Gec Geography Assignment
Gec Geography Assignment
Gec Geography Assignment
Assignment
Nishu
19/ENG/32
IV
Introduction
While sustainable development has ecological, social and economic aspects, the difficultiesin
optimizing all three aspects for present and future generations has led to the rise ofconcepts that
embody dualities of this trinity—green economy/growth (which combinesthe environment with
the economy), green society (whichcombines the environment with social goals), inclusive
growth (which combines growthwith social aspects) and inclusive development (which focuses
on social and ecologicalaspects). Green growth and inclusive growth are the two mostdominant
dualities and both have neo-liberal roots but take on an additional dimension—either
environmental issues or the need to share economic growth with the poorest.
SOCIAL
There are seven reasons that justify social inclusiveness: humanitarianand normativeconcerns for
the most vulnerable; legal reasons call for theprotection of the dignity and human rights of
people; economic reasons aim to promotesocial well-being and participation of the poor in
labour and consumption markets; national security reasons justify meeting the needs of humans;
democratic and communist discourses require sharing the results ofprosperitywith all; public
health reasons require investing in the conditions in which the poorlive to prevent the spread of
poverty related diseases such as cholera, typhoid and others;and international reasons to ensure
sustainable societies both within and across borders.
Social inclusiveness aims at empowering the poorest through investing in human capitaland
enhancing the opportunities for participation. It aims to reduce the exposure to risks such
asnatural disasters and civil conflict that exacerbate vulnerability. In doing so, inclusive
development policies focus attention on the places (e.g. rural,peri-urban), sectors (e.g. small-
scale farming, fishing and community forestry), and arenas(home-based activities, street
vendors) of high vulnerability to enhance well-being,including material (i.e. livingconditions
through access to infrastructure and amenitiessuch as drinking water and sanitation services,
education and transport services), socialrelational(i.e. in terms of human relations), and cognitive
well-being (i.e. taking people’sknowledge, experiences and aspirations into account).
ENVIRONMENTAL INCLUSIVENESS
Historically, environmental issues focused on single issues like the protection of
endangeredspecies. Ecological inclusiveness at the local level focuses on protecting localaccess
to and ownership of resources as well as protecting local ecosystems. At the nationallevel, it
requires that resources are well managed and the sustainability of ecosystemservices are ensured.
At the transboundary and global level, it implies not causing harm toother countries and using
common but differentiated responsibilities for dealing withglobal problems.
RELATIONAL INCLUSIVENESS
Relational inclusiveness recognizes that poverty and ecological degradation are often theresult of
actions taken by others because of increasinginequality in society and the substance and process
of politics. A scalar perspective requires understanding and addressing the multileveldrivers of
inequality, exclusion and vulnerability. invest heavily in these resourcesand sinks (e.g. by
purchasing emission rights) leading also toecological inequality. By not accepting their
responsibility for environmental pollution(e.g. the USA has not ratified the Law of the Seas, the
Kyoto Protocol, the BiodiversityConvention), the rich can also avoid their responsibility with
impunity by influencing therules of governance at the national and international level.Thus, the
concentration of wealth leads to inequality through direct and indirectresource expropriation. It
also increases the ability of the rich to lobby for a certain kind ofpolitics such as calling for small
government and deregulation.
A relational approach first requires a rethinking of how merit and public goods aremanaged and
whether the privatization and securitization of these bystate entities compromises human security
or not. Second, the direct and indirect drivers ofpoverty, exclusion, and environmental
degradation operate from the local to the globallevel, involving marginal to extremely powerful
actors. This calls for policies that dealwith all actors as opposed to policies that only deal with
empowering the poorest. This would counter the tendency to offshore economicactivities and
offload governance activities (deregulation) as a way to bypass rules. Third,it recognizes that the
roots of the direct and indirect drivers of inequality may lie in theideological foundations of
society calling for the questioning of dominant discourses andvested interests. Fourth, it sees the
normative, legal, and instrumental interventions as not value-neutral.
