Millennium Development Goals

The Millennium Development Goals are instrumental in shaping the world towards a prosperous future for the current as well as future generations.

Governments, United Nations agencies and civil societies have all geared their efforts towards eight crucial development agendas that aim at reducing poverty, providing quality health services, increasing literacy levels via provision of quality educational services, and addressing critical environmental concerns. These principles are specifically designed to assist marginalized communities as well as the world’s poorest countries. However, the goals and objectives outlined in the MDGs may not be realized by 2015 if they do not factor in persons with disabilities. There is a high correlation between poverty and disabilities yet the MDGs, as well as accompanying set of policies, implementation guidelines, conferences and reports, have no reference to these minorities. Nonetheless, the most recent MDGs framework provides a vague mechanism for creating vital opportunities for the disabled. In order to create a comprehensive plan for the disabled, the United Nations as well as other major stakeholders should collaborate and come up with a strategic plan which should be interwoven with the current phase before the due deadline (2015).

This could be exemplarily implemented through creating an informal dialogue platform in order to avoid basic bureaucratic and diplomatic issues. Skeptics and critics have strongly stated that the goals and objectives outlined in the MDGs are not achievable by 2015. Further funding will be required in order to meet and advance current plans. In fact, significant progress has only been achieved in Eastern and Southeastern Asia where poverty levels, as well as hunger rates and resultant deaths, have significantly declined. On the other hand, some regions, such as Latin America, have either remained stagnant or retrogressed since 1990.

Poverty levels have also increased substantially in Western Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. The MDGs are in their final phase of implementation. Whereas much of the blame can be laid on the 2008 global financial crisis, in some regions most of these efforts are not likely to be realized in the near future.