This week, the UN released the 2014 Millennium Development Goals (MDG) Report. This is the second-to-last annual report as the MDGs end in 2015. The report describes the status of the MDG targets around the world using data as recent as June 2014.
The press release for the report notes how some MDG targets have been met while others are in reach. Multiple targets on “reducing poverty, increasing access to improved drinking water sources, improving the lives of slum dwellers and achieving gender parity in primary school” have already been met, and “[i]f trends continue, the world will surpass MDG targets on malaria, tuberculosis and access to HIV treatment.”
The press release highlights the areas of focus that can bring the biggest improvements, including:
- Ending open defecation in middle-income, populous countries,
- Acting to end preventable maternal mortality,
- Providing more international aid to the poorest countries, and
- Better quality monitoring data.
Stakeholders are currently discussing the post-2015 MDGs known as the Sustainable Development Goals.