Goal 10 provides guards against exclusion at different levels and recognizes theoverlap between
multiple forms of exclusion and marginalization. Inclusionrefers to closing the income gap
between the rich and poor, eliminatingdiscriminatory laws and implementing social protection to
enhance equality. Thisgoes beyond social protection purely to prevent people from falling below
theabsolute poverty line.
Goal 16 goes a step further to call for the rule of law and equal access to justicefor all, which is
critical for addressing structural issues. It also focuses onreducing illicit financial and arms
flows, reducing corruption and bribery andensuring responsive participatory institutions.
Goal 17 addresses structural issues by focusing on enhancing tax imposition onthe rich,
development assistance commitment of rich countries and addressingstructural international debt
issues. It includes the usual clauses on technologytransfer and capacity building, the promotion
of policy coherence, multistakeholderpartnerships and monitoring and accountability.
Goal 4 on gender equality tries to address the complex issue of ownership rights,butotherwise is
not really dramatic in its relational approach.Goal 11 encourages positive links between urban,
peri-urban and rural areas topromote mutually inclusive instead of exclusive development. Goal
12 includestargets which addressthe threat of private ownership of resources and aims to regulate
private actorsand their reporting practices.
Goal 13 emphasizes the need for national ratification of climate change measures,and the
responsibility that developed countries have to developing countries tohelp them act in
accordance with them. Goal 15 reiterates the need for developedcountries to raise financial
resources to protect biodiversity and other ecologicalgoals.
CONCLUSION
From the perspective of inclusive development, successful implementationof the SDGswould not
only mean that poverty and marginalization are reduced,ecological sustainability is enhanced,
and the gap between the powerful and lesspowerful is minimized. Rather, it also means
recognizing a powerful ends-meansconnection between the goals and the ways in which they are
integrated intoglobal society. This requires conceptual coherence between the SDGs
themselvesand how they are applied. Thus, the methods for implementation would need
toembrace the principles of inclusive development in themselves to overcomeunequal power
relations in order to genuinely address the goals.Second, the implementation of the SDGs would
need to challenge the businessas-usual approach to growth. Seeking to promote the rule of law at
the nationaland international levels,upward and downward accountability in institutions,
enhanced participation,freedoms and capabilities at all levels, the SDGs clearly aim to bring up
thebaseline for developing countries and poorer global populations.
Third, as a result to this, the inclusive approach to the SDGs requires developedcountries to give
something up. This might be done by establishingimplementation goals for enhanced democratic
and multi-scalar decision-makingframeworks which include clear stipulations for how richer
participants mustchange their own behaviour and adjust their own interests as well as ensure
thatthere are resources for financing the implementation of the goals.
Q6. What are the limitations associated with Sustainable development.
Sustainable Development
One of the main obstacles that the application of sustainable policies finds itself in is the duality
that exists between the need for solutions and strategies that transcend borders. Currently,
unfortunately, global patterns of production and consumption go in the opposite direction to that
required by a sustainability policy. However, everything that glitters is not gold, and there are
also numerous negative elements in sustainable policies.
Governance itself has to face constant uncertainity, because there are many aspects that must be
married to achieve a result that achieves that desired sustainability.
And, in the same way, even the tools considered more sustainable, such as organic farming or
renewable energy sources have a host of drawbacks that need to be tackled intelligently in order
to really help that sustainability.
Thus, although sustainable development can help to end poverty in the world and adjust social
inequalities, addressing human needs in a fairer way and reorienting technology to respect the
planet and ensure its long-term viability, there are also negative consequences.
Among others, that change of mentality that is demanded would hurt the big capitals, which
means that a radical transformation of society would be necessary so great that it is difficult to
trust that it will happen.
The main challenges to sustainable development which are global in character are :-
Increased Costs
Because sustainable development relies on newer technologies and materials that cost
more to produce, the overall costs are often more than that of traditional construction.
