asdfUNITEDNaTIONSTheMillenniumDevelopmentGoalsReport2011CoverInsideThisreportisbasedonamastersetofdatathathasbeencompiledbyanInter-agencyandExpertGrouponMDGIndicatorsledbytheDepartmentofEconomicandSocialaffairsoftheUnitedNationsSecretariat,inresponsetothewishesoftheGeneralassemblyforperiodicassessmentofprogresstowardstheMDGs.TheGroupcomprisesrepresentativesoftheinternationalorganizationswhoseactivitiesincludethepreparationofoneormoreoftheseriesofstatisticalindicatorsthatwereidentifiedasappropriateformonitoringprogresstowardstheMDGs,asreflectedinthelistbelow.anumberofnationalstatisticiansandoutsideexpertadvisersalsocontributed.INTERNaTIONaLLaBOURORGaNIZaTIONFOODaNDaGRICULTUREORGaNIZaTIONOFTHEUNITEDNaTIONSUNITEDNaTIONSEDUCaTIONaL,SCIENTIFICaNDCULTURaLORGaNIZaTIONUNITEDNaTIONSINDUSTRIaLDEVELOPMENTORGaNIZaTIONWORLDHEaLTHORGaNIZaTIONTHEWORLDBaNKINTERNaTIONaLMONETaRYFUNDINTERNaTIONaLTELECOMMUNICaTIONUNIONECONOMICCOMMISSIONFORaFRICaECONOMICCOMMISSIONFOREUROPEECONOMICCOMMISSIONFORLaTINaMERICaaNDTHECaRIBBEaNECONOMICaNDSOCIaLCOMMISSIONFORaSIaaNDTHEPaCIFICECONOMICaNDSOCIaLCOMMISSIONFORWESTERNaSIaJOINTUNITEDNaTIONSPROGRaMMEONHIV/aIDSUNITEDNaTIONSCHILDREN’SFUNDUNITEDNaTIONSCONFERENCEONTRaDEaNDDEVELOPMENTUNITEDNaTIONSDEVELOPMENTFUNDFORWOMENUNITEDNaTIONSDEVELOPMENTPROGRaMMEUNITEDNaTIONSENVIRONMENTPROGRaMMEUNITEDNaTIONSFRaMEWORKCONVENTIONONCLIMaTECHaNGEUNITEDNaTIONSHIGHCOMMISSIONERFORREFUGEESUNITEDNaTIONSHUMaNSETTLEMENTSPROGRaMMEUNITEDNaTIONSPOPULaTIONFUNDINTERNaTIONaLTRaDECENTREINTER-PaRLIaMENTaRYUNIONORGaNISaTIONFORECONOMICCO-OPERaTIONaNDDEVELOPMENTWORLDTRaDEORGaNIZaTIONTheMillenniumDevelopmentGoalsReport2011asdfUniTeDnaTionsnewYoRk,2011Foreword|3ForewordSincetheywerefirstadopted,theMillenniumDevelopmentGoals(MDGs)haveraisedawarenessandshapedabroadvisionthatremainstheoverarchingframeworkforthedevelopmentactivitiesoftheUnitedNations.AttheSeptember2010MDGSummit,worldleadersputforwardanambitiousactionplan—aroadmapoutliningwhatisneededtomeetthegoalsbytheagreeddeadlineof2015.Theinformationpresentedonthefollowingpagesdemonstratesthatthiscanbedoneifconcretestepsaretaken.Already,theMDGshavehelpedtoliftmillionsofpeopleoutofpoverty,savelivesandensurethatchildrenattendschool.Theyhavereducedmaternaldeaths,expandedopportunitiesforwomen,increasedaccesstocleanwaterandfreedmanypeoplefromdeadlyanddebilitatingdisease.Atthesametime,thereportshowsthatwestillhavealongwaytogoinempoweringwomenandgirls,promotingsustainabledevelopment,andprotectingthemostvulnerablefromthedevastatingeffectsofmultiplecrises,betheyconflicts,naturaldisastersorvolatilityinpricesforfoodandenergy.Progresstendstobypassthosewhoarelowestontheeconomicladderorareotherwisedisadvantagedbecauseoftheirsex,age,disabilityorethnicity.Disparitiesbetweenurbanandruralareasarealsopronouncedanddaunting.Achievingthegoalswillrequireequitableandinclusiveeconomicgrowth—growththatreacheseveryoneandthatwillenableallpeople,especiallythepoorandmarginalized,tobenefitfromeconomicopportunities.Wemustalsotakemoredeterminedstepstoprotecttheecosystemsthatsupporteconomicgrowthandsustainlifeonearth.Nextyear’sUnitedNationsConferenceonSustainableDevelopment—Rio+20—isanopportunitytogeneratemomentuminthisdirection,whichisvitalforachievingtheMDGs.Betweennowand2015,wemustmakesurethatpromisesmadebecomepromiseskept.Thepeopleoftheworldarewatching.Toomanyofthemareanxious,angryandhurting.Theyfearfortheirjobs,theirfamilies,theirfutures.Worldleadersmustshownotonlythattheycare,butthattheyhavethecourageandconvictiontoact.BANKi-moonSecretary-General,UnitedNations4|TheMillenniumDevelopmentGoalsReport2011OverviewLiveshavebeensavedorchangedforthebetterMorethan10yearshavepassedsinceworldleadersestablishedgoalsandtargetstofreehumanityfromextremepoverty,hunger,illiteracyanddisease.TheMillenniumDeclarationandtheMDGframeworkforaccountabilityderivedfromithaveinspireddevelopmenteffortsandhelpedsetglobalandnationalprioritiesandfocussubsequentactions.Whilemoreworkliesahead,theworldhascausetocelebrate,inpartduetothecontinuedeconomicgrowthofsomedevelopingcountriesandtargetedinterventionsincriticalareas.Increasedfundingfrommanysourceshastranslatedintotheexpansionofprogrammestodeliverservicesandresourcestothosemostinneed.Herearesomeofthehighlights:•PovertycontinuestodeclineinmanycountriesandregionsDespitesignificantsetbacksafterthe2008-2009economicdownturn,exacerbatedbythefoodandenergycrisis,theworldisstillontracktoreachthepoverty-reductiontarget.By2015,itisnowexpectedthattheglobalpovertyratewillfallbelow15percent,wellunderthe23percenttarget.Thisglobaltrend,however,mainlyreflectsrapidgrowthinEasternAsia,especiallyChina.•SomeofthepoorestcountrieshavemadethegreateststridesineducationBurundi,Rwanda,Samoa,SaoTomeandPrincipe,TogoandtheUnitedRepublicofTanzaniahaveachievedorarenearingthegoalofuniversalprimaryeducation.ConsiderableprogresshasalsobeenmadeinBenin,Bhutan,BurkinaFaso,Ethiopia,Guinea,Mali,MozambiqueandNiger,wherenetenrolmentratiosinprimaryschoolincreasedbymorethan25percentagepointsfrom1999to2009.Withan18percentagepointgainbetwee