Post 2015: Global Action for an Inclusive and Sustainable Future

Several regions significantly reduced the underfive
mortality rate (u5mr) between 1990 and 2010.
In SSa, the mortality rate remains above 100 per
1,000 live births, nearly 20 times the average in
developed countries. over the last 20 years, countries
in Southern asia have witnessed a decrease from
over 117 to 66 deaths per 1,000 live births. Several
regions have more than halved the u5mr, possibly
as a result of significant improvements in nutrition
and other health indicators in young children (un,
2012a). the exceptions are SSa (30% reduction),
oceania (31%), the caucasus and central asia
(42%) and Southern asia (44%).
Globally, maternal mortality rates have fallen
by nearly half since 1990, but this rate of progress
remains far from the target of reducing it by three
quarters by 2015. of the estimated 287,000 maternal
deaths worldwide in 2010, 85% occurred in SSa
and Southern asia. In comparison with other
developing regions, the latter two score lowest
with less than half of pregnant women receiving
antenatal care and less than half births attended by
skilled health personnel (un, 2012a).
there has been some progress with regard to
mDG6, on combating disease, but most targets have
not been, or will not be, met within the timeframe.
the target of providing universal access to treatment
for HIv and aIDS by 2010 has not been met despite
important progress in this area. the spread of
HIv infections has slowed and fewer people are
becoming infected in all regions except the caucasus
and central asia. two-thirds of the countries
experiencing a decline in new infections are in SSa.
nevertheless, the absolute number of people living
with HIv is still growing, owing to the continued
increase in infections and the greater life expectancy
for those infected. there have been significant
advances with regard to malaria and tuberculosis
(tb). malaria-specific mortality decreased by 25%
since 2000, although this remains far from the target
of a 50% reduction by 2010. as for tb, the number of
new cases has started to decline slowly and the world
is on track to achieve the target of halting the spread
and beginning to reverse the incidence of the disease
by 2015 (un, 2012a).
progress on access to clean water and sanitation is
mixed. In most regions, over 85% of the population
now has access to clean water – a significant
improvement since 1990. In SSa and oceania,
however, between 40% and 46% of the population
still use untreated water. the patterns for sanitation
are similar. more than half of the population in
developing countries now has access to improved
sanitation, with the exception of South asia and
SSa, where the figures are 41% and 30%, respectively
(un, 2012a). there are, however, strong disparities
between rural and urban areas. Finally, progress is
lagging in other areas of mDG7, including the targets
to reverse the loss of environmental resources (e.g.
forests) and reduce the rate of biodiversity loss.
lDcs have made slow progress on a number of
human development indicators, especially when
compared to developing countries as a whole.
across the board, lDcs are unlikely to meet the
2015 targets, with the reduction of poverty being
particularly weak. at the national level, the most
successful achievements relate to net primary
enrolment and access to safe drinking water, with
about half and a third of lDcs on track to meet the
respective targets. Similarly, there has been mixed
progress in halving undernourishment, with half
of lDcs being on track while a third have made
no progress or, in some cases, have regressed
(unctaD, 2011). as a group, low-income fragile
and conflict-affected states are also lagging behind
in terms of mDG achievement and none is expected
to meet any of the goals (WDr, 2011).
at the sub-national level, progress on the mDGs
has been unevenly distributed, with the slowest
progress almost invariably among the most
disadvantaged groups. In vietnam, for example,
only 7% of households among ethnic minority
communities have access to improved sanitation,
poSt-2015: Global actIon For an IncluSIvE anD SuStaInablE FuturE
Low-income
fragile and
conflict-affected
states are lagging
behind in
terms of MDG
achievement and
none is expected
to meet any of
the goals.
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