The higher cost of materials is passed on to developers. Developers pass it on to
property owners, who pass it on to tenants. Future development will include tools that
haven’t even been invented yet. The trial and error of using new materials and ideas
can also bring costs up for everyone. Although intentions are good, carrying them out
costs work because it is about reducing or completely dispensing with energy that
already supplies part of the population with a new one, changing infrastructure,
consumption habits and this whole transition can be very expensive
In this sense, the perspective also influences from the point of view, because the
countries of the first world would not have much difficulty in adopting new forms of
energy, but in the developing nations, it would not be possible to assume these
expenses.
Some of the resistance will come in the form of people who initially adopt the idea of
sustainable development with enthusiasm, but their commitment shrinks as they start
to put new ideas into practice. Contractors and tenants may resist a specific initiative
because it forces them to change the ways they work and live.
Fragile Commitment
As the transition to a more environmentally friendly industry is more costly and difficult to meet
because of the points mentioned above, there is a risk that the commitment made with society is
not so serious. This inconvenience would occur because the results obtained are generally long-
term, but in places that are just developing, it may not be possible to wait so long.
Increased Regulation Sustainable approaches will naturally lead to increased regulation on
construction and the daily operation of businesses. A greater commitment to the environment
will lead to tighter controls on how people live their lives. Stricter building codes and tougher
emission standards are likely. While some people will accept a greater burden of regulation
because they see the overall benefit, many people will disagree with government intruding into
their lives.
More Requirements
The companies, plants, factories and others responsible for affecting the environment would have
more requirements to function, such as reducing their carbon dioxide emissions or correct
treatment of their waste, and although they seem necessary and common sense, not everyone
could meet them without compromising their efficiency and their work, in addition to the entry
requirements would be very high for small companies.
To conclude, People and organizations that are in favor of sustainable development believe that
it’s worth moving past these disadvantages to work on the environment. Advocates say that
sustainable development is an investment in future generations. The biggest defenders of these
initiatives are working on ways of overcoming the hurdles. Do not abuse nature, the human
being or turn the economy into an instrument that enriches only a few is the goal of sustainable
theory, a paradigm that today invites you to dream and, of course, also to fight to do so reality. A
better world is possible.
Q4. Discuss the Historical development of sustainable development. Discuss
any one summit.
Answer:
Specifically, sustainable development is a way of organizing society so that it can exist in the
long term. This means taking into account both the imperatives present and those of the future,
such as the preservation of the environment and natural resources or social and economic equity.
More than 200 years ago, the first questions arose regarding the impact of the evolution of our
civilizationcould have on the environment and resources of our planet. In 1798, Thomas Robert
Malthus (1766-1834),demographer, political economist and country pastor inEngland wrote An
Essay on the Principle ofPopulation. He predicted that the world’spopulation would eventually
starve or, at the least, live at aminimal level of subsistence because food production could not
keep pace with the growth of population.He believed that the population was held in check by
“misery, vice and moral restraint”.
The debate about Malthusian limits has continued in time, with many critics asking how it
became possibleto have a six-fold increase in global population - from one to six billion – since
1798 and still be able tomore or less feed the population. The next wave ofMalthusianism is
represented by the ideas and prospectspresented by the Club of Rome. The results of computer
simulations made by MIT technicians werepublished in the well-known book The Limits to
Growthwhich focused attention ondepletion of non-renewable resources and resulting increases
in commodity prices. Additionally, thismodel assumed that population and industrial capital
would continue to grow exponentially, leading to asimilar growth in pollution and in demand for
food and non-renewable resources”.The supply of both food and non-renewable resources was
assumed to be fixed. Not surprisingly given theassumptions, the model predicted collapse due to
non-renewable resource depletion. At the same time, oneof their conclusions remarks that “there
is no extraordinary effort to abate pollution or conserveresources”163. But as time passed, “most
if not all of the Club of Rome’s predictions for the next 30 years,from 1973 to 2003 were not
borne out.
