The state of the Millennium Development Goals, from December 2008

In searching for news stories today, we found something from December of 2008 that still deserves a mention. The Independent did a story about how the numbers of hungry had changed in the year 2008. At the end of the article contained a summary of each Millennium Development Goal and how the world in general stands in meeting them. Here is that final portion of Geoffrey Lean's story.

Global targets: a progress report

Goal one Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger between 1990 and 2015.

Progress 1.4 billion people live in extreme poverty, down from 42 per cent of the world population in 1990 to 26 per cent in 2005. Up to 75 per cent of the population is employed except in parts of Africa and Asia. Undernourished under-fives dropped from 33 per cent in 1990 to 26 per cent in 2006.

Success or failure? Still possible by 2015 but lack of progress in sub-Saharan Africa, where workers earn less than $1 a day.

Goal two Universal primary education by 2015.

Progress 570 million children worldwide enrolled in school. Those not enrolled fell from 103 million in 1999 to 73 million in 2006. Primary school enrolment reached 88 per cent in 2006, up 5 per cent per cent from 2000.

Success or failure? 38 million children in sub-Saharan Africa are not enrolled, while in southern Asia 18 million do not go to school. This goal may not be achieved by 2015, and there are barriers on girls going to school.

Goal three Promote gender equality in education by 2015 and empower women.

Progress 55 per cent of children not in school are girls. Women occupy about 30 per cent of parliamentary seats in 20 countries. Women occupy 40 per cent of all paid jobs, up 5 per cent on 1990.

Success or failure? 113 countries failed to achieve equality of enrolment; only 18 will meet the target. Since 2000, the proportion of women in parliaments rose from 13.5 to 17.9 per cent.

Goal four Reduce child mortality of under-fives by two-thirds between 1990 and 2015.

Progress Deaths of under-fives declined from 93 to 72 deaths per 1,000 live births between 1990 and 2006, and child deaths dropped below 10 million a year in 2006.

Success or failure? Children born in developing countries still 13 times more likely to die under five. Between 1990 and 2006, 26 countries made no progress in reducing childhood deaths, while in 27 others the mortality rate is flat or getting worse.

Goal five Improve maternal health and reduce mortality by two-thirds between 1990 and 2015.

Progress Maternal mortality decreased by less than 1 per cent per year between 1990 and 2005; 60 per cent of births were attended by health professionals in 2006, up 10 per cent since 1990.

Success or failure? 500,000 women a year in developing countries die during pregnancy. Worst progress of all goals.

Goal six Universal access to treatment for Aids/HIV by 2010 and reverse spread of HIV/Aids and malaria by 2015.

Progress New HIV cases declined from three million a year in 2001 to 2.7 million in 2007. Funding increased tenfold within a decade. Mosquito net production rose from 30 million in 2004 to 95 million in 2007.

Success or failure? 7,500 people a day infected with HIV; 5,500 die of Aids-related illness; 500 million new cases of malaria a year.

Goal seven Reduce loss of biodiversity by 2010 and halve number of people without access to safe water or sanitation by 2015.

Progress Deforestation declined to 7.3 million hectares a year; 1.6 billion people have access to drinking water since 1990.

Success or failure? 40 per cent of the world lives with water scarcity, and fish stocks are overexploited. One billion people still have no access to safe drinking water and 2.5 billion have no access to basic sanitation, yet target may still be achieved.

Goal eight Develop a global partnership for development.

Progress The UK is among the few nations to meet targets of giving 0.15 per cent of gross national Income in aid. The burden of debt in developing countries fell from 13 per cent of exports in 2000 to 7 per cent in 2006.

Success or failure? Aid dropped from £67bn in 2005 to £64bn in 2007 but needs to increase by £18bn a year. A third of essential medicines are available in 30 developing countries.