The Millennium Development Goals were drafted at the break of the millenia to address global poverty and poor standards of life.

• The aim was to “spare no effort to free our fellow men, women and children from the abject and dehumanizing conditions of extreme poverty”. (MDG Report)
• The millennium Development Goals kept people at the centre of development planning. A basic needs approach was followed to streamline the goals.
• The MDGs did a remarkable job in terms of drawing attention to the existence of abject poverty. But it was criticised heavily for not having adequate statistical evaluation to assess progress.

Learn more about Development and Environment, here.

Millennium Summit and Declaration

• The millennium Summit was held between 6th-8th September, 2000, at the headquarters of the United Nations in New York City.
• The aim of the summit was to outline the role and responsibility of the UN in the 21st century.
• The Millennium Summit was co-chaired by Finland’s President Tarja Halonen and Namibia’s President Sam Nujoma.Kofi Annan was the UN General Secretary during the time.
• Resolution 55/2 adopted on September 8 is called the United Nations Millennium Declaration.
• The millennium Declaration identified the following values as central to international relations in the 21st century: Freedom, Equality, Solidarity, Tolerance, Respect for Nature and Shared Responsibility.
• The declaration recognised shared responsibility to protect the values of human dignity, equality and equity at the global level.

Here is a list of International Organisations and their headquarters.

Millennium Development Goals – United Nations

• The Millennium Development Goals are 8 international development goals that came out of the Millennium Summit and Declaration of 2000.
• 191 member nations of the UN and its constituent agencies declared their full support to the development goals.
• It was based on the OECD (Organisation for Economic Development) Development Assistance Committee’s goals. It was envisioned to direct proper utilisation of international development aid. The 1996 report, ‘Shaping the 21st Century’, outlined 6 goals that were similar to the Millennium Development Goals.

1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

• Reduce the number of poor people by half, between 1990 and 2015. People living below $1.25 a day were considered poor.
• Create decent employment opportunities for the people.
• Reduce hunger by half, between 1990 and 2015.
• The number of people who live on less than $1.25 reduced from 50% to 14%, in the developing countries.

Read about the types of unemployment in India here.

2. Achieve universal primary education

• All children, regardless of their gender, should get at least primary education by 2015.
• The Primary net school enrolment ratio rose from 83% to 91%.
• The gap between women and men on account of literacy narrowed.

3. Promote gender equality and empower women

• Remove gender disparity in primary and secondary education by 2005 and from all levels of society by 2015.
• Number of women in primary and secondary levels of education rose.Women undertaking wage employment outside of the agriculture sector also increased (35% to 41%).
• Only one in every five parliament members were women by 2015. Much more progress was estimated in women’s participation in governance.

Know about the International Day of Women and Girls in Science here.

4. Reduce child mortality rates

• Reduce the under-five mortality rate by two-thirds between 1990 and 2015.
• Between 1990 and 2015, the worldwide under-five mortality rate fell by more than half, from 90 to 43 deaths per 1,000 live births.

5. Improve maternal health

• Reduce the maternal mortality ratio by three-quarters between 1990 and 2015.
• Ensure universal access to reproductive health care.
• The maternal mortality ratio has decreased by 45 percent globally since 1990, with the majority of the drop occurring after 2000.

6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases

• Stop the spread of HIV/AIDS by 2015.
• Obtain universal access to HIV/AIDS treatment for all people in need by 2010.
• Reverse the spread of malaria and other major diseases by 2015.
• Between 2000 and 2013, the number of new HIV infections dropped by almost 40%, from an estimated 3.5 million to 2.1 million.

Read about World AIDS Day here.

7. Ensure environmental sustainability

• Integrate sustainable development concepts into national policies and initiatives; counteract environmental resource depletion.
• Reduce biodiversity loss by achieving a significant decrease in the rate of loss by 2010.
• By 2015, the fraction of the population without long-term access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation would be halved.
• In 2015, 91% of the world population used a refined drinking water source, up from 76% in 1990.

8. Develop a global partnership for the development

• Create a trade and financial system that is open, rule-based, and just.
• Consider the particular situation of Least Developed Countries and provide assistance.
• Worldwide debt-reduction strategies to ensure long-term debt sustainability.
• Offer underdeveloped nations with cheap access to vital medications.
• Between 2000 and 2014, developed-country official development aid rose by 66% in real terms, reaching $135.2 billion.

Sustainable Development Goals

• Introduced after the expiration of MDGs in 2015.
• The UN General Assembly met in 2015 and brought out “a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all people and the world by 2030”.
• The UN Resolution, also known as the Agenda 2030, came into force in the aftermath of millennium Development Goals that ended in 2015.
• It was adopted by the member states in September 2015.
• Unlike earlier policy documents, the UN devised various mechanisms like the SDG tracker to evaluate progress.
• It was launched in 2018. The target year is 2030.The 17 Sustainable Development Goals were divided into 169 targets that could be tracked by 232 unique indicators.

Also, check out the other topics of People Development and Environment, here.

So, this is all about Millennium Development. Practice mock tests prepared by subject experts for cracking competitive exams on the Testbook App.