Developing the MDGs (pg 104-107)

Niger is an underdeveloped country.

HDI? Challenges to its development?

Low HDI: 0.4

Challenges

• Landlocked: no ports to trade overseas

• Agriculture is inefficient because of poor farming practices

• High fertility rates

• Low levels of education

• High levels of poverty

• Poor access to healthcare

  • people die from things people in developed countries wouldn’t like diarrhoea bc no clean water.

• Poor infrastructure: maybe hospitals, but very far away; bad roads; less bridges

• Suffers from the effects of climate change (e.g desertification and fossil fuel extraction) = Sahara dessert gets bigger so less fertile lands = malnutrition in children

Niger has become more democratic, multi-party state but the majority of the population live in ____ areas.

What does it mean for them to be living in those areas?

Rural

Little access to essential services like healthcare, education and basic amenities like food and water

May be inefficient to build a hospital in every rural village so what could they do instead to help healthcare?

What could they do to help trade?

• Vaccines

• Spread and train doctors

• Enable access to ports by building railways and maintaining strong diplomatic relationship with neighbouring countries with ports like Nigeria

The beginning of the UN’s search for sustainability

Global development has been an important aim for the UN, to raise the quality of life for all countries.

What does the UNDP stand for? When was it established? Why was it established?

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

In 1965

Provide special assistance for developing countries

What is an UN institution that okays an important role in development? How?

The World Bank

Provides loans and grants to developing countries to support development projects aimed at reducing poverty and promoting economic growth

However in 1992 they realised there was a huge global issue. What problem?

What did the UN set up in response?

Sustainability

The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, which became known as the ‘Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit’.

What is the name of the conference that took place 20 years later? What was its main achievement? This then lead to which international treaties?

In 2012 (again in Rio), The UN Conference on Sustainable Development took place. Its main achievement was that UNFCCC, which led to the Kyoto protocol and the Paris agreement.

The first Earth Summit (set up the UN Conference on Environment and Development) in Rio wanted to ensure that countries would carry out the promises they made.

So, what did they set up and why?

The Commission on Sustainable Development to monitor the agreements

In 2013, after the second Earth Summit, what did they replace it with?

What is it responsible for and what happens every year?

It meets every year and it is responsible for all of the UN’s policy on sustainable development

When was the Millennium Summit held?

What declaration was stated (the code meaning, not the quote)?

What was created from that statement?

2000

Everyone deserves a decent standard of living

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

Millenium Development Goals (target 200-2015)

8 international goals set by the UN that aimed to help improve the lives of the poorest people

What are the 8 MDGs?

1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

2. Achieve universal primary education

3. Promote gender equality and empowerment of women

4. Reduce child mortality

5. Improve maternal health

6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases

7. Ensure environmental sustainability

8. Global partnership for development

What was shown in the 2015 MDG Report (successful or not)? What complications were also shown?

It showed that it was largely successful across the world but there were shortfalls.

For example, Brazil achieved many goals but those countries with less developed economies such as Benin, made slower progress

Case study: Bangladesh and the MGDs

Bangladesh met several targets of the MDGs. What are examples of these targets?

• Access to clean water.

  • On World Water Day in 2015, people there gathered to celebrate the success of the goal: nearly 98% of the country had access to clean water

• Reducing poverty rates

• Creating gender parity in school education

• Reducing the under-fives mortality rate

Gender parity

A measure that shows how equal things are between men and women (e.g by comparing average income)

Case study: Bangladesh and the MGDs

However, what are areas where further improvement is needed?

• Creating jobs

• Ensuring quality education at all levels

• It’s climate change contributions (e.g more forest coverage)

• Access to ICT equipment (technology)