Catalog

PART II
Millennium Development Goals

Download the full Part II in PDF format
[ PDF: 1,885 kb | 52 pages ]

Introduction

At the Millennium Summit in September 2000, the largest gathering of world leaders in history adopted the United Nations Millennium Declaration, committing their nations to a new global partnership to reduce extreme poverty and setting out a series of targets, with a deadline of 2015. These have become known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In 2007, the MDG monitoring framework was revised to include four new targets agreed on by member states at the 2005 World Summit, namely, full and productive employment and decent work for all, access to reproductive health, access to treatment for HIV/AIDS, and protection of biodiversity. The indicators for these new targets became effective in January 2008. The updated framework is used here to monitor progress toward achieving the MDGs.

The first MDG targets the poor directly—those living on less than $1 a day—while the next six focus on the underlying causes of poverty, such as lack of access to education, health care, and employment; gender inequality; poor housing conditions; and environmental degradation. The eighth goal is to develop a global partnership for development, and focuses on how the industrialized countries can work with the poorer countries to enhance the latter’s standard of living. The MDGs thus complement the Asian Development Bank’s vision of a region free of poverty, and its mission to help its developing member countries reduce poverty and improve the quality of life of their citizens. Box 1 lists the eight MDGs and the corresponding targets and indicators for monitoring progress.

Box 1  Millennium Development Goals Goals and Targets (from the Millennium Declaration) Indicators for Monitoring Progress Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger Target 1.A:.Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less than one dollar a day 1.1 Proportion of population below $1 (PPP) per day 1 1.2 Poverty gap ratio 1.3 Share of poorest quintile in national consumption Target 1.B: Achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all, including women and young people 1.4 Growth rate of GDP per person employed 1.5 Employment-to-population ratio 1.6 Proportion of employed people living below $1 (PPP) per day 1.7 Proportion of own-account and contributing family workers in total employment Target 1.C: Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger 1.8 Prevalence of underweight children under-five years of age 1.9 Proportion of population below minimum level of dietary energy consumption Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education Target 2.A: Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling 2.1 Net enrollment ratio in primary education 2.2 Proportion of pupils starting grade 1 who reach last grade of primary 2.3 Literacy rate of 15–24 year-olds, women and men Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women Target 3.A: Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and in all levels of education no later than 2015 3.1 Ratios of girls to boys in primary, secondary and tertiary education 3.2 Share of women in wage employment in the non-agricultural sector 3.3 Proportion of seats held by women in national parliament Goal 4: Reduce child mortality Target 4.A: Reduce by two-thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under-five mortality rate 4.1 Under-five mortality rate 4.2 Infant mortality rate 4.3 Proportion of 1-year-old children immunized against measles Goal 5: Improve maternal health Target 5.A: Reduce by three quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio 5.1 Maternal mortality ratio 5.2 Proportion of births attended by skilled health personnel Target 5.B: Achieve, by 2015, universal access to reproductive health 5.3 Contraceptive prevalence rate 5.4 Adolescent birth rate 5.5 Antenatal care coverage (at least one visit and at least four visits) 5.6 Unmet need for family planning Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases Target 6.A: Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS 6.1 HIV prevalence among population aged 15–24 years 6.2 Condom use at last high-risk sex 6.3 Proportion of population aged 15–24 years with comprehensive correct knowledge of HIV/AIDS 6.4 Ratio of school attendance of orphans to school attendance of non-orphans aged 10–14 years Target 6.B: Achieve, by 2010, universal access to treatment for HIV/AIDS for all those who need it 6.5 Proportion of population with advanced HIV infection with access to antiretroviral drugs Target 6.C: Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases 6.6 Incidence and death rates associated with malaria 6.7 Proportion of children under 5 sleeping under insecticide-treated bednets 6.8 Proportion of children under 5 with fever who are treated with appropriate anti-malarial drugs 6.9 Incidence, prevalence, and death rates associated with tuberculosis 6.10 Proportion of tuberculosis cases detected and cured under directly observed treatment short course Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability Target 7.A: Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes and reverse the loss of environmental resources 7.1 Proportion of land area covered by forest 7.2 CO2 emissions, total, per capita, and per $1 GDP (PPP) 7.3 Consumption of ozone-depleting substances 7.4 Proportion of fish stocks within safe biological limits 7.5 Proportion of total water resources used Target 7.B: Reduce biodiversity loss, achieving, by 2010, a significant reduction in the rate of loss 7.6 Proportion of terrestrial and marine areas protected 7.7 Proportion of species threatened with extinction Target 7.C: Halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation 7.8 Proportion of population using an improved drinking water source 7.9 Proportion of population using an improved sanitation facility Target 7.D:.By 2020, to have achieved a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers 7.10 Proportion of urban population living in slums 2 Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development Target 8.A: Develop further an open, rule-based, predictable, non-discriminatory trading and financial system Includes a commitment to good governance, development and poverty reduction – both nationally and internationally Target 8.B: Address the special needs of the least developed countries Includes: tariff and quota free access for the least developed countries’ exports; enhanced programme of debt relief for heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC) and cancellation of official bilateral debt; and more generous ODA for countries committed to poverty reduction Target 8.C: Address the special needs of landlocked developing countries and small island developing States (through the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States and the outcome of the twenty-second special session of the General Assembly) Target 8.D: Deal comprehensively with the debt problems of developing countries through national and international measures in order to make debt sustainable in the long term Some of the indicators listed below are monitored separately for the least developed countries (LCDs), Africa, landlocked developing countries, and small island developing States. Official development assistance (ODA) 8.1 Net ODA, total and to the least developed countries, as percentage of OECD/DAC donors’ gross national income 8.2 Proportion of total bilateral, sector-allocable ODA of OECD/DAC donors to basic social services (basic education, primary health care, nutrition, safe water and sanitation) 8.3 Proportion of bilateral official development assistance of OECD/DAC donors that is untied 8.4 ODA received in landlocked developing countries as a proportion of their gross national incomes 8.5 ODA received in small island developing states as a proportion of their gross national incomes Market access 8.6 Proportion of total developed country imports (by value and excluding arms) from developing countries and least developed countries, admitted free of duty 8.7 Average tariffs imposed by developed countries on agricultural products and textiles and clothing from developing countries 8.8 Agricultural support estimate for OECD countries as a percentage of their gross domestic product 8.9 Proportion of ODA provided to help build trade capacity Debt sustainability 8.10 Total number of countries that have reached their HIPC decision points and number that have reached their HIPC completion points (cumulative) 8.11 Debt relief committed under HIPC and MDRI Initiatives 8.12 Debt service as a percentage of exports of goods and services Target 8.E: In cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to affordable essential drugs in developing countries 8.13 Proportion of population with access to affordable essential drugs on a sustainable basis Target 8.F: In cooperation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies, especially information and communications 8.14 Telephone lines per 100 population 8.15 Cellular subscribers per 100 population 8.16 Internet users per 100 population

