Millennium Development Goals

In 2000, leaders of 189 countries belonging to the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted a document which is called the Millennium Declaration. For the first time in history has been created a detailed action plan, which aims to help in the fight against global problems. Believing that globalization can benefit all countries in the world and realizing that so far, it brought the benefits that were unevenly distributed between different countries, the leaders have identified eight main tasks to carry out named the Millennium Development Goals. It is also a commitment to active measures for the development of the poorest countries in transition. The eight goals are ambitious plan, whose implementation was provided for 2015.

Poland, as a signatory to the Millennium Declaration, along with other partners committed to developing an active policy to improve living conditions in the poorest countries.

SWM Youth for the World, through its activities in developing countries and in transition, trying to contribute to achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

Goal 1 Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

Objective 1 makes us wonder if people have enough money to meet their basic needs and whether they have enough food to satisfy hunger.

The aim is to bring up people out of poverty by meeting their basic needs such as nutritious food to ensure health, clothing, clean water, housing, healthcare and access to education.

This goal draws attention to the fact that over one billion people must survive on less than 3 gold per day. And more than two billion on less than 6 dollars per day. 462 million young people have the money to secure food, water, clothing, electricity, fuel, housing, school, medical, travel, etc. Try to calculate how much you could if you could afford with 150 zlotys a month for maintenance and you do not have / and provided by the state health care and schools? Which property you gave up / in the first place?

Goal 2 Achieve universal primary education

Objective 2 is assumed to enable all children, both boys and girls complete primary school. This objective will be achieved by 2015. Currently 115 million children not attending primary school, of which three fifths are girls.

Providing basic education is the best investment in the future. Education reduces poverty because it gives you a choice and improving quality of life. Without ensuring universal primary education level, progress in the other Goals is not possible. Educated women bear fewer children, get medical help sooner and provide better care and food for their children. This contributes to the reduction of hunger, maternal and infant mortality, reduce the spread of HIV / AIDS and reduce environmental degradation. 115 million children do not attend primary school – 3 / 5 of them are girls.

Why children do not go to school?

* Some families can not afford the tuition, and the purchase of mandatory uniforms. With the abolishment of school uniforms and school fees in Kenya, Malawi and Uganda, the number of children attending school has grown significantly.

* Some families do not send their children to school, earning to support his family. In some families are expected to girls, they are at home and will assist in household duties.

* Often does not say is also a lack of separate toilets for girls in schools.

Goal 3 Promote gender equality and empower women

Promoting gender equality means that women have equal opportunities to improve the quality of their lives and their families, as men. Studies show that women do not have the same opportunities as men. Two-thirds of the 880 million illiterates are women. Women have fewer opportunities for employment, and only 15% of the seats in parliaments and 6% of positions in government are women.

Gender discrimination starts at an early stage, and its negative effects are felt by women throughout their lives. In some countries, female babies have less chance of surviving than male infants, because of discrimination and neglect by parents. Girls often cast the school and are less educated than boys because of gender discrimination.

In 1979 the UN General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). So far 178 countries have ratified CEDAW and is responsible for the implementation of measures to eliminate discrimination against women.

Fail to reach the Millennium Development Goals unless radical changes are made to ensure that women have the same rights as men. Each of the Goals is linked to women’s rights. Studies show that investing in education of women contributes to economic growth and development. Women with basic education have fewer children, less likely to infect with HIV and are less likely to live in poverty.

Goal 4 Reduce child mortality

Goal 4 concerns the health problems which must be faced children five years of age. Over 10 million children in developing countries die every year from diseases which can be prevented. Mortality rate of children under five dropped by 15 percent since 1990, but is still high in developing countries.

In developing countries, one in 10 children die before their fifth birthday, while high-income countries 1 in the 143rd Children must have the opportunity to become valuable members of society, regardless of their place of birth.

Children die primarily on HIV / AIDS, malaria, diarrhea and acute respiratory failure. A few facts:

* It is anticipated that the most vulnerable areas, infant mortality will double by 2010.

* Every year, malaria kills more than 400,000 children.

* Although the number of children dying of diarrhea decreased in the nineties, it is still the main cause of child mortality.

