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The First United Nations Millennium Development Goal: A cause for celebration?

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  • Thomas Pogge

Abstract

The first and most prominent United Nations Millennium Development Goal (MDG-1) has been widely celebrated. Yet, four reflections should give us pause. Although retaining the idea of "halving extreme poverty by 2015", MDG-1 in fact sets a much less ambitious target than had been agreed to at the 1996 World Food Summit in Rome: that the number of poor should be reduced by 19% (rather than 50%), from 1094 million to 883.5 million. Tracking the $1/day poverty headcount, the World Bank uses a method that may paint far too rosy a picture of the evolution of extreme poverty. Shrinking the problem of extreme poverty, which now causes some 18 million deaths annually, by 19% over 15 years is grotesquely underambitious in view of resources available and the magnitude of the catastrophe. Finally, this go-slow approach is rendered even more appalling by the contribution made to the persistence of severe poverty by the affluent countries and the global economic order they impose.

Suggested Citation

  • Thomas Pogge, 2004. "The First United Nations Millennium Development Goal: A cause for celebration?," Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 5(3), pages 377-397.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:jhudca:v:5:y:2004:i:3:p:377-397
    DOI: 10.1080/1464988042000277251
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. David Hulme & James Scott, 2010. "The Political Economy of the MDGs: Retrospect and Prospect for the World's Biggest Promise," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series 11010, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    2. Sanjay G. Reddy & Camelia Minoiu, 2005. "Has world poverty really fallen during the 1990s?," Development and Comp Systems 0509005, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Gentilini, Ugo & Webb, Patrick, 2008. "How are we doing on poverty and hunger reduction? A new measure of country performance," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(6), pages 521-532, December.
    4. Diane F. Frey & Gillian MacNaughton, 2016. "A Human Rights Lens on Full Employment and Decent Work in the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda," SAGE Open, , vol. 6(2), pages 21582440166, June.
    5. Nandy, Shailen & Daoud, Adel & Gordon, David, 2016. "Examining the changing profile of undernutrition in the context of food price rises and greater inequality," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 153-163.
    6. Langthaler, Margarita, 2015. "Bildung und die Sustainable Development Goals: Zur Einschätzung des Bildungsziels in den SDGs," Briefing Papers 12, Austrian Foundation for Development Research (ÖFSE).
    7. Cuenca-García, Eduardo & Sánchez, Angeles & Navarro-Pabsdorf, Margarita, 2019. "Assessing the performance of the least developed countries in terms of the Millennium Development Goals," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 54-66.
    8. Nelson, Paul J., 2007. "Human Rights, the Millennium Development Goals, and the Future of Development Cooperation," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 35(12), pages 2041-2055, December.

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