What are the Millennium Development Goals
At the start of 2000,
members of the United Nations set the international agenda for the beginning
of the new century. The resulting Millennium Declaration is a broad
commitment of all UN member states. The declaration applies the principles
of the UN Charter to a new world and a new millennium. The declaration
defines a new international agenda in seven key areas:
-
peace, security and
disarmament
-
development and
poverty eradication
-
protecting our common
environment
-
human rights,
democracy and good governance
-
protecting the
vulnerable
-
meeting the special
needs of Africa
-
strengthening the
United Nations
The Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs) extract and refine those elements of the Millennium Declaration
that are related to development.
The MDGs are:
UNDP has worked with other
UN organizations, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and
the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to agree on
these goals. The UN General Assembly approved the Millennium Development
Goals in 2001, and the UN Secretary-General then asked UNDP to promote the
MDGs by assisting countries develop short, medium term and long term
strategies for achieving the MDGs. In that role, UNDP coordinates and keeps
track on national efforts and progress in attainment of the MDGs and making
them an integral part of the UN's work worldwide.
The goals are time-bound,
starting in 1990, to be achieved by 2015. They comprise
only those elements of the
Millennium Declaration which are both related to
development and
quantifiable. Only if they are quantifiable, can one objectively measure
progress.
The first seven goals
stress the responsibility of developing countries to undertake policy
reforms and enhance good governance. Goal eight focuses on the
responsibility of developed nations to relieve debt, increase aid and give
developing countries better access to its technologies and markets.
To be as precise as
possible, the Millennium Development Goals include 18 targets for the eight
goals. One goal is normally defined by one or two targets. For each target,
a number of indicators make progress measurable. There are 48 indicators in
total.
The Millennium Development
Goals are not meant to be analytical tools or a strategic path for
successful development. Instead they tell us where the world wants to go,
but not how to get there thus requiring a strong link with strategies for
attaining the goals.
Strategies for attaining
the MDGs are laid out in national poverty reduction strategies or the World
Bank’s so-called Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs)
UNDP Swaziland is
currently supporting the implementation and monitoring of the Poverty
Reduction Strategy and Action Programme.
Because the Millennium
Development Goals are a limited sub-set of the Millennium Declaration, they
are not scientific, but rather a politically negotiated consensus. This
explains why important areas like good governance or human rights which are
now outlined in the Swaziland PRSAP, are included in the Declaration - are
not included in the goals. In these cases, it was not possible to find a
consensus about how to define and measure the goals.
Swaziland has adopted a Poverty
Reduction Strategy and Action Programme (PRSAP) as a mechanism for attaining
the MDGs. The PRSAP is structured into six pillars dealing with broad
thematic areas for addressing poverty. The six pillars are:
-
Facilitating investment and economic growth based on
broad participation;
-
Promoting fair distribution of the benefits of growth
-
Empowering the poor to generate income
-
Human Capital Development
-
Improvement of the quality of life for the poor
-
Improving governance and strengthening institutions
Update on achievement of
the goals
Eradicating
Extreme Poverty and Hunger - Goal 1
Currently the trend illustrates that poverty and hunger are on the increase
in Swaziland in both rural and urban areas, with people living on food aid
increasing from 210,000 in 2005/06 to more than 400,000 in 2006/07. The
status of agricultural performance is showing signs of negative growth as a
result of persistent long dry spells; poor market prices; high production
cost; high unemployment rate; and HIV/AIDS. 69% of the population is living
below the poverty line. Poverty is more prevalent in Shiselweni and Lubombo
regions but estimated to be deeper in peri- urban areas.
The most important challenge for the country is therefore to
accelerate the current economic growth to more than 5% to address poverty
reduction and make meaningful progress towards achieving MDGs in 2015.
News:
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Achieving
Universal Primary Education – Goal 2
Swaziland has taken great strides in improving access to
primary school education. After experiencing a long term decline which
reached the lowest point in 2003, primary school enrolments has improved.
Total enrolments had decreased from 213986 in 2000 to 208652 in 2003; but
have risen by 8.8% to 226 914 in 2006, from the 2003 level. The Net
Enrolment Rate has increased from 77.5% in 2000 to 81.9% in 2005. On the
whole, the enrolment of girls is lower than that of boys although this tends
to balance out at secondary level.