PPP = purchasing power parity, GDP = gross domestic product, HIV = Human Immunodeficiency Virus, AIDS = Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, CO2 = carbon dioxide, OECD = Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, DAC = Development Assistance Committee, MDRI = Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative. 1 For monitoring country poverty trends, indicators based on national poverty lines should be used, where available. 2 The actual proportion of people living in slums is measured by a proxy, represented by the urban population living in households with at least one of the four characteristics: (a) lack of access to improved water supply; (b) lack of access to improved sanitation; (c) overcrowding (three or more persons per room); and (d) dwellings made of nondurable material.

To assess progress, all indicators should be disaggregated by sex and urban/rural areas as far as possible. Not all indicators listed in Box 1 are available for all countries. Several new indicators were introduced in the revised monitoring framework. The accompanying tables in Part II contain the indicators currently available on a comparable basis for countries of the Asia and Pacific region.

In monitoring progress, “cut-offs” have been introduced for several targets. For example, the “cut-off” for Target 1.C: Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger is 5%, so that the target is considered to have been achieved if 5% or less of the population is suffering from malnutrition, even though this may not mean that the proportion has been halved. “Cut-offs” have been introduced in recognition of the fact that complete achievement is not practical for several of the targets. The cut-offs used here are listed in Box 2 and are mostly the same as those that were used in the 2007 edition of the Asia-Pacific MDG Study Series. Note that Targets 7.A, 7.D, and all those listed under Goal 8 are qualitative rather than quantitative. It is only possible to make assessments in general terms whether the corresponding goals have been achieved.

Box 2  Cut-Off Values for Selected MDG indicators Indicators MDG Target Cut-off 1.9 Proportion of population below minimum level of dietary energy consumption Reduce by half 5% 2.1 Total net enrollment ratio in primary education 100% 95% 2.2 Proportion of pupils starting grade 1 who reach last grade of primary 100% 95% 3.1 Ratios of girls to boys in primary, secondary and tertiary education Female / male ratios equal 1.0 0.95 4.1 Under-five mortality rate Reduce by two thirds 30 per 1000 live births 7.8 Proportion of population using an improved drinking water source (urban) Reduce by half the proportion without access 5%

Progress toward Targets

In assessing the progress of countries toward reaching the targets, countries have been divided into four groups based on latest available data. The groupings follow those in the 2007 edition of the Asia-Pacific MDG Study Series. Similar groupings can also be found in other publications, e.g., Global Monitoring Report 2008 by the World Bank.

