Target 12. Develop further an open, rule-based, predictable, nondiscriminatory trading and financial system (includes a commitment to good governance, development, and poverty reduction both nationally and internationally) Target 13. Address the special needs of the Least Developed Countries (includes tariff- and quota-free access for Least Developed Countries? exports, enhanced program of debt relief for heavily indebted poor countries [HIPCs] and cancellation of official bilateral debt, and more generous official development assistance for countries committed to poverty reduction) Target 14. Address the special needs of landlocked developing countries and small island developing states (through the Program of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States and 22nd General Assembly provisions) Target 15. 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, Africa, landlocked developing countries, and small island developing states

Target 16. In cooperation with developing countries, develop and implement strategies for decent and productive work for youth Target 17. In cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to affordable essential drugs in developing countries Target 18. In cooperation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies, especially information and communications technologies   "We will have time to reach the Millennium Development Goals – worldwide and in most, or even all, individual countries – but only if we break with business as usual. We cannot win overnight. Success will require sustained action across the entire decade between now and the deadline. It takes time to train the teachers, nurses and engineers; to build the roads, schools and hospitals; to grow the small and large businesses able to create the jobs and income needed. So we must start now. And we must more than double global development assistance over the next few years. Nothing less will help to achieve the Goals." United Nations Secretary-General Kofi A. Annan

 

Focus in Africa The state of African countries in this 21st century is depressing. From the West Coast in Ghana to the Eastern country of Tanzania, from Sudan to the southern country of Zimbabwe, poverty, hunger, illiteracy and poor health are common denominators. sub-Sahara African Countries are the homes to more than 300 million people living on less than $1 a day. By implication the equivalent of the entire population of United States living on less than $1 a day! This is unacceptable. According to a United Nations Report, between 1990 and 1999, the number of the poor in the region actually increased by one quarter, or over 6 million a year. As expected, children and women are the most affected by the downturn. Fairbridge Project International Inc. (FPI) is asking: should we all resign to fate and write off the region as a failed sub-continent or should we as members of the global community do something about it? According to similar reports, Africa will not witness universal primary education until 2100 if the right effort is put in place. Failure to reach the education target will reduce the chances of reaching other Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) because basic education is central to unlocking the potential of new generation of leaders. It empowers childen and enhance their self confidence. In sub-Sahara Africa almost one sixth of the children will not see their fifth birthday. In countries such as Kenya and Botswana, the spread of HIV/AIDS has seriously exacerbated the problem.  Complication during pregnancy and childbirth cause the death of approximately 250,000 women each year in sub-Sahara Africa-about one every two minutes. United Nations system reports that the maternal mortality ratio for the world is estimated at 400 per 100,000 live births. It is 1,000 per 100,000 in sub-Sahara Africa, implying the highest ration for any region in the world. It is reported that the countries for the highest maternal mortality rate in Africa are: Rwanda, Siera Leone, Burundi, Ethiopia, Somalia, Chard, The Sudan, Cote d' Ivoire, Equitorial Guinea, Burkina Faso, Angola and Kenya. Out of 12 countries in the world with the highest maternal deaths, 7 are in sub-Sahara Africa. They are: Ethiopia (46,000per year), Nigeria (45,000 per year), Democratic Republic of Congo (20,000 per year), Kenya (13,000 per year), Tanzania (13,000), and Uganda (10,000). These seven countries account for one-third of all maternal deaths in the world.  Reports suggest that there has been minimal change in the proportion of births attended by health personnel in the region during the 1990s. High fertility, combined with high maternal mortality risk makes a woman in the sub-Sahara Africa face a 1 -in-13 chance of dying.