A UN REPORT has found that three global anti-poverty goals have been achieved ahead of their target date.
Efforts to end extreme poverty shows that in three areas – poverty, water and slums – the Millennium Development Goals have been met ahead of the 2015 deadline, but persistent gaps remain, notably in the area of maternal health.
The Hindu reports that a maternal death occurs every ten minutes in India, and that the country is likely to miss its goal in relation to the maternal mortality rate.
According to the report the proportion of people living below the poverty line fell from 47 per cent in 1990 to 24 per cent in 2008, while the number of people with access to safe drinking water rose from 75 per cent in 1990 to 89 per cent in 2010.
People living in slums fell from 39 per cent in 2000 to 33 per cent in 2012.
The figures mean that more than 200 million people globally have gained access to improved water sources, sanitation and housing. However, projections also indicate that in 2015 more than 600 million people worldwide will still lack access to clean water and almost one billion will live on an income of less than $1.25 a day.
The Millennium Development Goals were agreed upon in 2000 in order to fight poverty. This latest report assesses the progress in a number of regions on eight goals.
Hans Zomer of Dóchas, the umbrella group for Ireland’s development NGOs said that Irish people are helping to provide access to safe drinking water and to improve living conditions.
He also said that a recent review of European aid and its effectiveness highlighted falling EU-wide spending, but that Ireland is one of only three member states whose government aid is agency provides one hundred per cent ‘genuine’ aid to developing countries.
The UN has said that there is a need for “true global partnership” in order to achieve the MDGs by the 2015 deadline.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say