and disease and sharply increasing rates of premature
death. Countries emerging from conflict have an opportunity to make rapid improvements in human development, but these are fragile opportunities that are easily
passed up.
• Environmental Degradation: Many developing countries face heightened environmental risks. Deforestation,
overfishing, droughts, and floods are longstanding problems in some regions. Global climate change has potentially devastating long-term consequences since higher
temperatures harm many crops.
Poor Starting Conditions
Almost one billion people live on less than $1 a day; nearly
as many suffer from chronic hunger.3 This year, 10 million
children will die before they reach their fifth birthday, and
complications during birth and pregnancy will take the lives
of a half-million women.4 Around the world, more than one
billion people do not have access to clean water, and hundreds
of millions of people are not receiving treatment for deadly
diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis.5
The global burden of underdevelopment is vast, but
this burden is not shared equally by everyone. Thirty-three
countries, many of them in East and Central Europe, have
poverty rates of 2 percent or less; in 18 countries, half of them
in sub-Saharan Africa, poverty rates exceed 30 percent. The
same is true of hunger: the percentage of children suffering
from moderate and severe stunting (resulting from chronic
hunger) ranges from 1 percent or less in several countries to
40 percent or more in 22 countries.6 A quick glance at other
MDG indicators reveals more such disparities: vast differences
between developed and developing countries are the norm, and
even among developing countries there are wide differences.
Countries that are starting out with the lowest levels of
many human development indicators, for example, infant
and maternal mortality rates, are the least equipped—both
technically and financially—to reach the MDGs. A recent
study conducted by the Millennium Task Force, a group of
technical experts charged with creating a roadmap for meeting
the MDGs, puts the financial needs of the least developed
countries in perspective. Using Ghana as the model for an
“MDG needs assessment,” the Millennium Task Force reports
that an investment of approximately $100 per person per
year is needed between now and 2015 for the country to meet
the MDGs.7 In Ghana, as elsewhere in the developing world,
investments of such magnitude require assistance from the
international community.
Recent progress in the West African nation of Mali is reason
for hope, though the country remains extremely underdeveloped. Over the past decade, Mali has been able to dramatically
reduce poverty, from 72 percent of the population in 1991 to
just 36 percent in 2004. But despite such impressive accomplishments in poverty reduction, hunger rates remain essentialwww.bread.org
ly unchanged from 1991 and almost one third of the population
is undernourished. Maternal mortality stands at an alarming
rate of 12,000 deaths per 100,000 live births. Though primary
school enrollment has increa sed from 21 to 50 percent, the current pace is too slow to meet MDG #2.8 At the current rate, it
will take the country another 50 years to meet the MDG target
of reducing by two-thirds the under-five mortality rate.9
For Mali to achieve the MDGs, it must invest heavily in
providing basic services, but the country is poorly equipped to
do this. Mali is dependent on just three commodities—cotton,
gold and livestock—for 90 percent of its export revenues.10
Fluctuations in prices for these commodities drive rapid
swings in state revenues and the broader economic fortunes
of the country. The country is landlocked, which makes
international trade more difficult. A limited transportation
infrastructure exacerbates the difficulties of rural households
in reaching schools, hospitals and markets. Finally, Mali is
highly vulnerable to environmental shocks such as droughts
and locust infestations.
In its strategic plan to fight poverty, Mali has identified three
areas for priority action: governance and institutions, social
services, and infrastructure and economic development.11
Delivery of social services is essential. For example, achieving
MDG #2, ensuring universal primary school enrollment,
requires classrooms and teachers, schoolbooks and chalkboards.
To fight infectious diseases and improve maternal and child
health, resources must be put into areas like health care, clean
water, and sanitation. On its own, Mali lacks the resources to
invest in its people on a large enough scale to meet the MDGs,
so it is not surprising that Mali is off track on many MDGs.
In such a context, the country’s success in reducing poverty is
even more impressive.
Weak Governance and Institutions
To achieve the MDGs and establish a sustainable
development path, governments must be efficient, transparent,
and accountable. Good governments manage bureaucracies
efficiently, adhere to the rule of law, control corruption, protect
civil and political rights, and remain accountable to their
citizens. Through laws and institutions, governments set the
direction of a country’s economy as well as its business climate.
A stable macroeconomic environment (exchange rates, inflation
levels) and a healthy, open business climate promote sustainable
economic growth and ensure that economic opportunities are
available to poor people.
By simplifying the rules for opening and running a business,
governments can spur creation of more jobs and collect more
tax revenue. When corruption is under control, government
can target tax revenues to basic services such as roads, water,
hospitals, and schools. These, in turn, are essential for a healthy,
educated population and a stronger economy.
Effective governments should also empower people to
participate in the selection of their government and freely
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