Brazil and LatAm Fall Short on Millennium Development Goals

Fifteen out of the 24 Latin American and Caribbean nations, including Brazil, have met Millennium Development goals in reducing malnutrition and hunger, improving access to potable water and gender equality in education.

However, they are behind in reducing absolute poverty, universal access to education and environmental protection.


That is the result of a report on Millennium Development Objectives (MDO) just released by the United Nations and the Latin American Economic Commission (Cepal).


The report shows that the infant mortality rate for children under five years of age in the region was reduced from 56 per 1,000 births in 1990, to 33 per 1,000 births in 2003. The mortality rate for babies of less than one year of age fell from 43 to 25 per 1,000 births during the same period.


With regard to the environment, the report calls the situation “worrisome,” and cites the following problems: loss of natural vegetation and biodiversity, air pollution and the growth of urban slums.


“Economic growth is fundamental if there is to be progress in social policies,” says the executive secretary of Cepal, Alicia Barcea.


She explains that many numbers in the report are only averages due to the differences in the countries surveyed. “However, there is no doubt that growth must include improving income distribution.”


She added that improving social conditions involves investing in infrastructure and a certain amount of social cohesion, along with other factors not included in the MDO, such as jobs and political stability.


The Millennium Development Objectives were adopted in 2000 by the governments of 189 countries, including Brazil.


The signatories are committed to human development around the world and established eight objectives which are to be accomplished by 2015: eradicate absolute poverty and hunger; achieve universal education; promote gender equality and freedom for women; reduce infant mortality; improve maternal healthcare; combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; protect the environment through sustainable economic activities and establish a world partnership for development.


ABr – www.radiobras.gov.br

Tags:

You May Also Like

Brazil’s Trade Surplus Falls 35% to US$ 19.44 Bi, Worst in 10 Years

Brazil posted its smallest annual trade surplus in a decade last year as a ...

Brazilian Industry Urges Bilateral Agreements with US and EU

Due to the impasse in the Doha Rounds of trade negotiations, bilateral and regional ...

Buenos Aires Declaration Decries Violence Against Children in Latin America

The family and State institutions are the main settings where Latin American children and ...

Biotechnology, Blessing and Curse for Poor Countries Like Brazil

Brazil and other developing countries pondering whether or how much to use genetically modified ...

Powder May Help Reduce Water Evaporation and Drought in Brazil

A chemical powder may be the solution to the water evaporation problem in lakes and ...

Carla Hassett? You’ve Heard This Brazilian. We Bet.

{mosimage}Sitting in a sidewalk café in Los Angeles, Carla Hassett is hard to miss. ...

The Case of Brazil’s Supreme Against PT Leaders Behind Mensalão to Start October 1st

On Wednesday, September 12,, the justice-rapporteur in Penal Case 470, known as the mensalão, ...

This Brazilian Doctor Brought Forth 5,000 Test Tube Babies

When he travelled to Lebanon for the first time, six years ago, doctor Roger ...

October 1994

CONTENTS: Cover story: Population: slowing the pace (p. 8) Minister talks too much (p.14) ...

A Popular Shopping Hub from Rio, Brazil, Tries the Internet Waters

A working-class shopping complex in the center of Rio de Janeiro city, known as ...