Millennium Development Goals The Millennium Development Goals are

Millennium Development Goals

The Millennium Development Goals are an ambitious agenda for reducing poverty and improving lives that world leaders agreed on at the Millennium Summit in September 2000. For each goal one or more targets have been set, most for 2015, using 1990 as a benchmark.

The Eight Millennium Development Goals 1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger 2. Achieve universal primary education 3. Promote gender equality and empower women 4. Reduce child mortality 5. Improve maternal health 6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases 7. Ensure environmental sustainability 8. Develop a global partnership for development

Significant progress has been made in achieving many of the goals, but progress is not uniform across world. Sub-Saharan Africa is epicenter of crisis; it’s the only region not on track to achieve any of the goals.

GOAL 1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger Target for 2015: Halve the proportion of people living on less than a dollar a day and those who suffer from hunger.

GLOBALLY Problems • 1. 2 billion people still live on less than US$1 a day. Progress • 43 countries, with more than 60 percent of the world’s people, have already met or are on track to meet the goal of cutting hunger in half by 2015.

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Problems • Just under half of Sub-Saharan Africa’s population – some 313 million people – survive on less than $1 day. Progress On the current trend projection, there will be 353 million people in poverty in 2015, with Sub-Saharan Africa’s share of global poverty climbing from 29% - 53% of the total.

2. Achieve universal primary education Target for 2015: Ensure that all boys and girls complete primary school.

GLOBALLY Problem • 113 million children do not attend school Progress • The target is within reach. India, for example, should have 95 percent of its children in school by 2005.

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Problem • Sub-Saharan Africa currently accounts for 43 million of the 113 million children out of school, or just over 1/3 of the total. Progress • By 2015, approximately 19 million children in Sub. Saharan Africa will still be out of school if current trends continue (Africa’s share of the global out of school population: 40%).

3. Promote gender equality and empower women Targets for 2005 and 2015: Eliminate gender disparities in primary and secondary education preferably by 2005, and at all levels by 2015.

GLOBAL Problem • Two-thirds of illiterates are women, and the rate of employment among women is two-thirds that of men. • 80 percent of its refugees are women and children. Progress • Nearly 19 million poor women have been reached and empowered in 2000 alone. • The proportion of seats in parliaments held by women is increasing, reaching about one third in Argentina, Mozambique and South Africa.

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Problems • Adult illiteracy rates in Africa are as high as 78% for men and 93% for women, only in 4 states including South Africa are they below 20%. Progress

6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases Target for 2015: Halt and begin to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS and the incidence of malaria and other major diseases.

GLOBAL Problems • Forty million people are living with HIV, including five million newly infected in 2001. • Almost 12 million young men and women live with HIV/AIDS - 2. 5 million new cases in 2002 • 6, 000 young people get infected every day Progress Countries like Brazil, Senegal, Thailand Uganda (ABC Program) have shown that the spread of HIV can be stemmed.

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Problems • HIV/AIDS is now the leading cause of death in sub. Saharan Africa • 12 million children have been orphaned by AIDS Progress

7. Ensure environmental sustainability • In Africa, water scarcity afflicts 300 million people and claims at least 6, 000 lives a year. • The UN estimates that by 2025, about one in two Africans will be living in countries that are confronted with water stress or water scarcity.

8. Develop global partnerships for development Targets: • Develop further an open trading and financial system that includes a commitment to good governance, development and poverty reduction – nationally and internationally • Deal comprehensively with developing countries’ debt problems • Develop decent and productive work for youth • In cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to affordable essential drugs in developing countries • In cooperation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies – especially information and communications technologies.

GLOBAL Progress • Individual pharmaceutical companies have pledged to donate essential AIDS medication free of charge to developing countries, reduced prices, or are working with developing world governments to secure sustainable price reductions. • In June, the G 8 decided to forgive $40 billion in debt by 18 countries (many in sub-Saharan Africa) owed to the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the African Development Bank. • Youth Unemployment:

YOUTH

Youth represent 18 % of the world population

Geographically the world’s youth live (approximately): • 60%: developing countries of Asia • 15%: Africa • 10%: Latin America and the Caribbean • 15%: developed regions.

