Millennium Development Goals

Year 2015 is the deadline for achievement of MDG.
A look at the progress made so far.

The year 2015 has dawned. This year has been set as the deadline for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (ہزار سالہ ترقی کا ہدف). The United Nations Development Programmes had set certain goals for the developing nations to improve the quality of life for the people inhabiting those countries. These goals were set in 1990 and the developing nations were asked to move towards fulfilling them by the year 2015.
While explaining those goals, we will provide the Urdu translation of these terms in order that this column serves the dual purpose of informing as well as making the readers learn the Urdu meaning of these terms used frequently in the media. (Enhance your WordPower is being clubbed with this column.)

Eradication of Extreme Poverty and Hunger
(غربت اور بھوک کا خاتمہ)
About 173 million fewer people worldwide suffered from chronic hunger in 2011″“2013 than in 1990″“1992. About one in five persons in developing regions lives on less than $1.25 (or Rs. 88) per day.
In 1990, when MDG were taken up, 40% of young children were stunted””having inadequate height for their age. In 2012, a quarter of all children under the age of five years were estimated to be stunted. So though 1.2 billion still live in extreme poverty, and poverty rates have been halved between 1990 and 2010 and the MDG target has been met.
However, it is unacceptable that 162 million young children are still suffering from chronic undernutrition.

Reduction of Child Mortality
(نو زائید بچوں کی اموات میں کمی)
Under this the nations are urged to bring down the death of under five children. The child mortality rate has almost halved since 1990; six million fewer children died in 2012 than in 1990. Despite good progress, the world is still falling short for the MDG child mortality target.

Improving Maternal Health
(زچہ خواتین کی صحت میں بہتری)
Almost 300,000 women died globally in 2013 from causes related to pregnancy and childbirth.
The proportion of deliveries in developing regions attended by skilled health personnel rose from 56 to 68% between 1990 and 2012.
A maternal death is the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and the site of the pregnancy, and can stem from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy r its management. It is measured in terms of maternal deaths per one lakh live births.

Gender Equality
(صنفی مساوات اور صنفی امتیازو تفریق کا خاتمہ)
In Southern Asia (i.e., countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal etc), only 74 girls were enrolled in primary school for every 100 boys in 1990. By 2012, the enrolment ratios were the same for girls as for boys. This means in matters of enrolment, gender parity has been achieved.
Women are also assuming more power in the world’s parliaments, boosted by quota systems.
Legislated or voluntary quotas were used in 39 chambers holding elections. Such measures impact positively on women’s access to parliament. However, quotas alone are not enough: political parties need to field more women candidates.

Universal Primary Education
(بنیادی تعلیم کی عام رسائی)
Half of the 58 million out-of-school children of primary school age live in conflict-affected areas. More than one in four children in developing regions entering primary school is likely to drop out.
Despite impressive strides forward at the start of the decade, progress in reducing the number of children out of school has slowed down considerably.
High dropout rates remain a major impediment to universal primary education. An estimated 50 per cent of out-of-school children of primary school age live in conflict-affected areas.

Ensure Environmental Sustainability
(مادّی ترقی اور قدرتی وسائل کے استعمال کے درمیان توازن)
Between 1990 and 2012, almost 2 billion people obtained access to improved sanitation. However, 1 billion people still resort to open defecation. One-third of urban residents in developing regions still live in slums.
But Nature is facing grave threat from emission of Carbon dioxide its level in 2012 was almost 50% above its 1990 level. Millions of hectares of forest are lost every year and many species of animals are near extinction.

Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other Diseases
(ایڈز اور ملیریا جیسی بیماریوں سے نجات)
Almost 600 children died every day of AIDS-related causes in 2012. Antiretroviral medicines were delivered to 9.5 million people in developing regions in 2012. Malaria interventions saved the lives of three million young children between 2000 and 2012. Between 1995 and 2012, tuberculosis treatment saved 22 million lives.
There are still too many new cases of HIV infection.
Access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV-infected people has been increasing dramatically. ART has saved 6.6 million lives since 1995. Expanding its coverage can save many more.

A Global Partnership for Development
(عالمی سطح پر ترقی میں شرکت)
Considerable progress has been seen in this sphere. Official development assistance stood at $134.8 billion in 2013, the highest level ever recorded. 80% of imports from developing countries enter developed countries duty-free. The debt burden on developing countries remains stable at about 3% of export revenue. The number of Internet users in Africa almost doubled in the past four years. 30% of the world’s youth are digital natives, active online for at least five years.

(Source: All statistics are based on information provided by http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/mdgoverview/mdg_goals/mdg8/)