UNITED NATIONS — At the dawn of the new millennium, world leaders pledged to tackle poverty, disease, ignorance and inequality — and went beyond generalities to commit themselves to specific goals. Progress has been made over the past decade, but many countries are still struggling to meet the 2015 target.
Another summit opens Monday in New York to review what has, and hasn’t, been done.
“These Millennium Development Goals are a promise of world leaders,” said Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, who invited leaders of the 192 U.N. member nations to the three-day summit. “They’re a blueprint to help those most vulnerable and poorest people, to lift them out of poverty. This promise must be met.”
But recent reports show that the world’s poorest countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, have made little headway against poverty. Africa, Asia and Latin America have seen a lack of progress in reducing mother and child deaths, boosting access to basic sanitation, and promoting women’s equality.
Amnesty International Secretary-General Salil Shetty said some goals will likely be met, but the poorest are going to be left out, partly because so many governments are not accountable to their people.
Ban warned that the global economic crisis is making matters worse.
Here, from U.N. figures, is the status of progress on some specific goals:
• Overall, the world is on track to halve the numbers of people in extreme poverty, though some critics say it is mainly because of improvements in China and India. The proportion living on less than $1 a day in developing countries fell from 46 percent in 1990 to 27 percent in 2005 and should reach the target despite the economic crisis. But even so, the U.N. said, about 920 million people will still be living on less than $1.25 a day in 2015.
• Primary school enrollment rose from 83 percent in 2000 to 89 percent in 2008, which means 70 million children worldwide are not in classrooms. That pace of progress is not sufficient to ensure the goal of universal primary education by 2015.
• Reducing maternal mortality by three-quarters and child mortality by two-thirds has lagged. The World Health Organization said there has been a 34 percent decline to 358,000 deaths in 2008, less than half the goal set in 2000.
• The goal of halting and reversing the AIDS epidemic is unlikely to be met. Although the number of new infections has fallen from a peak of 3.5 million in 1996 to 2.7 million in 2008, UNAIDS said five people are becoming infected for every two who start treatment. Two million AIDS-related deaths still occur every year.
On the plus side, Ghana outperformed all others in reducing hunger, Vietnam reduced the proportion of people living on less than $1 a day, and 10 African countries halved their absolute poverty levels.
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Prepping for the U.N. rush
NEW YORK — Restaurants are clearing space for world leaders and their entourages, the Waldorf-Astoria is fluffing the pillows in the presidential suite, and people who live on Manhattan’s East Side are just hoping to get into their buildings without a police escort.
Representatives from 192 countries will be in town this week for a United Nations anti-poverty summit and the opening of the U.N. General Assembly’s annual ministerial meeting. For New Yorkers, that will mean gridlocked traffic and a chance to spot the leader of Bhutan or Andorra at a local eatery.
Antonio and Mario Cerra, the father-and-son owners of a U.N.-area Italian steakhouse called Padre Figlio, were busy last week booking tables for countries such as East Timor.
Antonio Cerra said the diplomats will eat hearty Italian food with luxurious touches like black truffles.
“They know not to ask for Russian food,” he said. “They know not to ask for kosher. They get pasta, seafood, steak, boom.” President Barack Obama is scheduled to speak at the anti-poverty summit on Wednesday.
The Associated Press