* Due to acute respiratory failure 20% of children die in developing countries. The data collected in 42 countries indicate that only half of children suffering from this infection is treated. In West Africa, only a fifth of children suffering from respiratory failure is under medical supervision.

* For many years, access to vaccination in South Asia increased. Currently maintained at the level of the nineties. In Africa south of Sahara has decreased the number of vaccinations performed.

Goal 5 Improve maternal health

Objective 5 deals with improving the conditions under which the birth. Every year more than 500 000 women die from complications associated with perinatal and pregnancy.

Worldwide, more than 50 million women suffer from poor health and well-respected reproductive disorders associated with pregnancy outcome.

Ensuring a safe birth saves the life of the mother and her unborn child.

Goal 6 Combat HIV / AIDS, malaria and other infectious diseases

Goal 6 is associated with inhibition and reversal of trends in the spread of HIV / AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis by 2015.

HIV / AIDS
Every day, seven thousand young people are infected with HIV. In Africa south of the Sahara, where HIV is spreading at the fastest pace, infected six times more often affects young women than men aged 16-24 years.

HIV / AIDS affects not only individuals but the whole community. As more and more teachers die from HIV / AIDS, children are deprived of learning opportunities. Farmers dying of HIV / AIDS are not able to provide food to families and local communities.

MALARIA
Every year there has been a 500 million cases of malaria and the number of deaths from this disease ranges from 1.5 – 2.4 million per year. 90% of cases reported in Africa south of Sahara. Many researchers fear that this situation will deteriorate due to climate change, social unrest, population growth and increasing resistance to drugs and insecticides applied.

TUBERCULOSIS
Tuberculosis kills nearly two million people annually. This number continues to increase. Between 1997 and 1999 the number of TB cases increased from 8 to 8.4 million. If this trend continues, tuberculosis remains one of the main causes of death after 2015.

HIV / AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria are major killers. The largest gathering in the harvest of the poorest countries.

Goal 7 Ensure environmental sustainability

Objective 7 relates to improvement of environmental management, so that the natural resources necessary for survival, were available for future generations. There is a strong link between environment and poverty. Air and water pollution, deforestation and ocean affects wyrybienie most poor people. Implementation of Goals 1-6 depends on whether we use the environment in such a way that does not affect its balance in the long term.

People are often poor derive their income from the sale of natural products. For example, in Tanzania, the poor half of the income derived from the sale of wild products such as charcoal, honey, firewood and forest fruit. Least developed countries are more dependent on agriculture and natural resources than most countries in the world. Pollution or scarcity of natural resources the earth can have dramatic consequences for poor people.

One of the most important environmental issues with which people face every day is a scarcity of natural resources necessary for survival. Approximately 1.7 billion people live in areas where there is water shortage and water loss is faster than the rate of regeneration of the environment. This number may increase to 5 billion by 2025. Limited access to resources such as water, weakening the potential for growth and a big burden on poor women and girls. In Africa, women and girls spend three hours a day by the water. In many countries, deforestation forcing women and girls in the countryside to look for firewood away from home. When women and girls are forced to devote much time to collect firewood or water acquisition, is not the time to walk them to school.

Goal 8 Develop a global partnership for development

Goal 8 assumes that the elimination of poverty worldwide is only possible under the global partnership between rich and poor countries.

The basic tasks of poor countries are:

* To enable civil society and the poor in the formulation of national development priorities

* Take into account the rights of all citizens in law and politics

* To allocate adequate resources to provide high quality public services for all citizens

* Combat corruption and to use public funds in a transparent manner and take responsibility for the way they are used

* Create a young people the opportunity to take decent and productive work.

The basic tasks of the rich countries are:

* To increase aid and ensure better quality of

* To reduce trade barriers and subsidies that impede poor countries to compete in the field of global economy

* Reduce the indebtedness of poor countries so that they can devote more resources to primary education and healthcare.

Only in 2003, governments have invested 900 billion on armaments, and every year that rich countries spend 300 billion U.S. dollars to support domestic farmers, while the amount of additional assistance needed to implement the Millennium Development Goals would only amount to 70 billion dollars annually.

Source: http://www.un.org.pl/