The 1972 Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm, Sweden, attended by 113 states
andrepresentatives from 19 international organizations, was the first truly international
conference devotedexclusively to environmental issues. There, a group of 27 expertsarticulated
the links betweenenvironment and development stating that: “although inindividual instances
there were conflicts betweenenvironmental and economic priorities, they were intrinsically two
sides of the same coin”. Another result of the StockholmConference was the creation of the
United Nations EnvironmentalProgram (UNEP) which has the mission “to provide leadership
and encourage partnership in caring for theenvironment by inspiring, informing, and enabling
nations and peoples to improve their quality of lifewithout compromising that of future
generations.
In 1983, the UN General Assembly created the World Commission on Environment and
Developmentwhich was later known as the Brundtland Commission, named after its Chair, Gro
Harlem Brundtland, thenPrime Minister of Norway and later head of the World Health
Organization. In 1987, the Commissionpublished the Brundtland Report, entitled Our Common
Future. The Brundtland report, also known as ‘Our Common Future’, gave the most recognized
and widely accepted definition of the term sustainable development in 1987. Following this
report, “the human ability to ensure that the current development meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” was the first
widely accepted definition of sustainable development.
The World Commission on the Environment and Development also stood out that sustainable
development needed to consider that developing has limitations. According to the organization,
the “present state of technology and the social organization on environmental resources, together
with the limited ability of the biosphere to absorb the effects of human activities” impose
limitations on sustainable development.
The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as
the 'Earth Summit', was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 3-14 June 1992. This global
conference, held on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the first Human Environment
Conference in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1972, brought together political leaders, diplomats,
scientists, representatives of the media and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from 179
countries for a massive effort to focus on the impact of human socio-economic activities on the
environment. A 'Global Forum' of NGOs was also held in Rio de Janeiro at the same time,
bringing together an unprecedented number of NGO representatives, who presented their own
vision of the world's future in relation to the environment and socio-economic development.
The Rio de Janeiro conference highlighted how different social, economic and environmental
factors are interdependent and evolve together, and how success in one sector requires action in
other sectors to be sustained over time. The primary objective of the Rio 'Earth Summit' was to
produce a broad agenda and a new blueprint for international action on environmental and
development issues that would help guide international cooperation and development policy in
the twenty-first century.
The 'Earth Summit' concluded that the concept of sustainable development was an attainable
goal for all the people of the world, regardless of whether they were at the local, national,
regional or international level. It also recognized that integrating and balancing economic, social
and environmental concerns in meeting our needs is vital for sustaining human life on the planet
and that such an integrated approach is possible. The conference also recognized that integrating
and balancing economic, social and environmental dimensions required new perceptions of the
way we produce and consume, the way we live and work, and the way we make decisions. This
concept was revolutionary for its time, and it sparked a lively debate within governments and
between governments and their citizens on how to ensure sustainability for development.
Agenda 21
One of the major results of the UNCED Conference was Agenda 21, a daring program of action
calling for new strategies to invest in the future to achieve overall sustainable development in the
21st century. Its recommendations ranged from new methods of education, to new ways of
preserving natural resources and new ways of participating in a sustainable economy.The
commitment of leaders from around the world to sustainable development was clearly articulated
inAgenda 21, the key document of the summit - a 500 page collection of agreed healthy practices
and advicesfor achieving sustainabledevelopment in almost any area on the surface of the earth.
Agenda 21 activitiesare organized under environmental and development themes: quality of life,
efficient use of naturalresources, protection of the global commons, management of human
settlements, and sustainable economicgrowth. It recognizes that the persistence of severe poverty
in several parts of the world alongside astandard of living based on wasteful consumption of
resources in other parts is not a sustainable model, andthat environmental management must be
practiced in developing and industrial countries alike. During the1992 conference it was agreed
that to implement Agenda 21, countries should prepare a national
sustainable development strategy
The 'Earth Summit' had many great achievements: the Rio Declaration and its 27 universal
principles, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the
Convention on Biological Diversity; and the Declaration on the principles of forest
management . The 'Earth Summit' also led to the creation of the Commission on Sustainable
Development, the holding of first world conference on the sustainable development of small
island developing States in 1994, and negotiations for the establishment of the agreement on
straddling stocks and highly migratory fish stocks.