Early achievers Countries have already achieved the MDG target or the cut-off value where relevant. On track Countries are likely to achieve the target by 2015 or earlier provided they continue to move toward the target at the same rate they have achieved between 1990 (or the earliest date for which data are available) and the latest year for which data are available. Slow progress Countries are moving toward the target but at a rate that is too slow to achieve the target by 2015. Regressing Countries are either at the same distance from the target as they were in 1990, or even further away from it. Source: UNESCAP et al. (2007).

In order to decide if a country is “on track” or making only “slow progress”, it has been assumed that countries will continue to move toward the target at the same rate that they have achieved since 1990. Progress since 1990 has been calculated as the average annual geometric rate of change over the period from 1990 (or the earliest year available) and the latest year. For example, if X₁₉₉₀ and X₂₀₀₅ are the values of the target variable in 1990 and 2005, the average annual rate of change, i.e., r, is obtained as [(X₂₀₀₅ / X₁₉₉₀)^(1/15) - 1] x 100. Rates of change can be calculated in other ways, for example as an arithmetic average (X₂₀₀₅ – X₁₉₉₀)/15, or by fitting a semi-log regression to all the observations available between the earliest and latest years. These alternative calculations could give a different classification of countries between “on track” and “slow progress”, but the differences would in general be quite small. The geometric average is preferred because it is the most widely used method for calculating rates of growth over time.

It is important to remember that the classification of countries into the four categories is provisional and is likely to change as the 2015 target date draws closer. Countries may move into higher or lower categories as data for future years become available. The classification can also change if data for past years are revised.

Finally there are always some countries for which rates cannot be calculated because either they have reported only a single figure or they have not reported at all. Sometimes countries do not report because they believe that they have achieved a particular goal some time ago so that it is no longer relevant for them.

Country Groups

In commenting on progress toward the MDGs, three groups of countries are often singled out for special mention:

1. The five most populous countries, namely, Bangladesh, People’s Republic of China, India, Indonesia, and Pakistan, are of special interest because progress by these countries determines the progress of most of the population of the Asia and Pacific region.
2. The 14 Pacific countries are mostly small and isolated and have similar difficulties with each other in meeting their targets.
3. The countries of the former Soviet Union in Central and West Asia are in transition from systems of government characterized by central planning and extensive welfare provision, to market economies in which fewer health and education services are being provided by government. As a result, they have similar experiences with each other in meeting many of the targets.

Data Sources and Comparability with Other Publications

The tables included in Part II contain data that have mostly been compiled by the designated international agencies for the respective MDG indicators. These data have been verified to the extent possible but responsibility for the reliability of the statistics remains with the agencies that are listed as the sources of each table.

Differences in the data and analysis of country progress in meeting the goals that exist between this publication and reports from other organizations may be due to several factors, including data sources, dates when statistics were collected, and methodology.

Selected References

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. 2007. OECD Factbook 2007. Paris.

Perucci, Francesca. 2008. “Global MDG Monitoring: The New Monitoring Framework.” Presentation at the Workshop on Millennium Development Goals Monitoring. 5–8 May, Kampala, Uganda. Available: mdgs.un.org/unsd/mdg/Resources/Attach/Capacity/Uganda08%20Presentations/8%20May/1%20-%20UNSD%20-%20Global%20MDG%20Monitoring%20and%20new%20MDG%20framework.ppt.

United Nations Development Group. 2003. Indicators for Monitoring the Millennium Development Goals: Definitions, Rationale, Concepts and Methods. New York. Available: mdgs.un.org/unsd/mdg/Resources/Attach/Indicators/HandbookEnglish.pdf.

United Nations Economic and Social Council. 2008. Report of the Secretary-General on the indicators for Monitoring the Millennium Development Goals. Available: unstats.un.org/unsd/statcom/doc08/2008-29-Indicators-E.pdf.

United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, Asian Development Bank, and United Nations Development Programme. 2007. “The Millennium Development Goals: Progress in Asia and the Pacific 2007.” Asia Pacific MDG Study Series ST/ESCAP/2465. Bangkok, Thailand.

World Bank. 2008a. Global Monitoring Report 2008. Washington, DC.

——— 2008b. World Development Indicators 2008. Washington, DC.

---

Note: Please press the BACK button to return to this page.

Top

Introduction to the Millennium Development Goals
[ PDF: 576 kb | 4 pages ]

Goal 1. Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger

In 15 economies of the Asia and Pacific region, including some of the most populous, more than 10% of the population live on less than $1 a day. In 20 economies, again including some of the most populous, more than 10% of the population are malnourished. In around two thirds of economies for which data are available, 10% or more of children under 5 years of age are underweight.

