million in 1990 to about 6 million worldwide in 2015.The reduction rate for under-five death has more than doubled worldwide since the early 1990s.Between 2000 and 2013, vaccination of Measles helped prevent almost 15.6 million deaths. For the same period, the number of globally reported cases of measles declined by 67%.Approximately 84% of the world's kids received at least one dose of vaccine-containing measles in 2013, up from 73% in 2000.

• The maternal mortality ratio has declined by 45% globally since 1990, and most of the decline has happened after 2000.In 2014, more than 71% of deliveries are attended internationally by trained medical workers, a rise from 59% in 1990.Contraceptive prevalence among women aged 15 to 49 years, whether married or in marriage, fell from 55% worldwide in 1990 to 64% in 2015.

• Between 2000 and 2013, new HIV infections dropped by about 40% from a reported 3.5 million cases to 2.1 million.By June 2014, global antiretroviral therapy (ART) is provided to 13.6 million people living with HIV, a huge increase from just 800,000 in 2003.Between 1995 and 2013, ART prevented 7.6 million AIDS deaths.The global incidence rate of malaria has fallen by an estimated 37% and the mortality rate has fallen by 58%.Prevention, diagnosis and treatment measures saved an approximate 37 million lives between 2000 and 2013.The mortality rate of tuberculosis fell by 45% and the prevalence rate declined by 41% between 1990 and 2013.

• Since 1990, ozone-depleting pollutants have been virtually eliminated, and by the middle of this century the ozone layer is expected to recover.Terrestrial and underwater protected areas have increased significantly in many regions since 1990.In 2015, an improved drinking water source was used by 91% of the world's population, relative with 76% in 1990.Of the 2.6 billion people who have access to improved drinking water since 1990, 1.9 billion have access to piped drinking water on site.Of the 2.6 billion people who have access to improved drinking water since 1990, 1.9 billion have access to piped drinking water on premises.Globally, the drinking water target was achieved by 147 nations, the sanitation target was reached by 95 countries, and both were met by 77 countries.Exposure to better sanitation has developed 2,1 billion people worldwide.Since 1990, the proportion of people who commit open defecation has decreased by nearly half.The percentage of urban slums in developed regions declined from about 39.4% in 2000 to 29.7% in 2014.

• Official development aid from developed countries fell to $135.2 billion in real terms by 66 percent between 2000 and 2014.In 2014, Denmark, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom managed to surpass the approved goal of 0.7% of gross national income for development assistance by the United Nations. In 2014, 79% of developing-country products are accepted duty-free, up from 65% in 2000.In developing countries, the ratio of external debt service to export income dropped from 12% in 2000 to 3% in 2013.As of 2015, a mobile-cellular signal will cover 95 percent of the world's population.In the last 15 years, the number of mobile subscribers has rising almost tenfold, from 738 million over 2000 to more than 7 billion in 2015. In 2000, Internet penetration rose from just over 6% of the world's population to 43% in 2015.

Conclusion:

The MDGs saved millions of lives and improved conditions for many more.