CONCLUSION
Thus, after many of the conferences and summits, MDGs and SDGs came into existence. Finally,
in 2012, The Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs) were born at the United Nations
Conference Development in 2012. The objective was to produce a set of universal goals that
meet the urgent environmental, political and economic challenges facing our world. 17 goals
were adopted and 2030 is the year set to achieve these goals and targets of SDGs.
Q5. Discuss national Strategies of millennium Development Goals and its
Performance.
TARGET 1: Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less than
one dollar a day.
A Poverty Head Count Ratio (percentage of population below the national poverty line)
TARGET 2: Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger.
TARGET 5: Reduce by two-thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under-five Mortality Rate.
TARGET 6: Reduce by three quarters between 1990 and 2015, the Maternal Morality Ratio.
TARGET 7: Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS
TARGET 8: Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the incidence of Malaria and other major
diseases.
TARGET 10: Halve, by 2015 the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe
drinking water and basic sanitation.
TARGET 11: By 2020, to have achieved a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100
million slum dwellers.
TARGET 12: In co-operation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new
technologies, especially information and communication.
The all India Poverty Head Count Ratio (PHCR) estimate was 47.8% in 1990. In order to meet
the target the PHCR level has to be 23.9% by 2015. In 2011-12, the PHCR at all India level is
21.9% (IT HAS BEEN ACHIEVED
BEFORE TIME.)
During 2004-05 to 2011-12, the Poverty Gap Ratio reduced both in rural and urban areas.
While the rural PGR declined from 9.64 in 2004-05 to 5.05 in 2011-12 in the urban areas it
declined from 6.08 to 2.70 during the same period.
During 1993-94 to 2011-12, in urban areas, the indicator showed a decline from 8.0% in 1993-94
to 6.97% in 2009-10, and then showed a slight improvement 7.1% in 2011-12. In rural areas, the
share of poorest quintile steadily declined from 9.6% in 1993-94 to 9.1% in 2011-12.
The National Family Health Survey shows that, the proportion of under-weight children below 3
year declined from 43% in 1998-99 to 40% in 2005-06. At this rate of decline the proportion of
underweight children below 3 years is expected to reduce to 33% by 2015, which indicates India
is falling short of the target.
The youth (15-24 years) literacy rate has increased from 61.9% to 86.14 per cent during the
period 1991-2011 and the trend shows India is likely to reach 93.38% which is very near to the
target of 100% youth literacy by 2015. At national level, the male and female youth literacy rate
is likely to be at 94.81% and
92.47%.
In Secondary education also gender parity has achieved GPI of GER is 1 in 2013-14 and in
tertiary level of education, the GPI of GER is 0.89 in 2012-13.
During 1991- 2011, the increase in youth literacy rate was higher among females than males and
the gender gap is also declining. During this period, the average annual increase in female and
male literacy rate is 1.63 and 0.83 percentage points respectively.
The NSS (2011-12) had estimated the percentage share of females in wage employment in the
non- agricultural sector as 19.3% with corresponding figures for rural and urban areas as 19.9%
and 18.7% respectively. It is projected that, at this rate of progress, the share of women in wage
employment can at best reach a level of about 22.28% by 2015 which is far from the targeted
50%.
As in January 2015, India, the world’s largest democracy, has only 65 women representatives out
of 542 members in Lok Sabha, while there are 31 female representatives in the 242 member
Rajya Sabha and hence presently the proportion of seats in National Parliament held by women
is only 12.24% against the target of 50%.
An overall reduction of nearly 60% happened during 1990 to 2013, registering a faster decline in
the recent past, and if this rate of reduction is sustained, the achievement by 2015 is likely to be
very close to the target by 2015.
MDG 5: IMPROVE MATERNAL HEALTH
In 1990, the estimated MMR was 437 per 1,00,000 livebirths. In order to meet the MDG target,
the MMR should be reduced to 109 per 1,00,000 live births by 2015. As per the latest estimates,
the MMR status at all India level is at 167 in 2011-13.