The improvement in some of the indicators is a consequence of
a number of initiatives the Swaziland Government and her partners have
undertaken to ensure access to education, including: the introduction of a
bursary scheme for orphaned and vulnerable children, the introduction of
free books as well as the gradual introduction of free text books at the
primary school level.
Despite the improvements, there are many children of
school-going age who are still out of school. About 18% of school-going
children are excluded from the system. Many who are in the system also drop
out or repeat grades, with a repetition rate averaging 16% and a dropout
rate of about 6.2% in 2003. The challenge is therefore is to address the
internal inefficiencies as well as quality aspects of the education system.
News: Human
Capital Development
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Gender
equality and empowering women - Goal 3
There are signs that Swaziland will be able to achieve
Goal 3. Trends of these indicators reflect an upward movement towards gender
equality.
In the education system, the boys’ participation outweighs
that of the girls but the difference is marginal, with an average female
participation rate of 49.2%.
In the area of public participation, while female
representation in parliament and in Cabinet is still minimal, trends show
that there is an upward mobility. 20% of the members of the parliament
(2003-2008) are women, an improvement from 8% representation in previous
parliament (1998-203). In Cabinet 4 out of the 18 members are women.
Significantly, the Deputy Prime Minister has been a woman since 2006.
In the Swaziland civil service 58% of professional,
technical, administrative and managerial positions are occupied by women.
In contrast, only 30.2 women hold similar positions in the private sector.
News:
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Reduce
Child Mortality - Goal 4
Under-five mortality trends indicate that under-five
mortality has been increasing since 1997 from 106 per 1 000 live births to
122 per 1000 in 2000, stabilizing at 120 per 1 000 in 2006. Nonetheless, the
rate of increase between 2000 and 2006 was not so pronounced. On the other
hand, malnutrition amongst under 5s is estimated to be 39% causing
stuntedness and underweight prevalence is estimated to be 10%. 47% of deaths
are HIV/AIDS related.
Infant mortality increased from 78 per 1000 live births in
1997, to 87.7 per 1000 in 2000 and stabilized at 85 per 1000 in 2006.
Stabilization of infant and under-five mortality rates is expected to
continue as the up-take on the Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission
intervention increases.
The refocus of government efforts towards the provision of
safe drinking water and sanitation will also act as a contributing factor
towards reducing child mortality. It is estimated that only 36% of
households had access to clean safe water in the country during the dry
season and as such the likelihood of children suffering from diarrhea
increased by 32%. Prevalence of under weight children due to malnutrition
has reduced between the period 2000 and 2006 from 10% to 7.4%. Prevention
prograrmmes such as measles immunization coverage had been declining from
94% in 2003 to 60% in 2005. However an increase in immunization coverage was
recorded in 2005 from 60% in 2006 to 82% in 2006.
A national immunization campaign reached a significant
coverage of children age between 9 – 59 months of 91.3%. The immunization
programme has a high utilization rate on static facilities of over 80%.
Despite the stable picture of infant mortality a further reduction of infant
mortality will be achieved through significant gains in the national
HIV/AIDS response, food security and improvement of access to safe water and
sanitation. There is a potential to make progress towards achieving this
goal, however, with the current food security crisis, under 5s are very
vulnerable thus mortality likely to increase.For
latest news regarding this goal, visit
WHO
and UNICEF
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Improve
Maternal Health - Goal 5
Maternal mortality continues to be a major problem in the
country as the probability of life being at risk every time a woman is
pregnant was estimated to be 1 in 69 in 2003. In this regard maternal
mortality trends show that maternal mortality increased from 229 per 100,
000 live births in 1997 to 370 per 100,000 live births in 2006. The
continuous increase in maternal mortality rate is associated with the rapid
spread of the HIV and AIDS epidemic and limitations of the health system.
According to preliminary results from the Demographic and
Health Survey 2007 the percentage of women assisted by a health professional
has increased from 70% in 2000 to 74.1% in 2006. Further the percentage of
women delivering in health facilities have increased from 56% in 2000 to
74.1% in 2006. Despite the increases in the health seeking behavior of
pregnant women the country has not made significant progress towards
achieving this MDG goal.
