Millennium Developmental Goals | Medical Science Optional Notes for UPSC PDF Download

History

In September 2000, delegates from 189 nations gathered at the Millennium Summit in New York, where they officially embraced the United Nations Millennium Declaration. During the summit, leaders pledged their commitment to specific objectives across seven key areas: peace, security, and disarmament; development and poverty alleviation; safeguarding our shared environment; upholding human rights, democracy, and good governance; protecting vulnerable populations; addressing the unique needs of Africa; and fortifying the United Nations.

A strategic Road Map was laid out, outlining goals and targets to be achieved by the year 2015 within each of these seven domains. The objectives related to development and poverty eradication have since gained widespread recognition as the "Millennium Development Goals."

The Eight Millennium Development Goals are

• Eliminating extreme poverty and hunger;
• Attaining universal primary education;
• Fostering gender equality and empowering women;
• Decreasing child mortality;
• Enhancing maternal health;
• Combating HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases;
• Ensuring environmental sustainability;
• Cultivating a global partnership for development.

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) exhibit interdependence; each MDG has an impact on health, and health, in turn, has repercussions on all the MDGs. Improved health, for instance, facilitates children's learning and adults' earning capacities. The attainment of better health is closely tied to gender equality. Likewise, the reduction of poverty, hunger, and environmental degradation not only positively affects but also relies on enhanced health.

Hence, three out of the eight goals are directly related to health, and all the remaining objectives exert significant indirect influences on health. Three of the eight goals encompass eight of the 18 essential targets for their achievement, while 18 of the 48 progress indicators are associated with health.

Health related Millennium Developmental Goals

• Goal 1: Alleviate poverty and hunger
• Target 1.C: Reduce by half, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people suffering from hunger.
• Goal 4: Diminish child mortality
• Target 4.A: Decrease by two-thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under-five mortality rate.
• Goal 5: Enhance maternal health
• Target 5.A: Decrease by three-quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio.
• Target 5.B: Attain universal access to reproductive health by 2015.
• Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases
• Target 6.A: Halt and begin to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS by 2015.
• Target 6.B: Achieve universal access to treatment for HIV/AIDS for all those in need by 2010.
• Target 6.C: Halt and begin to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases by 2015.
• Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability
• Target 7.C: Halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation.
• Goal 8: Foster a global partnership for development
• Target 8.E: Collaborate with pharmaceutical companies to provide affordable essential drugs in developing countries.

Challenges for MDG

• Critics of the MDGs expressed concern about the absence of thorough analysis and justification behind the selected objectives, as well as challenges in measuring some goals and observing uneven progress, among other issues.
• MDG 8 uniquely highlights donor achievements rather than development successes.
• The MDGs faced criticism for their insufficient emphasis on environmental sustainability, thereby not encompassing all elements necessary for realizing the ideals outlined in the Millennium Declaration.
• Agriculture, despite being the livelihood of most of the world's poor, was not specifically addressed in the MDGs.
• The MDGs might not adequately underscore local participation and empowerment, aside from women's empowerment.
• While assistance from developed countries to achieve the MDGs increased during the specified period, over half of it was allocated to debt relief, with the remaining portion largely directed toward natural disaster relief and military aid, rather than advancing development.
• By 2013, progress towards the goals exhibited disparities, with some countries making significant strides in achieving multiple objectives, while others lagged behind without substantial progress in any.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) replaced the MDGs in 2016.

Sustainable Developmental Goals (SDGs)

The United Nations General Assembly established the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015, comprising a set of 17 global objectives to be achieved by the year 2030.

The Sustainable Development Goals are:

• Eradicating Poverty
• Achieving Zero Hunger
• Promoting Good Health and Well-being
• Ensuring Quality Education
• Advancing Gender Equality
• Providing Clean Water and Sanitation
• Ensuring Affordable and Clean Energy
• Fostering Decent Work and Economic Growth
• Supporting Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
• Reducing Inequality
• Building Sustainable Cities and Communities
• Encouraging Responsible Consumption and Production
• Taking Climate Action
• Preserving Life Below Water
• Safeguarding Life On Land
• Promoting Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions
• Fostering Partnerships for the Goals

Millennium Developmental Goals - Repeats

• Enumerate the Millennium Development Goals related to health. Describe the challenges for MDG. (2014)