The prevalence of HIV among Pregnant women aged 15-24 years is showing a declining trend
from 0.89 % in
2005 to 0.32% in 2012-13.
According to Behavioural Surveillance Survey (BSS) conducted in 2001 & 2006, the national
estimates for Condom use at last high-risk sex (%) (Proportion of population aged 15-24 years
who used condom during last sex with non-regular partner) registered a 19% increase from
51.9% in 2001 to 61.7% in 2006. As per the ‘Condom Promotion Impact Survey 2010’, the
national estimate for Condom use at last high-risk sex is 74%, thus recording an improvement of
20% during 2006 to 2010.
The Annual Parasite Incidence (API) rate – Malaria has consistently come down from 2.12 per
thousand in 2001 to 0.72 per thousand in 2013, but slightly increased to 0.88 in 2014 but
confirmed deaths due to malaria in 2013 was 440 and in 2014 ,578 malaria deaths have been
registered.
In India, Tuberculosis prevalence per lakh population has reduced from 465 in year 1990 to 211
in 2013.
Tuberculosis Incidence per lakh population has reduced from 216 in year 1990 to 171 in 2013.
Tuberculosis mortality perlakh population has reduced from 38 in year 1990 to 19 in 2013.
From the year 2000, the CFC consumption decreased steadily till 2008, but showed minor
increase in 2010.
The Carbon dioxide emission showed a percentage increase of 235.57% in 2014 over 1990 for
India.
During 2011-2013, there is an increase of 5871 sq. km in forest cover.
The network of Protected Areas comprising 89 National Parks and 489 Sanctuaries giving a
combined coverage of 155475.63 km2 in 2000, has grown steadily over the years.
As of 2014, there are 692 Protected Areas (103 National Parks, 525 Wildlife Sanctuaries, 4
Community Reserves and 60 Conservation reserves, covering 158645.05 km2 or 5.07% of the
country’s geographical area.
During 2012, at all India level, 87.8% households had access to improved source of drinking
water while 86.9% households in rural and 90.1% households in urban area had access to
improved source of drinking
water.
The overall tele-density in the country has shown tremendous progress and is at 76% as on 31st
July 2014.
The internet subscribers per 100 population accessing internet through wireline and wireless
connections has increased from 16.15 in June 2013 to 20.83 in June 2014.
•Extreme poverty has declined significantly over the last two decades. In 1990, nearly half of the
population in the developing world lived on less than $1.25 a day: that proportion dropped to 14
per cent in 2015.
• Globally, the number of people living in extreme poverty has declined by more than halt,
falling from 19 billion in 1990 to 836 million in 2015. Most progress has occurred since 2000.
• The number of people in the working middle class-living on more than $1 a day-has almost
tripled between 1991 and 2015. This group now makes up half the workforce in the developing
regions, up from just 18 per cent in 1991.
• The proportion of undernourished people in the developing regions has fallen by almost half
since 1990, from 23.3 per cent in 1990-1992 to 12 9 per cent in 2014-2016
• The primary school net enrolment rate in the developing regions has reached 91 per cent in
2015, up from 83 per cent in 2000.
• The number of out-of-school children of primary school age worldwide has fallen by almost
half, to an estimated 57 million in 2015, down from 100 million in 2000.
•Sub-Saharan Africa has had the best record of improvement in primary education of any region
since the MDGs were established. The region achieved a 20 percentage point increase in the net
enrolment rate from 2000 to 2015, compared to a gain of 8 percentage points between 1990 and
2000.
• The literacy rate among youth aged 15 to 24 has increased globally from 83 per cent to 91 per
cent between 1990 and 2015. The gap between women and men has narrowed.
• Many more girls are now in school compared to 15 years ago. The developing
regions as a whole have achieved the target to eliminate gender disparity in primary, secondary
and tertiary education.
• In Southern Asia, only 74 girls were enrolled in primary school for every 100 boys in 1990.