Read the commentary for Goal 1 [ PDF: 272 kb | 8 pages ]

• Table 1.1 Target 1.A: Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less than one dollar a day [ XLS: 143 kb ]
• Table 1.2 Target 1.B: Achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all, including women and young people [ XLS: 52 kb ]
• Table 1.3 Target 1.C: Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger [ XLS: 99 kb ]

Top

Goal 2. Achieve Universal Primary Education

In a few economies in the region, total net enrollment ratios in primary education are below 80%. More than 10 economies have achieved the target for primary education expected completion rates. In slightly over half of the economies for which data are available, over 95% of both male and female youth populations are literate. In economies with much lower literacy rates, women are more likely to be illiterate than men.

Read the commentary for Goal 2 [ PDF: 232 kb | 6 pages ]

• Table 2.1 Target 2.A: Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling [ XLS: 70 kb ]
  

Top

Goal 3. Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women

Most economies have already achieved the target for gender equality in primary school enrollment. A slightly lower number have done so in secondary school enrollment, while fewer have done so in tertiary education enrollment. In Afghanistan, Lao PDR, Timor-Leste, and Viet Nam, women hold more than 25% of the national parliamentary seats, but in 12 economies, women hold less than 5%.

Read the commentary for Goal 3 [ PDF: 250 kb | 5 pages ]

• Table 3.1 Target 3.A: Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and in all levels of education not later than 2015 [ XLS: 65 kb ]

Top

Goal 4. Reduce Child Mortality

In more than a third of the economies, child deaths are 30 or less per 1,000 live births, but many of the others, including some of the most populous economies in the region, have much higher death rates. Ten economies are expected to achieve the target for child mortality by 2015 but 15, including two of the most populous, are unlikely to do so. Measles vaccination rates for children are rising in the region. In 1990 only six economies had measles vaccination percentages of 95% or better, but by 2006 the number had more than tripled.

Read the commentary for Goal 4 [ PDF: 200 kb | 4 pages ]

• Table 4.1 Target 4.A: Reduce by two-thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under-five mortality rate [ XLS: 48 kb ]

Top

Goal 5. Improve Maternal Health

In the Asia and Pacific region, maternal mortality can range from as low as 1 in Hong Kong, China to as high as 1,800 in Afghanistan per 100,000 live births; in many other economies, less than 150 women die in childbirth. There is fairly strong evidence that maternal mortality ratios are reduced when a trained health worker is present. In around 60% of the economies for which data are available, the percentage of married women practicing contraception has increased.

Read the commentary for Goal 5 [ PDF: 236 kb | 5 pages ]

• Table 5.1 Target 5.A: Reduce by three quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio [ XLS: 45 kb ]
• Table 5.2 Target 5.B: Achieve, by 2015, universal access to reproductive health [ XLS: 38 kb ]

Top

Goal 6. Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases

In most economies for which data are available, less than 1% of the population is reported as suffering from HIV, although this may be due mainly to poor detection methods in some economies. Malaria is highly prevalent in a few Pacific economies. With regard to tuberculosis, most economies have been successful in reducing the spread of this disease but infection rates are rising in seven Central and West Asian economies.

Read the commentary for Goal 6 [ PDF: 166 kb | 6 pages ]

• Table 6.1 Target 6.A: Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS [ XLS: 44 kb ]
• Table 6.2 Target 6.B: Achieve, by 2010, universal access to treatment for HIV/AIDS for all those who need it [ XLS: 35 kb ]
• Table 6.3 Target 6.C: Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases [ XLS: 116 kb ]

Top

Goal 7. Ensure Environmental Sustainability

Between 1990 and 2005, at least 50,000 sq km of forest area were lost to other uses, and economies that are major producers of tropical hardwoods reported losses of between 10% and 40% in forest areas. Per capita emissions of carbon dioxide are rising in most economies of the region including the five most populous economies. Slightly over half of the economies for which data are available have reached the target of providing urban households with improved water sources.

Read the commentary for Goal 7 [ PDF: 259 kb | 8 pages ]

• Table 7.1 Target 7.A: Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes and reverse the loss of environmental resources [ XLS: 116 kb ]
• Table 7.2 Target 7.B: Reduce biodiversity loss, achieving, by 2010, a significant reduction in the rate of loss [ XLS: 31 kb ]
• Table 7.3 Target 7.C: Halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation [ XLS: 107 kb ]
• Table 7.4 Target 7.D: By 2020, to have achieved a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers [ XLS: 35 kb ]

Top

Goal 8. Develop a Global Partnership for Development

The relative weight of debt service has been falling since 1990 in most economies for which data are available. There have been rapid gains in the number of cellular telephone subscribers throughout the region, but the digital divide as measured by internet access remains wide.

Read the commentary for Goal 8 [ PDF: 193 kb | 4 pages ]

• Table 8.1 Target 8.D: Deal comprehensively with the debt problems of developing countries through national and international measures in order to make debt sustainable in the long term [ XLS: 67 kb ]
• Table 8.2 Target 8.F: In cooperation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies, especially information and communications [ XLS: 65 kb ]

Top