For latest news regarding this goal, visit
WHO and
UNFPA
Printed Press Releases:
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Fighting
HIV&AIDS Stigma and Discrimination - Goal 6
Evidence from ANC attendees shows that there has been a
positive trend in the level of HIV prevalence across all age groups in the
period 1998 to 2004 with the highest prevalence occurring in the age group
25 – 29 years followed by 30 – 34years. However, there was a consistent
decline among the age group 15 – 19 years between 2002 and 2006 from 32.5%
to 26 % respectively. The prevalence rate in the broad age category of 15
to 24 years decreased between 39.4% in 2002 to 34.6% in 2006. On the
contrary HIV prevalence for the age groups 30 – 34 and 35 – 39 years
maintained an increase in the same period. Using the age group of 15 -19 and
20 – 24 years as a proxy for HIV/AIDS incidence, it may be inferred that
Swaziland is showing decreasing signs from 32.5% in 2002 to 26.0% in 2006.
There has been a significant reduction in the incidence of
clinical malaria from 4.1 per 1000 people in 2000 to 2.2 per 1 000 people in
2004. The significant decrease in the incidence of the disease can be
attributed to a number of factors including high indoor residual house
spraying coverage, erratic rainfall trends, improved public consciousness
and awareness in affected communities. The number of laboratory confirmed
cases has dropped from an average of 4, 000 per year during the period 1995
– 2000 to less than 300 per year during the 2004/05 malaria transmission
season.
Tuberculosis has become one of the leading causes of
morbidity and mortality among adults in Swaziland. The number of TB cases
notified in Swaziland over the last 15 years has increased six-fold. In 2000
the prevalence rate of TB was estimated at 856 per 100, 0000 people rising
to 1182 per 100, 000 in 2006.
It is estimated that approximately 36% of households in 2006
had access to an improved source of water and 47% lacked access to improved
sanitation. There has been a significant increase in the incidence of
diarrhoeal diseases from 177 cases per 1, 000 people in 2001 to 279 cases
per 1, 000 in 2006. With the exception of Malaria, the country has not made
significant progress towards achieving this MDG Goal.
News: Human
Capital Development
Printed Press Releases:
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Ensure
Environmental Stability
Environmental management has taken a centre stage in
Swaziland. The number of projects that have been subjected to environmental
assessment has increased from 55 in 2000 to 204 in 2006. The integration of
environmental issues into national development has seen the waste management
licenses and special waste licenses increasing from 1 to 7 and 1 to 2
respectively over the past five years. However, waste disposal and
management remains a key challenge.
Progress has also been made in the provision of clean
drinking water and slum upgrading. The number of people without clean
drinking water is urban areas has decreased from 37 percent in 2000 to 21
percent in 2005 and there has been an increase in the slum upgrading
beneficiaries from 21000 in 2005 to 41 000 beneficiaries in 2007. In rural
water supply, 42% of the rural populace had been served safe drinking water
since 1990. In 2006, the proportion of rural population with access to safe
drinking water has increased to 54%.
The challenge remains in waste disposal management, climatic
change and law enforcement.News: Improving the quality of life
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Develop
a Global Partnership for Development - Goal 8
Swaziland’s trade and financial system has been faced with
serious challenges in attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) due to the
competition for the FDI with economically superior neighbours. FDI inflows
have declined from E665 million in 2000 to E56 million in 2006. The
country’s balance of payment (BoP) trends reflects that export performance
have been poor compared to imports.
However, the performance of the financial industry has been
progressive and sound as measured by the superior average risk weighted
capital adequacy ratio when compared with the statutory minimum adequacy
ratio of 8 percent.
Swaziland external debt has also been kept within the
internationally recommended standards and is therefore sustainable. The
country has also made meaningful inroads in both telephonic and mobile
penetration rate as reflected by the increase in the number of subscribers
for the two national providers for these services.
Swaziland’s membership to big trading organisations have paid
dividends in the past but with the changing trading regimes, challenges of
penetrating those markets and maintaining a secured share has poised serious
challenges. The EU market for sugar is under threat with the forthcoming
price reduction and removal of preferences.News:
To read
more on Global MDGs click on the links below.
http://www.unmillenniumproject.org/index.htm
http://www.undp.org/mdg
Swaziland
