After telling you all about my amazing travels, it also might be interesting to you, why I am where I am at the moment.

It has all to do with the Millenium Development Goals, which are to be achieved by 2015. That's what my organization works on and me also, in a very small way.

Here are some facts to read for you for a better understanding:

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are eight international development goals that all 192 United Nations member states and at least 23 international organizations have agreed to achieve by the year 2015. They include reducing extreme poverty, reducing child mortality rates, fighting disease epidemics such as AIDS, and developing a global partnership for development.

Background:
In 2001, recognizing the need to assist impoverished nations more aggressively, UN member states adopted the targets. The MDGs aim to spur development by improving social and economic conditions in the world's poorest countries.
They derive from earlier international development targets, and were officially established at the Millennium Summit in 2000, where all world leaders present adopted the United Nations Millennium Declaration, from which the eight goals were promoted.

Goals:
The percentage of the world's population living in extreme poverty has halved since 1981. Most of this improvement has occurred in East and South Asia.
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were developed out of the eight chapters of the United Nations Millennium Declaration, signed in September 2000. There are eight goals with 21 targets, and a series of measurable indicators for each target.

Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
• Target 1A: Halve the proportion of people living on less than $1 a day
o Proportion of population below $1 per day (PPP values)
o Poverty gap ratio [incidence x depth of poverty]
o Share of poorest quintile in national consumption
• Target 1B: Achieve Decent Employment for Women, Men, and Young People
o GDP Growth per Employed Person
o Employment Rate
o Proportion of employed population below $1 per day (PPP values)
o Proportion of family-based workers in employed population
• Target 1C: Halve the proportion of people who suffer from hunger
o Prevalence of underweight children under five years of age
o Proportion of population below minimum level of dietary energy consumption

Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education
• Target 2A: By 2015, all children can complete a full course of primary schooling, girls and boys
o Enrollment in primary education
o Completion of primary education
o Literacy of 15-24 year olds, female and male

Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women
• Target 3A: Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education preferably by 2005, and at all levels by 2015
o Ratios of girls to boys in primary, secondary and tertiary education
o Share of women in wage employment in the non-agricultural sector
o Proportion of seats held by women in national parliament

Goal 4: Reduce child mortality
• Target 4A: Reduce by two-thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under-five mortality rate
o Under-five mortality rate
o Infant (under 1) mortality rate
o Proportion of 1-year-old children immunised against measles

Goal 5: Improve maternal health
• Target 5A: Reduce by three quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio
o Maternal mortality ratio
o Proportion of births attended by skilled health personnel
• Target 5B: Achieve, by 2015, universal access to reproductive health
o Contraceptive prevalence rate
o Adolescent birth rate
o Antenatal care coverage (at least one visit and at least four visits)
o Unmet need for family planning

Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases
• Target 6A: Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS
o HIV prevalence among population aged 15–24 years
o Condom use at last high-risk sex
o Proportion of population aged 15–24 years with comprehensive correct knowledge of HIV/AIDS
o Ratio of school attendance of orphans to school attendance of non-orphans aged 10–14 years
• Target 6B: Achieve, by 2010, universal access to treatment for HIV/AIDS for all those who need it
o Proportion of population with advanced HIV infection with access to antiretroviral drugs
• Target 6C: Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases
o Prevalence and death rates associated with malaria
o Proportion of children under 5 sleeping under insecticide-treated bednets
o Proportion of children under 5 with fever who are treated with appropriate anti-malarial drugs
o Prevalence and death rates associated with tuberculosis
o Proportion of tuberculosis cases detected and cured under DOTS (Directly Observed Treatment Short Course)

Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability
• Target 7A: Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes; reverse loss of environmental resources
• Target 7B: Reduce biodiversity loss, achieving, by 2010, a significant reduction in the rate of loss
o Proportion of land area covered by forest
o CO2 emissions, total, per capita and per $1 GDP (PPP)
o Consumption of ozone-depleting substances
o Proportion of fish stocks within safe biological limits
o Proportion of total water resources used
o Proportion of terrestrial and marine areas protected
o Proportion of species threatened with extinction
• Target 7C: Halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation (for more information see the entry on water supply)
o Proportion of population with sustainable access to an improved water source, urban and rural
o Proportion of urban population with access to improved sanitation
• Target 7D: By 2020, to have achieved a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum-dwellers
o Proportion of urban population living in slums

Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development
• Target 8A: Develop further an open, rule-based, predictable, non-discriminatory trading and financial system
o Includes a commitment to good governance, development, and poverty reduction – both nationally and internationally
• Target 8B: Address the Special Needs of the Least Developed Countries (LDC)
o Includes: tariff and quota free access for LDC exports; enhanced programme of debt relief for HIPC and cancellation of official bilateral debt; and more generous ODA (Overseas Development Assistance) for countries committed to poverty reduction
• Target 8C: Address the special needs of landlocked developing countries and small island developing States
o 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 8D: Deal comprehensively with the debt problems of developing countries through national and international measures in order to make debt sustainable in the long term
Indicators
Some of the indicators listed below are monitored separately for the least developed countries (LDCs), Africa, landlocked developing countries and small island developing States.
• Official development assistance (ODA)
o Net ODA, total and to LDCs, as percentage of OECD/DAC donors’ GNI
o Proportion of total sector-allocable ODA of OECD/DAC donors to basic social services (basic education, primary health care, nutrition, safe water and sanitation)
o Proportion of bilateral ODA of OECD/DAC donors that is untied
o ODA received in landlocked countries as proportion of their GNIs
o ODA received in small island developing States as proportion of their GNIs
• Market access
o Proportion of total developed country imports (by value and excluding arms) from developing countries and from LDCs, admitted free of duty
o Average tariffs imposed by developed countries on agricultural products and textiles and clothing from developing countries
o Agricultural support estimate for OECD countries as percentage of their GDP
o Proportion of ODA provided to help build trade capacity
• Debt sustainability
o Total number of countries that have reached their HIPC decision points and number that have reached their HIPC completion points (cumulative)
o Debt relief committed under HIPC initiative, US$
o Debt service as a percentage of exports of goods and services
• Target 8E: In co-operation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to affordable, essential drugs in developing countries
o Proportion of population with access to affordable essential drugs on a sustainable basis
• Target 8F: In co-operation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies, especially information and communications
o Telephone lines and cellular subscribers per 100 population
o Personal computers in use per 100 population
o Internet users per 100 Population

Progress:
Progress towards reaching the goals has been uneven. Some countries have achieved many of the goals, while others are not on track to realize any.The major countries that have been achieving their goals include China (whose poverty population has reduced from 452 million to 278 million) and India due to clear internal and external factors of population and economic development.

However, areas needing the most reduction, such as the Sub-Saharan Africa regions have yet to make any drastic changes in improving their quality of life. In the same time as China, the Sub-Saharan Africa reduced their poverty about one percent, and are at a major risk of not meeting the MDGs by 2015.Fundamental issues will determine whether or not the MDGs are achieved, namely gender, the divide between the humanitarian and development agendas and economic growth, according to the Overseas Development Institute.
To accelerate progress towards the MDGs, the G-8 Finance Ministers met in London in June 2005 (in preparation for the G-8 Gleneagles Summit in July) and reached an agreement to provide enough funds to the World Bank, the IMF, and the African Development Bank (ADB) to cancel an additional $40–55 billion debt owed by members of the HIPC. This would allow impoverished countries to re-channel the resources saved from the forgiven debt to social programs for improving health and education and for alleviating poverty.
Backed by G-8 funding, the World Bank, the IMF, and the ADB each endorsed the Gleaneagles plan and implemented the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative ("MDRI") to effectuate the debt cancellations. The MDRI supplements HIPC by providing each country that reaches the HIPC completion point 100% forgiveness of its multilateral debt. Countries that previously reached the decision point became eligible for full debt forgiveness once their lending agency confirmed that the countries had continued to maintain the reforms implemented during HIPC status. Other countries that subsequently reach the completion point automatically receive full forgiveness of their multilateral debt under MDRI.
While the World Bank and ADB limit MDRI to countries that complete the HIPC program, the IMF's MDRI eligibility criteria are slightly less restrictive so as to comply with the IMF's unique "uniform treatment" requirement. Instead of limiting eligibility to HIPC countries, any country with annual per capita income of $380 or less qualifies for MDRI debt cancellation. The IMF adopted the $380 threshold because it closely approximates the countries eligible for HIPC.
Yet, as we head towards 2015 increasing global uncertainties, such as the economic crisis and climate change, have led to an opportunity to rethink the MDG approach to development policy. According to the 'In Focus' Policy Brief from the Institute of Development Studies, the ‘After 2015' debate is about questioning the value of an MDG-type, target-based approach to international development, about progress so far on poverty reduction, about looking to an uncertain future and exploring what kind of system is needed after the MDG deadline has passed.
The effects of increasing drug use has been noted by the International Journal of Drug Policy as a deterrent to the goal of the MDGs.

Challenges of the Millennium Development Goals:
Although developed countries' aid for the achievement of the MDGs have been rising over the recent year, it has shown that more than half is towards debt relief owed by poor countries. As well, remaining aid money goes towards natural disaster relief and military aid which does not further the country into development. According to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (2006), the 50 least developed countries only receive about one third of all aid that flows from developed countries, raising the issue of aid not moving from rich to poor depending on their development needs but rather from rich to their closest allies.

What are the Cambodia Millennium Development Goals?

