Back in 2000, the United Nations laid out a set of goals to achieve over a 15-year period. The eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) covered many areas, from halving the world's poverty rate, to eradicating the spread of HIV and AIDS, to giving equal education opportunities to women worldwide.
Now that 2015 has come to a close, we ought to assess the efforts made by the U.N. members who signed into these MDGs. Here is a reminder of the eight promises the United Nations made 15 years ago:
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. Global partnership for development
Unfortunately, many reports from around the world state that these MDGs have turned out to be broken promises.
In Ethiopia and India, for example, learning levels have not improved over the past 15 years.
The problem with "the world's greatest promise" as expressed by many critics from its early stages, is that the MDGs were too broad with big ideas, doing little to address sustainability for the member nations and to get to the root of the underlying causes behind extreme poverty, hunger, inequality and other issues which the MDGs struggled to address.
On another note, some of the MDGs were met victoriously. It was reported that five years before the target date, the goal of halving the number of people living on less than $1.25 a day was met. Also, child mortality rates around the world have considerably decreased, more women are joining the workforce (albeit still earning far less than men), and HIV and malaria cases are also on the decline.
Despite these successes, many of the goals are going backwards from where they stood in 2000. In light of this, the United Nations has closed this chapter of the MDGs and for 2016 onwards has introduced a set of 17 new goals with 169 targets as the Sustainable Development Goals 2030. This is a big leap from the original eight goals and 22 targets of the MDGs for 2015.
1. No poverty
2. Zero hunger
3. Good health and well-being
4. Quality education
5. Gender equality
6. Clean water and sanitation
7. Affordable and clean energy
8. Decent work and economic growth
9. Industry, innovation and infrastructure
10. Reduced inequalities
11. Sustainable cities and communities
12. Responsible consumption and production
13. Climate action
14. Life below water
15. Life on land
16. Peace and justice strong institutions
17. Partnerships for the goals
The Global Goals for 2030 were launched in September 2015 and observers are hoping that these goals for sustainable development will help stimulate action over the course of the next 15 years where the MDGs fell short.
