Over the past eight weeks we have analyzed and researched the Millennium Development Goals progress within Southern Asia. The Millennium Development goals were created in 1990 by the United Nations to help improve the lives of those living in the least developed regions of the world.
MDG 1: In Bangladesh they reduced the hunger rate by 50% and met the MDG. Between strengthening local democracy, increasing labor force, and implementing projects like The Hunger Project they were able to reach this goal. However, they were unable to reach the goal of decreasing poverty falling 12% short of decreasing it by 50%.
http://www.un.org./en/development/desa/policy/mdg_gap/mdg_gap2010/mdggap_bangladesh_casestudy.pdf
MDG 2: In Nepal they have almost reached the goal of universal primary education by improving it by 42%. Nepal is above the regional average however, only 60% are actually finishing. In 2013 the net enrollment was 98.7/100. The regional average was 94.8/100. To accomplish this they abolished student fees and had better access to schools.
http://www.wfuna.org/mdg-universal-education
MDG 3: In Afghanistan girls enrollment in primary school has improved by 27% and women have gained more representation in national parliament. However, women's wages has decreased by 4%. Women face barriers such as lack of security from kidnapping and rape, lack of education and few economic opportunities. Afghanistan in comparison to the rest of Southern Asia is much lower than the rest of the region. Southern Asia as a whole met this goal.
www.trustineducation.org/resources/life-as-an-afghan-women/
MDG 4: Bhutan was the only country in Southern Asia to reduce child mortality by 2/3. Bhutan has combatted child mortality by supporting breast feeding and implementing Global Environment Facilities Small Grants Program. This program provides financial support to restore the environment so access to clean water is available and a cleaner environment is provided.
http://www.undp.org/content/bhutan/en/home/ourwork/gef_sgp/in_depth/
MDG 5: In Bangladesh they met the second indicator (provide universal access to reproductive health care) but did not meet the first indicator (to reduce by 3/4 the maternal mortality rate). A challenge that Bangladesh faces is a high rate of child pregnancy but by empowering women (MDG 3) the teen pregnancy rate has been lowered. Programs have been implemented to educate people about maternal health and contraceptives. Overall they have significantly improved maternal health which has decreased child mortality.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2740701/
MDG 6: In Sri Lanka there is a significantly lower HIV/AIDS rate compared to the rest of the region. The infection rate in currently less than 1%. In order to reach where they are at today levels of awareness have been increased through radio programs and other forms of media.
http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2012/07/10/hiv-aids-sri-lanka
MDG 7: In India the water crisis is a serious issues and is causing health impacts to the overall population. The country is considered water stressed because there is little water compared to the amount of people living there. This is causing chronic malnutrition, stunted growth in children and weakened immune systems. To fix this issue the WASH program has been implemented to educate people about becoming more sustainable. Overall India has increased their safe drinking water by 25% and met the MDG.
www.nbr.org/research/activity.aspx?id=356
MDG 8: In Bangladesh the trade-GDP ratio has increased from 18% to 43% and their exports are consisting of mostly machinery and textiles. They struggle with irrational tariffs, quantitative restriction and a non-unified exchange system. They are very limited in their exports therefore diversifying them and having more efficient border procedure could improve their economy even more.
http://www.un.org./en/development/desa/policy/mdg_gap/mdg_gap2010/mdggap_bangladesh_casestudy.pdf
MDG 2: In Nepal they have almost reached the goal of universal primary education by improving it by 42%. Nepal is above the regional average however, only 60% are actually finishing. In 2013 the net enrollment was 98.7/100. The regional average was 94.8/100. To accomplish this they abolished student fees and had better access to schools.
http://www.wfuna.org/mdg-universal-education
MDG 3: In Afghanistan girls enrollment in primary school has improved by 27% and women have gained more representation in national parliament. However, women's wages has decreased by 4%. Women face barriers such as lack of security from kidnapping and rape, lack of education and few economic opportunities. Afghanistan in comparison to the rest of Southern Asia is much lower than the rest of the region. Southern Asia as a whole met this goal.
www.trustineducation.org/resources/life-as-an-afghan-women/
MDG 4: Bhutan was the only country in Southern Asia to reduce child mortality by 2/3. Bhutan has combatted child mortality by supporting breast feeding and implementing Global Environment Facilities Small Grants Program. This program provides financial support to restore the environment so access to clean water is available and a cleaner environment is provided.
http://www.undp.org/content/bhutan/en/home/ourwork/gef_sgp/in_depth/
MDG 5: In Bangladesh they met the second indicator (provide universal access to reproductive health care) but did not meet the first indicator (to reduce by 3/4 the maternal mortality rate). A challenge that Bangladesh faces is a high rate of child pregnancy but by empowering women (MDG 3) the teen pregnancy rate has been lowered. Programs have been implemented to educate people about maternal health and contraceptives. Overall they have significantly improved maternal health which has decreased child mortality.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2740701/
MDG 6: In Sri Lanka there is a significantly lower HIV/AIDS rate compared to the rest of the region. The infection rate in currently less than 1%. In order to reach where they are at today levels of awareness have been increased through radio programs and other forms of media.
http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2012/07/10/hiv-aids-sri-lanka
MDG 7: In India the water crisis is a serious issues and is causing health impacts to the overall population. The country is considered water stressed because there is little water compared to the amount of people living there. This is causing chronic malnutrition, stunted growth in children and weakened immune systems. To fix this issue the WASH program has been implemented to educate people about becoming more sustainable. Overall India has increased their safe drinking water by 25% and met the MDG.
www.nbr.org/research/activity.aspx?id=356
MDG 8: In Bangladesh the trade-GDP ratio has increased from 18% to 43% and their exports are consisting of mostly machinery and textiles. They struggle with irrational tariffs, quantitative restriction and a non-unified exchange system. They are very limited in their exports therefore diversifying them and having more efficient border procedure could improve their economy even more.
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/SOUTHASIAEXT/EXTSARREGTOPINTECOTRA/0,,contentMDK:20592516~menuPK:579454~pagePK:34004173~piPK:34003707~theSitePK:579448,00.html
Post 2015 MDG Plan
Solutions to help certain countries that didn't meet their goals could be the following:
MDG 1 Poverty - Try to abolish the class system and social inequalities by raising taxes for the upper class will give more money to the government to fund other programs to help the lower class. Allowing women to go work and school would improve the economy and lift people out of poverty. Also, encouraging people to have smaller families would help fix the issue.
MDG 3- Women's wages - Government support for business's that encourage female workers and provide equal wages. Incentives or punishments to companies that promote or refuse equal wages for men and women.
MDG 5 - Maternal Mortality Rate - To provide better healthcare increase the amount of trained and skilled health workers. Providing training seminars for local people so they can work within the community health centers. This would also boost the economy of the area and lessen the need for foreign aid. Educating women about what they can do for themselves to maintain their health during pregnancy.
One solution for all of the goals whether or not they succeeded is to extend and modify the current goals to focus on the individual countries main problems. Since countries issues are becoming more diverse simple goals will no longer be effective in having a major impact on the health of the population.
Did we succeed?
Overall the MDG's have improved health in Southern Asia. Many positive programs and initiatives have been successfully implemented. Although not every goal was met completely most every target had some success. Some things that hindered the MDGs successes were inequality of genders, rural areas, and lack of overall knowledge in our regions population. Even though the timeline for the MDGs has expired there is still room for improvement throughout the world.