What is the difference between the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the Cambodia Millennium Development Goals (CMDGs)?
The Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC), as one member state of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), is firmly committed to bridging the gap between global commitments and national progress, and between aggregate national and local development outcomes. In 2003, the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) adapted the 8 universally agreed Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to better suit the realities of the country. Recognizing that one major constraint to development is the continued contamination of mines and unexploded ordinance (UXO), the RGC added de-mining, UXO and victim assistance as the ninth major development goal. Cambodia's MDGs (CMDGs) thus consist of the following 9 goals:

Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education
Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women
Goal 4: Reduce child mortality
Goal 5: Improve maternal health
Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability
Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development
Goal 9: De-mining, UXO and victim assistance

CMDGs include 9 goals, 25 targets and 106 indicators. In 2008 the MDG indicator framework was modified globally, but the CMDG indicators have not yet been modified accordingly.
As part of an effort to strengthen the focus of the United Nations on achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDG) in general and the Cambodian MDG (CMDG) in particular, and as a preliminary step towards the preparation of the 2010 CMDG Report, the progress to date in achieving CMDG has been reviewed.

VSO Health in Cambodia especially supports Goal 4, 5 and 6.

Goal 4: Reduce child mortality

In 2008, one baby out of 20 died before reaching his/her first birthday. While this number is high, it should be recognized that it has been reduced from almost one death per ten births in 1998. Similarly, under-five mortality, while high, has decreased from 124 to 83 deaths per 1,000 live births from 2000 to 2005. The progress on CMDG 4 has been attributed to the strong performance of the national immunization programme, successful exclusive breastfeeding promotion, improved access to basic health services, an overall reduction of poverty levels and improved access to education and better roads.

These efforts have made CMDG 4 the goal where most progress has been made, with many targets already reached or exceeded. However, while overall the situation of child mortality has improved substantially, there are still wide regional variations that need to be addressed. Infant and under-five mortality are still almost double the national average in Kampong Speu, Preah Vihear/Steung Treng, Prey Veng and Mondol Kiri/Rattanak Kiri provinces.
Last Updated ( Friday, 12 February 2010 )

Goal 5: Improve maternal health

Maternal mortality is has remained consistently high over the last fifteen years, with no significant change since 1993. This is due to a number of factors, including the low proportion of births attended by skilled health personnel (increased from 32 percent in 2000, but is still only at 58 percent), the very low rate of use of modern contraceptives (26 percent), the high level of iron deficiency anemia among pregnant women, the inaccessibility of Emergency Obstetrics and Newborn Care (EmONC) to many women and newborns, limited access to safe abortion and low education levels among pregnant women.

Achieving Goal 5 would require a significant improvement in access to health care and family planning services, increasing the number of trained health personnel, conducting information campaigns and addressing the inadequate family practices and care-seeking behaviour during pregnancy and childbirth.
Last Updated ( Friday, 12 February 2010 )

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

Cambodia has achieved internationally recognized success in combatting HIV/AIDS. The HIV prevalence rate in the adult population has continuously fallen from 1.9 percent in 1997 to 1.2 percent and 0.7 percent in 2003 and 2008 respectively, which is better than the 2015 target rate of <0.9. The reason is due to a focused and coordinated response from government and development partners, particularly increasing condom use rates among direct sex workers. However, there are now concerns about the resurgence of the epidemic among most at-risk groups (drug users, men who have sex with men and entertainment workers) and an increase of new HIV infections through spousal and mother-to-child transmission.

The major challenges now are to maintain and increase HIV education and prevention and to reduce the risk transmission among at-risk groups. Gender discrimination must also be addressed to cope with the increasing spousal HIV infections.

While progress has been made in the fight against dengue fever, Cambodia needs to work harder on reducing the malaria fatality rate and eliminating tolerant malaria parasites along the northern border area as well as the fatality rate from tuberculosis.
Last Updated ( Friday, 12 February 2010 )

I hope, this was interesting to you and you can see the context of me being here and the worlwide mission behind it.

Thank you for your attention.

Your Katja

"Eradicating extreme poverty continues to be one of the main challenges of our time, and is a major concern of the international community. Ending this scourge will require the combined efforts of all, governments, civil society organizations and the private sector, in the context of a stronger and more effective global partnership for development. The Millennium Development Goals set timebound targets, by which progress in reducing income poverty, hunger, disease, lack of adequate shelter and exclusion — while promoting gender equality, health, education and environmental sustainability — can be measured. They also embody basic human rights — the rights of each person on the planet to health, education, shelter and security. The Goals are ambitious but feasible and, together with the comprehensive United Nations development agenda, set the course for the world’s efforts to alleviate extreme poverty by 2015. "

United Nations Secretary-General BAN Ki-moon

written by  katja-horsch on May 18, 2010 from Phnom Penh, Cambodia
from the travel blog: why I am here
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