Today, 103 girls are enrolled for every 100 boys.
• Women now make up 41 per cent of paid workers outside the agricultural sector, an
increase from 35 per cent in 1990.
• Women have gained ground in parliamentary representation in nearly 90 per cent of the 174
countries with data over the past 20 years. The average proportion of women in parliament has
nearly doubled during the same period. Yet still only one in five members are women.
• The global under-five mortality rate has declined by more than half, dropping from
90 to 43 deaths per 1,000 live births between 1990 and 2015.
• Despite population growth in the developing regions, the number of deaths of children under
five has declined from 12.7 million in 1990 to almost 6 million in
2015 globally.
• Since the early 1990s, the rate of reduction of under-five mortality has more than tripled
globally.
• In sub-Saharan Africa, the annual rate of reduction of under-five mortality was over
five times faster during 2005–2013 than it was during 1990–1995.
• Measles vaccination helped prevent nearly 15.6 million deaths between 2000 and 2013. The
number of globally reported measles cases declined by 67 per cent for
the same period.
• About 84 per cent of children worldwide received at least one dose of measles-
containing vaccine in 2013, up from 73 per cent in 2000.
• Since 1990, the maternal mortality ratio has declined by 45 per cent worldwide,
and most of the reduction has occurred since 2000.
• In Southern Asia, the maternal mortality ratio declined by 64 per cent between
1990 and 2013, and in sub-Saharan Africa it fell by 49 per cent.
• More than 71 per cent of births were assisted by skilled health personnel globally in 2014, an
increase from 59 per cent in 1990.
• In Northern Africa, the proportion of pregnant women who received four or more antenatal
visits increased from 50 per cent to 89 percent between 1990 and 2014.
• New HIV infections fell by approximately 40 per cent between 2000 and 2013,
from an estimated 3.5 million cases to 2.1 million.
• By June 2014, 13.6 million people living with HIV were receiving antiretroviral
therapy (ART) globally, an immense increase from just 800,000 in 2003. ART
averted 7.6 million deaths from AIDS between 1995 and 2013.
• Over 6.2 million malaria deaths have been averted between 2000 and 2015, primarily of
children under five years of age in sub-Saharan Africa. The global malaria incidence rate has
fallen by an estimated 37 per cent and the mortality rate by 58 per cent.
• More than 900 million insecticide-treated mosquito nets were delivered to malaria-endemic
countries in sub-Saharan Africa between 2004 and 2014.
• Ozone-depleting substances have been virtually eliminated since 1990, and the
ozone layer is expected to recover by the middle of this century.
• Terrestrial and marine protected areas in many regions have increased substantially
since 1990. In Latin America and the Caribbean, coverage of terrestrial protected areas rose from
8.8 per cent to 23.4 per cent between 1990 and 2014.
• In 2015, 91 per cent of the global population is using an improved drinking water source,
compared to 76 per cent in 1990.
• Of the 2.6 billion people who have gained access to improved drinking water since
1990, 1.9 billion gained access to piped drinking water on premises. Over half of the global
population (58 per cent) now enjoys this higher level of service.
• Globally, 147 countries have met the drinking water target, 95 countries have met the sanitation
target and 77 countries have met both.
• Worldwide, 2.1 billion people have gained access to improved sanitation. The
proportion of people practicing open defecation has fallen almost by half since
1990.
• The proportion of urban population living in slums in the developing regions fell
from approximately 39.4 per cent in 2000 to 29.7 per cent in 2014.
• Official development assistance from developed countries increased by 66 per cent in real
terms between 2000 and 2014, reaching $135.2 billion.
• In 2014, Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom continued to
exceed the United Nations official development assistance target of
0.7 per cent of gross national income.
• The number of mobile-cellular subscriptions has grown almost tenfold in the last 15 years,
from 738 million in 2000 to over 7 billion in 2015.
• Internet penetration has grown from just over 6 per cent of the world’s population
in 2000 to 43 per cent in 2015. As a result, 3.2 billion people are linked to a global
network of content and applications.