Millennium Development

Goals:
Implementation
and
Barriers

Introduction
TheMillennium

Development Goals(MDGs)aretheeightinternational

developmentgoalsthatwereestablishedfollowingtheMillennium Summit of
theUnitedNationsin2000,followingtheadoptionoftheUnited Nations
Millennium Declaration.All189 United Nations memberstatesatthetime
(thereare193currently),andat least 23 international organizations,
committedtohelpachievethefollowingMillenniumDevelopmentGoalsby
2015.

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

To
To
To
To
To
To
To
To

eradicateextreme povertyandhunger
achieveuniversal primary education
promotegender equalityand empower women
reducechild mortality
improvematernal health
combatHIV/AIDS,malaria, and other diseases
ensure environmental sustainability
develop a global partnership for development

Symbols Used

Introduction
Pakistanhasadopted16(outof18)targetsand41(outof48)

indicatorsagainstwhichprogresstowardsachievingtheEight
GoalsoftheMDGsismeasured.Timeseriesdataavailablefor33
oftheseindicatorsrevealthatPakistanisontracktoachievethe
targetson9indicators,whereasitsprogresson24indicatorsisoff
track.

Goal#1EradicateExtremePovertyandHunger
UnderMDG1,Pakistanaimstohalveby2015,theproportionofpeopleliving

belowthenationalpovertyline,achievefullandproductiveemploymentanddecent
workforall,andhalvetheproportionofpeoplewhosufferfromhunger.
Percentageofpopulationbelowthepovertylinefellfrom34.5percentin2001/02

to12.4percentin2010/11.
Pakistansemploymenttopopulationratioincreasedfrom27.1percentin2001/02

to30.9percentin2010/11makingtheprospectoffullemploymentby2015highly
unlikely.

Goal#1EradicateExtremePovertyandHunger

Barriers
LawandOrderandGovernance
Education,TechnologyandHealth
Landlessnessinruralareas
Powerstructuresinruralareas
DoingbusinessinPakistan

Goal#2AchieveUniversalPrimaryEducation(UPE)

TheMDG2forPakistantargets100percentprimaryschoolenrolment,100
percentcompletionofeducationfromgrades1-5andan88percentliteracy
rate.

Rateofprimaryeducationandcompletionincreaseduptothemid-2000sbut

thereafterslowedandfluctuated,andin2011/12were57percentand50
percentrespectively.
Theliteracyrateis58percentoverall,butthisishighlyskewedtowards

males-70percentmales,47percentoffemales

 Pakistanisthusoff-trackonallthreetargetsandthereforenotlikelyto

achieveMDG2.

Barriers
Poverty
Culturalbarriers
Inadequateschoolfacilities
Longwalkschools
Civilconflicts
Naturaldisasters
Poorqualityofteaching
IDPs

Goal#3PromoteGenderEqualityandEmpowerWomen
MDG3aimstoeliminategenderdisparityinprimaryandsecondaryeducationby

2005,andinalllevelsofeducationby2015.
Genderdisparityineducationhasimproved-forprimaryeducation,secondary

educationandyouthliteracy,butstillfallsshortoftheMDGstargetssetfor2015.
Genderparityineducationhasimprovedforprimaryeducation,secondary

educationandyouthliteracy,butstillfallsshortoftheMDGtargetssetfor2015.
Punjab,withitshigherbase,remainstheleaderineducationindicators,but
interprovincialdisparitiesbetweenPunjab,SindhandKPhavenarrowed;
Balochistanistheexceptionitimprovedbutstilllagsbehindtheothers.

Goal#3PromoteGenderEqualityandEmpowerWomen
Theshareofwomeninnon-agriculturewageemploymentis10.45percentin

2010/11,stillshortofthe14percenttarget.
Again,Punjabat13.25percentisveryclosetotheMDGtarget;bycontrast,

Balochistansfigureof2.32percentin2010/11isextremelylow.
Therehasbeenconsiderableprogressonincreasingwomensrepresentationin

legislativebodies.Overall,withallfourindicators(withsettargets)ofthisgoalofftrack,PakistanisunlikelytomeetMDG3.

Goal#3PromoteGenderEqualityandEmpowerWomen

GPI = Gender Parity Index

Barriers
Femaleeducationislow
Less/noroleinpoliticaldecisionmaking
Violenceagainstwomen
Jobshare

Goal#4Reducechildmortality

UnderMDG4,Pakistanhassetitselftheobjectiveofreducingtheunder-fivechild
mortality(U5MR)bytwo-thirds.

ThecountryhasshownslowandgradualprogressonalltheindicatorsrelatedtothisMDG.
Under-fivemoralityfellfrom117
deathsin1990/91to89deathsper1,000livebirthsin2012/13;andtheinfantmortalityrate
inthisperiodfrom102to74deaths
per1,000livebirths.

However,botharestillshortoftheMDGtargetsof52deathsper1,000livebirths

forunder-fivemortality,and40deathsper1,000livebirthsforinfantmortality.

Goal#4Reducechildmortality
Thecoverageforfullyimmunizedchildrenincreasedfrom75to80percentandof

measlesimmunizationfrom80to81percentinthisperiod;botharestillshortofthe
targetofabove90percentcoverage.

Barriers
Dysfunctionalhealthsystem
Poverty,undernutrition
Femaleeducationandempowerment
Socioculturalandbeliefsystemsdeterminehouseholdpracticesandcare

seekingbehaviors.
Funding
Securityproblemswithhealthworkers.
Noaccountabilityofpoorperformance.