Youth Problems: Goal 1 • 238 million young people survive on less than $1 a day in 2000 - nearly a quarter (22. 5 per cent) of the world’s estimated youth population • 60 million young people live on less than $1 a day

Goal 2 Goal 3 • 4 out of 10 children do not attend primary school— a total of 38 million kids • Of the 113 million children not in school globally, 57% are girls

Goal 6 Goal 2 • three-quarters of all young people living with HIV/AIDS are in Sub. Saharan Africa (8. 6 million people) • an infant has 1/3 chance of surviving to age 65 • extreme poverty cuts life expectancy in half from 80 years to 40 or worse

Challenges that many youth face: • Not engaged or allowed to be engaged in national policy-making • Disillusioned with politics and policy-making • APATHETIC not as involved as they should or could be. • Unempowered

Importance of Youth: • One young person can change the world: full of ideas, energy, and optimism • Young people have the right to participate fully in society and to express their opinions about matters related to their lives. • Participation by young people is an investment in a country’s future. • They can hold governments accountable for current policies and promises that have implications for the future (such as nat’l aid commitments for the MDGs)

Involving youth in the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluating of youth-related policies, programmes and services makes them more relevant, efficient and effective for their target group—young people!

Key pillars of youth involvement: A D V O C A C Y P A R T N E R S H I P S

Advocacy • Targeting governments/government officials • Phone-in to radio stations • Distribute information packages to officials and the media • Protest, with media coverage (perhaps using celebrities) • Boycott • Use the legal system • Join committees or groups • Train officials • Write press releases • Conduct media interviews • Talk and network with others

Partnerships can be defined as when different people or organizations work together to achieve a common benefit or purpose. The purpose of using partnerships is thus to achieve with others, what could not be done alone. We call this ubuntu in Africa. Key features: • Mutual dependency in sharing risks, responsibilities, resource, competencies and benefits; • Working together under a shared process of decisionmaking and joint problem-solving; • Voluntary partnership formation based on choice, not on regulation and coercion; • Joining of forces where the sum of the results of the partners working together is greater than the sum of the partners working individually;

Who to partner with: There are numerous organizations and groups with which to build partnerships. Potential partners include: • Youth groups and/or organizations • Non-governmental organizations • Government departments • Foundations • United Nations agencies • Academic departments • Religious leaders • Lawyers • Business leaders • Police * Partnerships differ from networking in that they tend to be more in-depth, with concrete specific GOALS.

Benefits of Partnerships There are numerous benefits you can receive when working in partnership with others. In general, building partnerships allows you to broaden your scope of work and strengthen its impact. Other benefits include: • Access to other institutions, people and/or places; • Fresh, new ideas and perspectives; • New knowledge and skills; • Financial support or increased human resources; • Influence, higher profile or political leverage; • More effective work: through a wider outreach or response, increased resources, fewer constraints and more efficient and effective programmes.

Example of Partnership: America Reads/South Africa Reads (ARSAR) A non-profit organization promoting K-12 literacy and access to primary education in South Africa and the United States through advocacy and book-drives. Traveling to 25 K-12 schools in 10 states throughout the U. S. , I collected nearly 100, 000 children’s books for South African libraries serving rural schools.

How African Youth Taking Action

Africa 2015 is an initiative of the UNDP launched in 2003 to promote awareness and achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Africa.

Africa 2015 recognizes young people as the continent’s best chance to find lasting solutions to some of its most pressing problems.

This is a Pan. African and global effort. The more youth involved, the more that can be achieved.

A Pan-African Youth Leadership Summit was held in Dakar, Senegal, 27 -30 June 2004 as part of the Africa 2015 campaign to call attention to the Millennium Development Goals.

With theme “Providing a Global Platform for Africa’s Next Generation of Leaders in Achieving the Millennium Development Goals, ” the summit brought together young leaders and representatives of youth organizations to exchange ideas and experiences, network and share proposals on how to achieve the Millennium goals.

And since Africa 2015, there has been Asia-Pacific 2015. Other regional summits are just over the horizon, will you be apart of it?

“Young people face so many difficult decisions to make in life today… [and] they have the most vital role to play in helping shape the future. ” -- Nelson Mandela