This is the final year for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that were set for the period 1990-2015, and as clear indications are available on what can be achieved by the end of the period, a stocktaking can be undertaken. A UN report has done just that, and a mixed picture emerges. Targets in achievement have been exceeded in some areas, while they have not been in others. The targets themselves in some areas have been modest, so that achieving them fully or substantially should not raise the comfort level unduly. An enormous amount of work still remains to be done in terms of achieving minimum levels of development and policy should be geared to that. For example, the target of halving the number of people without sanitation will be almost achieved - but according to 2011-12 figures, 44 per cent of people were still without access to proper toilets.
The report card for the first goal, eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, is positive. The target of halving the proportion of people earning less than $1 a day has already been achieved. The concurrent goal of halving the proportion of people who suffer from hunger (measured by the prevalence of under-three underweight children) will miss the target, but only slightly. The second goal of reaching primary education to all will be substantially achieved as will be the survival ratio (those entering class I reaching class V) by looking at the enrolment figures, but all know by now, this is a poor indicator of how much of the reading and writing skills children actually acquire. The achievement in promoting the third goal of gender equality will be substantial - but that's thanks to targets being exceeded by three indicators (proportion of girls to boys in primary, secondary and tertiary education). In real terms, India will be a laggard - look at the proportion of women able to take up non-agricultural wage employment, with only 19 per cent being in that position in 2011-12.
When it comes to the fourth goal - of reducing child mortality - there is a real need to sit up and take notice. The targets of reducing by two-thirds the under-one and under-five mortality ratio, and those without measles immunisation, will all be missed by sizeable margins. It is in the area of maternal mortality, where also India's record has been poor, that the picture will be mixed and not wholly negative. The target of reducing by three-quarters the maternal mortality rate will be exceeded, but the achievement in raising the proportion of births attended by skilled personnel will be less than 80 per cent of the target.
The goal to reduce India's disease burden by combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases looks like being achieved - trends are positive. Similarly, the target for reducing the proportion of those without access to safe drinking water by half will be more than achieved through 90 per cent coverage. It is likely that in most fields - barring perhaps education and gender-based employment - more or less the right policies are in place. It is now a question of last-mile implementation.
The report card for the first goal, eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, is positive. The target of halving the proportion of people earning less than $1 a day has already been achieved. The concurrent goal of halving the proportion of people who suffer from hunger (measured by the prevalence of under-three underweight children) will miss the target, but only slightly. The second goal of reaching primary education to all will be substantially achieved as will be the survival ratio (those entering class I reaching class V) by looking at the enrolment figures, but all know by now, this is a poor indicator of how much of the reading and writing skills children actually acquire. The achievement in promoting the third goal of gender equality will be substantial - but that's thanks to targets being exceeded by three indicators (proportion of girls to boys in primary, secondary and tertiary education). In real terms, India will be a laggard - look at the proportion of women able to take up non-agricultural wage employment, with only 19 per cent being in that position in 2011-12.
When it comes to the fourth goal - of reducing child mortality - there is a real need to sit up and take notice. The targets of reducing by two-thirds the under-one and under-five mortality ratio, and those without measles immunisation, will all be missed by sizeable margins. It is in the area of maternal mortality, where also India's record has been poor, that the picture will be mixed and not wholly negative. The target of reducing by three-quarters the maternal mortality rate will be exceeded, but the achievement in raising the proportion of births attended by skilled personnel will be less than 80 per cent of the target.
The goal to reduce India's disease burden by combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases looks like being achieved - trends are positive. Similarly, the target for reducing the proportion of those without access to safe drinking water by half will be more than achieved through 90 per cent coverage. It is likely that in most fields - barring perhaps education and gender-based employment - more or less the right policies are in place. It is now a question of last-mile implementation.
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