Millennium Development

Goals

Alana Leabeater

Goal 1: Eradicate extreme hunger and poverty

WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE: Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the

proportion of people whose income is less than $1 a day

Achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all, including women and young people

Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger

WHAT WE ARE DOING: We announced a four year $464

million global food security initiative

We provided $50 million to a World Bank fund set up after the economic downturn

Increasing agricultural productivity by enhancing partnerships with organisations such as CSIRO

Improving rural livelihoods and addressing markets that directly benefit the poor, e.g. in the Solomon Islands

Building community education in places such as Cambodia

Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education

WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE: Ensure that, by 2015,

children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling

WHAT WE ARE DOING: Our investment in education is $842

million, channelled through bilateral, multilateral and regional projects, such as in Indonesia

Our priorities are to improve the functioning of national education systems and then improve the relevance and quality of education

We work on developing specific solutions to problems, for example weak education due to lack of resources.

The Australia-Pacific Technical College was established to deliver vocational education for relevant industry sectors in the Pacific

We commit funds to the Education For All Fast Track Initiative, which helps countries reach their MDGs

Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower

women WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE: Eliminate gender disparity in

primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and in all levels of education no later than 2015

WHAT WE ARE DOING: Australian supported the United

Nations Development Program’s Micro Enterprise Development Program in Nepal which helped over 5000 women set up their own business

Australia helped children in Bangladesh attend school

We trained women and set up community centres and crisis centres for women in Iraq, Fiji and PNG

We are improving the health and wellbeing of women and children across many countries, for example in Ethiopia with the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital.

Goal 4: Reduce child mortality

WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE:

Reduce by two-thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under-five mortality rate

WHAT WE ARE DOING: We have developed successful child

vaccination programs in developing countries like PNG, for diseases such as whooping cough and tetanus

We aim to improve child nutrition, targeting things such as low vitamin A (one of the key factors to early child death). We do this by training families and improving their abilities in low-cost farming initiatives in places such as the Philippines.

PNG is one of our greatest receivers of aid for children and thankfully their mortality rates are now decreasing.

Goal 5: Improve maternal health

WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE: Reduce by three-quarters,

between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio

Achieve universal access to reproductive health

WHAT WE ARE DOING: We have supported the Addis Ababa

Fistula Hospital in their training of midwives and services for expectant mothers. We also train midwives in countries such as Bangladesh and Cambodia – in the latter it resulted in every health centre in the country having a midwife, as opposed to only 79 in 2008.

Through AusAid support we improved sanitary and water conditions in countries such as East Timor, specifically for women and children who often have to walk many kilometres while pregnant or in labour for water

We improve health services in rural areas to help women who give birth away from proper facilities. In Laos this resulted in 94% of the population living within five kilometres of a health facility.

Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases

WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE: Have halted by 2015 and begun to

reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS Achieve, by 2010, universal access

to treatment for HIV/AIDS for all those who need it

Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases

WHAT WE ARE DOING: We have reached around 75% of

people living with HIV/AIDS in PNG, installing counselling services and testing sites and handing out resources.

We have helped to reduce malaria in the Pacific, providing insecticide treatment and bed nets, which resulted in six Philippine provinces being declared malaria-free.

We have engaged in a partnership with WHO to prevent and control other diseases in Pacific Island countries such as diabetes and tuberculosis.

Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability

WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE: Integrate the principles of sustainable

development into country policies and programs and reverse the loss of environmental resources

Reduce biodiversity loss, achieving, by 2010, a significant reduction in the rate of loss

Halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation

Have achieved by 2020 a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers

WHAT WE ARE DOING: Helping countries adapt to climate

change, e.g. water security in Tuvalu and protecting marine ecosystems through the Coral Triangle Initiative

We are a founding donor to the Global Seed Vault in Norway which deposits seed varieties from around the world

Moving towards lower carbon growth by demonstrating against deforestation, and supporting the Clean Technology Fund which finances low carbon technology, e.g. expanding geothermal power capacity in Indonesia and solar power in Africa

Increasing access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation providing pipe and water schemes in places such as Vietnam