Goal#5ImproveMentalHealth
By2015,Pakistanintendstoreducethematernalmortalityrate(MMR)bythree-quarters

andensureuniversalaccesstoreproductivehealth.
Overthepastdecadeorso,arenewedfocusonprovidingtimelyandefficienthealthcare

optionstowomenofchildbearingageisapparent.Pakistanhasshownconsiderableyet
insufficientprogressforachievingthetargetssetfor2015.
MMRhasbeenalmosthalved(downto276per100,000birthsin2006/07),contraceptive

usagehasalmosttripled(upto35.4percent),proportionofbirthsattendedbyskilledbirth
attendants(SBAs)havemorethandoubled(upto52.1percent),andantenatalconsultations
havemorethanquadrupled(upto68percent)since1990/91.

Goal#5ImproveMentalHealth
Thetotalfertilityrateat3.8remainsconsiderablyhigherthanthetargetof2.1.

Overall,Pakistanisofftrackonallindicatorsandthereforeunlikelytoachieve
MDG5.

Barriers
Poor/nohealtheducation
Poverty,propernutritionnotaccessible
Dysfunctionalhealthsystem
Lackoffunds
Lessfamiliarizationprogrammes

Goal#6CombatHIV/AIDSMalariaandotherDiseases
MDG6strivestoreversethespreadofHIV/AIDSandtheincidenceofmalariaand

othermajordiseases.
Mostoftheindicatorsshowpositivetrends,particularlyinthecaseofHIV

prevalenceamongpregnantwomen,anddetectionandprovisionofhealthcarefor
TBpatients.
Thelatterhasbeenachievedandtheformerislikelytobe.
However,theyearonyeargrowthofoverallTBcases(upto230cases/10,000

population)representsoneoftheworstfaringindicatorsforPakistaninallthe
MDGs.HIV/AIDStrendsamongvulnerablegroupsarealsoalarming.

Goal#6CombatHIV/AIDSMalariaandotherDiseases
Theproportionofpeopleinmalariariskareasusingeffectivepreventionand

treatmentmeasuresremainslow(75percentagainstthetargetof40percent).
Pakistanisoff-trackonthreeoutoffiveindicatorsandthereforeunlikelytoachieve
MDG6.

Goal#6CombatHIV/AIDSMalariaandotherDiseases

Barriers
Poorknowledgeofthelesseducated
Governmentrolenotappreciable
Dysfunctionalhealthsystem
Insecurityofhealthworkers
Poorsanitation

Goal#7EnsureEnvironmentalSustainability
MDG7aimstopromotesustainabledevelopment,andhasthetargetofhalvingthe

proportionofpeoplewithoutsustainableaccesstosafedrinkingwaterandbasic
sanitation,andbringingaboutasignificantimprovementinthelivesofslum
dwellers.
OfthesevenMDG7indicators,Pakistanisontracktoachievefour:protecting
areasforwildlifeconservation(11.6percentagainstthetargetof12percent),
reducingsulphurcontentinhighspeeddiesel,improvingGDPperunitenergy
(measureofenergyefficiency)andimprovingaccesstosafedrinkingwater(89
percentagainstthetargetof93percent).
However,itislaggingonaccesstosanitation;currently72percentofthe
populationshaveaccesstothisfacilityagainstatargetof90percent.

Goal#7EnsureEnvironmentalSustainability
Overall,withfouroutofsevenindicatorsontrack,Pakistanislikelytoachieve

MDG7withcontinuedefforts;thisistheonlygoalwherethemajorityofindicators
areon-tracktobeattained.

Barriers
Dysfunctionalhealthsystem
Lackoffunds
Inadequateindustrialenvironmentalmanagement
Disastermanagementcells
Funds

Goal # 8 Develop a Global Partnership for

Development
Goal8representsthecollaborativeeffortsandcommitmentsofthedevelopingand

developedcountriestofostermultilateral,bilateralandregionalnorth-southtrade.Under
thisMDGthedevelopedcountrieshavecommittedfinancial,technicalandcapacity
developmentsupport.
ForPakistan,effortstoimprovemarketaccessregionallyandgloballyachievedmixed

results:therewasanimpasseintheDohaRoundofWTOnegotiations,bilateraltradewith
Indiastrengthenedbutremainshamperedbysecurityconcernsandmistrust;

Goal#8DevelopaGlobalPartnershipforDevelopment
Pakistan

did secure preferential trade agreements with a

number of key partners (e.g. Malaysia, Iran, China, Sri Lanka).

Theaveragetariffsimposedbydevelopedmarketsupondevelopingmarkets

imports,asoneindicatorofmarketaccess,arecomparativelyhighforPakistan-8
percentcomparedto6percentfordevelopingmarketeconomies.
Debtsustainabilityindicatorshaveshownimprovementsincetheirhighsin2001.

ODAformsanimportantcomponentintherealizationofMDG8.

Barriers
Corruption
Unpredictablepoliticalsituation
Terrorism
Loans
ForeignInvestment

 TheGender

Parity Index (GPI)is asocioeconomicindex

usually designed to measure the relative access
toeducationof males and females. In its simplest form, it
is calculated as the quotient of the number of females by
the number of males enrolled in a given stage of
education (primary,secondary, etc.). It is used by
international organizations, particularly in measuring the
progress of developing countries. The Institute for
Statistics ofUNESCOalso uses a more general definition of
GPI: for any development indicator one can define the
GPIrelativeto this indicator by dividing its value for
females by its value for males.[1]For example, some
UNESCO documents consider gender parity inliteracy. [2]