Around July 7th, the midway point for the 2015 Deadline for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), 70 cities hosted events of one kind or another. By coming out in large numbers, members of the showed there is motivation to push governments to achieve MDG targets. Recognizing that some progress has been made in some countries, most people are still sorely disappointed with the poor performance of states that signed the Millennium Declaration and made promises to their citizens. Millions of impoverished people continue to live in socially dismal and sub-human conditions without solution or hope.
Most countries in the South lag far behind their targets and Northern countries have largely failed to fulfill their promises with regard to aid, trade and debt cancellations. In Africa, for example, 13 African countries (mostly in North Africa) can achieve or come close to the MDGs by 2015 if they continue at the current pace. The remaining African countries have not made any progress in gender equality and women's empowerment, and tens of millions of citizens around the world are still living in an ocean of poverty.
Let us remember the hard facts. With current trends and pace it is very likely that sub-Saharan Africa will not meet the sanitation goals set out by the UN Millennium Development goals until 2105 and in Zambia until 2130. $47bn per year is needed to meet Health, Education and Water and Sanitation Millennium Development Goals by 2015. $1 trillion is spent on military expenditure each year and $40bn on pet food each year around the world - the money is available; it is a question of political will and where resources are directed. It would take $4bn per year to meet the goal of halving the number of people who don't have access to drinking water. That is the same as Europe spends on bottled water each month. At current rates, by 2015 over 2 billions people around the world will still lack basic health services and 650 million will not have access to drinking water.
What is clear to me increasingly these days is that many of our political leaders have two medical conditions; memory loss and severe hearing problems. The leaders of the rich countries appear unable to hear the appeals of their citizens for more urgent action to end global poverty. The commitment for example, on 0.7% being contributed to international development was a commitment made in 1970. Only five developed countries meet this target. Have they forgotten? Likewise, developing country leaders sign up to nice sounding declarations on democracy, human rights and ending poverty, but they appear to forget these commitments virtually as soon as they make these promises. It appears that citizens have no choice but to increase their mobilization and pressure on our leaders so that they can improve their memories as well as their listening abilities.
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