The First Step…

 

The UN brought out the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) in the year 2000 to eradicate development challenges in the world. It hopes to achieve this by 2015. It was adopted by 187 countries and signed by about 142 heads of state and governments. The United Nations Millennium Declaration has eight goals.

 

The following are the eight goals:

• Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
• Achieve universal primary education
• Promote gender equality and empower women
• Reduce child mortality
• Improve maternal health
• Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases
• Ensure environmental sustainability
• Develop a global partnership for development

Poverty affects 1.1 billion people around the world. Funds seem to be the biggest problem in eradicating poverty and hunger. The UN plans to provide things like anti-malarial beds in places like Africa. Debt is another factor related to poverty. If this problem is addressed, the global poverty scene can be helped. Now, the rich are getting richer and the poor, poorer.

 All boys and girls have to get compulsory primary education. In India, all those below the age of 14 have to receive education irrespective of caste, creed, sex or race. But what about those children working in restaurants, bars, cleaning shoes and begging for a living? Education reforms need to be implemented in this regard. Adult illiteracy is also common. At least 875 million adults worldwide are illiterate. The UNESCO is making programmes about quantity and quality in schools. 

One of the most debated and dissected topics in the history of mankind would have to be gender equality. From a high school debate to a reservation for women, it has been done time and again. Still, women haven’t come far ahead. They continue to have fewer rights though they play an important role in society. Their rights and contributions must be recognized and respected. 

Africa, India, Bangladesh and Latin America are some of the places where The Hunger Project has been implemented. Though obesity is a major cause for death among children, malnourishment is soon going to overtake it. With most available food lacking nutrients in them, child mortality rate is on the rise. Lack of immunization is also another reason for this.  

One woman dies in childbirth every minute. It is ironic that when a woman is giving life, she is tossed between the hands of life and death. Health care is not available to many women around the world. So when they go into labour, there are no facilities at hand. Even during the gestation period, precautions need to be taken to protect the pregnant mother and the unborn baby. 

Diseases like malaria, AIDS and others place a lot of stress on the health sector of a country. They are related to issues like unemployment, financial problems, mortality and even other diseases. Since there is many a myth about these diseases, information needs to be given about it to the masses. People should not shy away from undergoing a medical examination. Technology should also be brought in to make it easier to detect disease in areas where these diseases are prevalence.  

Exploiting natural resources is not new to mankind. He has been doing it for ages now. This has been causing serious threats to the earth itself. Recycling, eliminating toxic wastes, protecting the natural environment are ways to ensure environmental sustainability.  

A global partnership is generally with a country aimed towards a particular issue. It can have a business angle to it. This is also done to strengthen relations between two nations. The third world nations need to be helped by the developed nations towards achieving the above-mentioned goals. This includes poverty, employment of youth, medical facilities and debt.    

In the 21^st century, we have to face so many challenges with such little resources. Informing people, which includes those who barely have any access to the world outside, about these various issues, needs to be done. Lets make the world a better place.  

Education is a human right with immense power to transform. On its foundation rest the cornerstones of freedom, democracy and sustainable human development – Kofi Annan