In 2000, the United Nations member states met to discuss ways to fight world poverty in its various dimensions. The conclusion of this meeting translated to the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which were to be carried out by the member states over the next decade and a half.
The goals were:
- 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
By the target date, 2015 end, there was a reason to celebrate as significant progress had been made across all goals and the MDGs were even hailed as the most successful anti-poverty movement in history.5 However, in Nigeria, the same could not be said. Six out of the eight goals were not achieved, according to the Nigeria 2015 Millennium Development Goals End Point report. Global attention has now turned to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are a universal call
to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity.
They are meant to build on the successes of the MDGs. In order for Nigeria to be able to successfully implement and achieve the global SDGs, it has to first identify where it fell short of achieving the MDGs. By looking into the shortcomings in achieving the MDGs “eradicate extreme poverty and hunger” and “combat HIV/AIDS and other diseases”, we can better understand how Nigeria can approach and achieve the SDGs “no poverty”, “zero hunger”, and “good health and well-being” by the target date 2030.
MDG 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
According to the United Nations Millennium Development Goals report, significant progress was made globally with respect to achieving this goal
- In 1990, almost 50% of the population in the developing world lived on less than $1.25 per day and that proportion fell to 14% in 2015.
- The number of people living in extreme poverty declined by more than 50% from 1.9 billion in 1990 to 836 million in 2015.
- The proportion of undernourished people in developing economies dropped by almost half since 1990, from 23.3% between 1990 – 1992 to 12.9% in 2014 – 2016.
While success was recorded on the global front, Nigeria made a paltry attempt.
The gap in these targets was particularly concentrated in the northern states and rural areas where there remains a high prevalence of hunger.
MDG 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases
The MDGR 2015 states:
- Globally, the number of new HIV infections fell by about 40% from 3.5 million to 2.1 million between 2000 and 2013.
- By June 2014, 13.6 million people living with HIV were receiving antiretroviral therapy (an increase from 800,000 in 2003), averting 7.6 million deaths from AIDS between 1995 and 2013.
- Nearly 37 million lives were saved due to tuberculosis prevention, diagnosis and treatment interventions between 2000 and 2013. This decreased the tuberculosis mortality rate by 45% and the prevalence of the disease by 41% between 1990 and 2013.
The progress made by Nigeria in combating HIV/AIDS and other diseases are summarized in the following table.
With respect to tuberculosis as of 2005, 343 people per 100,000 had the disease in Nigeria. By 2012 that number had only decreased by four to 339, and by 2013
it had decreased by only one to 338.10 Clearly, the country did not significantly contribute to the global progress recorded by the UN. A key reason was lack of
uptake in the north as there is a longheld belief in some areas of the north that vaccines kill children.
Lessons from other countries
Most of the countries in the Asia-Pacific region were key drivers in the global progress of the MDGs because their governments clearly set goals and incorporated the MDGs’ framework into their national development planning.12 A good example is Armenia. The country made appreciable progress in the achievement of MDG 1 (eradicate extreme poverty and hunger). A contributor to this was the economic growth of 3.5% recorded in 2013 and an increase in its tax revenues by 21% to $1.2bn in the first half of that year. These enabled the government to raise the minimum wage rate to $108/month from $84/month, moving many above the poverty line. A way to learn from Armenia would be to adopt short-term policies that would encourage consumer consumption, which would boost expenditure and encourage production, hence raising the growth rate. This would then allow the government to review the minimum wage rate and consider raising it to improve the standard of living provided that there is a rise in government revenue.
With respect to MDG, which was to achieve universal access to treatment for HIV/AIDS for all who need it, key contributors to the goal were Cambodia, Fiji, Botswana, Namibia, and Rwanda. These countries contributed to this goal by making efforts to provide access to antiretroviral therapy and were able to do so to about 80% of the people that needed it.15 Cambodia was also successful in combating tuberculosis. The country launched a national tuberculosis program, and with support from international organizations, was able to provide the required care at the grass-roots level of the country. With regards to HIV/AIDS and other diseases, a national the survey could be carried out, as Cambodia did in 2002 for tuberculosis prevalence, to locate the areas where such diseases are concentrated and subsequently focus government efforts. This would go a long way in reducing the prevalence of such diseases. These tactics can be adopted in Nigeria in order to meet the SDGs provided that consistent efforts are made to eliminate problems such as corruption in political offices and the Boko Haram insurgency that is plaguing the country. The government can also streamline the goals into its policies and the national budget, as well as enlighten the public on the goals and its efforts to achieve them. Making the public understand the goals and their potential impact on society can help drive public support for government efforts like vaccinations, other public health initiatives and economic programs put in place to achieve the goals.
The following is an excerpt from Financial Derivative Company Bi-Monthly report…