Millennium Development Goals Essay ⋆ Political Science Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the countries that compose the United Nations (UN) agreed to eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which they pledged to complete by the year 2015. These goals were derived from the UN’s Millennium Declaration, which was signed in September 2000. It is an attempt to create a cohesive development plan for the poorest nations in the international system and to link member states with international organizations such as the World Bank and World Health Organization. The UN member states promised to “free all men, women and children from the abject and dehumanizing conditions of extreme poverty.” Through realization of the MDGs, the UN predicts that the least-developed countries will be able to escape the poverty trap.

The eight MDGs are extensive in scope. Committed states agree to work toward eradicating extreme poverty and hunger; achieving universal primary education; promoting gender equality and empowering women; reducing child mortality; improving maternal health; combating HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases; ensuring environmental sustainability; and developing a global partnership for development.

The UN has developed eighteen targets that will determine if the MDGs have been met by 2015. These targets have each been associated with a given MDG. Goal One’s targets include reducing by 50 percent the proportion of people who suffer from hunger and the proportion who earn under $1 daily. To meet Goal Two, all boys and girls must be able to complete a full primary-level education, and Goal Three is targeted to ending gender discrimination in primary and secondary education. Goal Four will be considered met when the mortality rate of children under the age of five has been reduced by 66 percent. Reducing maternal mortality by 75 percent is the target for Goal Five. Goal Six seeks to halt and reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS and malaria. Goal Seven has three targets: Sustainable development principles must be integrated into the domestic growth policies of underdeveloped countries, the proportion of the population who do not have access to safe drinking water must be reduced, and there must be fewer people who live in slum-like dwellings worldwide.

The UN Millennium Campaign claims that “for poor countries to achieve the first seven goals, rich countries must deliver on their end of the bargain with more and more effective aid, more sustainable debt relief and fairer trade rules.” States must be willing to follow the rules regarding nondiscrimination. The UN also suggests that developing countries be granted leniency, such as a reduction of tariffs for their exports and debt relief for economic sustainability.

In conjunction with the UN Secretariat, Dr. Jeffrey Sachs, an economist from Columbia University, suggested the development of “millennium villages” in order for outside actors to help impoverished communities meet the MDGs. The UN has developed twelve villages (in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, and Uganda) within distinct agricultural zones on the African continent to prove that development does not depend on the arability of land.

Many criticisms have been leveled at the Millennium Development program. The first is that the MDGs are nothing new. They were part of the “big push” programs of the 1950s and 1960s and the renewed UN development goals of the 1990s. The UN has also had a hard time getting developed nations to provide funds and materials. Finally, many economists claim that the MDGs will be of no use unless the root of the problem is solved—corruption of the governments of these least-developed countries.

Bibliography:

Easterly,William. The White Man’s Burden: Why the West’s Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good. New York: Penguin Press, 2006.
End Poverty 2015 Millennium Campaign. www.endpoverty2015.0rg/goals/global-partnership.
Sachs, Jeffrey. The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities of Our Time. New York: Penguin Press, 2006.
United Nations. The Millennium Declaration. 2000. www.un.org/geninfo/ir/index.asp?id=180.

Whiteside, Alan. “Poverty and HIV/AIDS in Africa.” Third World Quarterly 23, no. 2 (2002): 313–332.

This example Millennium Development Goals Essay is published for educational and informational purposes only. If you need a custom essay or research paper on this topic please use our writing services. EssayEmpire.com offers reliable custom essay writing services that can help you to receive high grades and impress your professors with the quality of each essay or research paper you hand in.